I had looked into this a few years back as part of my exit plan from the 9 to 5 grind. My model was to mimic APS on a smaller scale with an emphasis on catamarans, dinghies, sail & kite boards. After doing the homework/research and crunching the numbers I would have to become more of an emporium to all water sports not just sailing to make it work, and I would be doing more than a 9 to 5 with all the other associated things needed to get the business going. Plus getting the franchise for products like Vanguard – Laser and some other key manufactures wasn’t going to happen. Let’s face it; you can’t make it on catamarans and the associated gear alone. As for the Kayak business this has become commoditized, so expect slim margins there. I was able to buy kayaks on-line delivered for less than what one manufacture was quoting for my opening order. What is up with that?

My second tact was to look at buying an existing business; which I did, but after reviewing the books etc, I came to the conclusion my money would be better spent elsewhere. The asking price and the cash flow just didn’t see eye to eye. We had made an offer based on tangible assets, but…… the business has since disappeared.

On the other hand, one of my mentors on this project owns a boat dealership that sells Malibu and Chaparral “lake boats” and all the other water ski goodies that go with them. I was actually going to rent some space from him to get this project off the ground. His business was hurting from 2009 until this year, and now it has really picked up. He is going to look to get out of in a couple of years… Tired of the ups and downs.. They are full service shop and they fix what the sell, but finding good dependable technicians and other employees, to work on the boats etc.., has also become a challenge, and like cars, these boats don’t break often – which is a good thing.

In the end to me it was not worth taking a big chunk of my life savings and opening a new shop or buying an existing operation in a market that experiences the radical ends with the ebbs and flows of the economy. Now the exit plan is real estate, and flight instruction, two of my other passions.