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INTERVIEW with Steve Booth Boatshed essex

Boatshed Essex 
www.boatshedessex.com 

Business Owner
Steve Booth -

Agents/Brokers/Administrators 
David 
Mike 
Catherine 

How long has your business been going for? 
Boatshed Essex has been in Business for five and a half or six years but I've been here since June 2006 

How do you plan your day 
That is a really good question to ask. At the beginning of each day I try to sit down and write a list of important things to do. I keep it relatively short and realistic always keeping my priority focus on customer service and letting people know when and what's going on with sales whether it's the vendor or the purchaser. I usually have 10 to 15 items on the list but in this game unexpected interruption are the norm so I don't always manage to get through my list. 

How is your business going? 
Very well, this year has been much better that I thought it would be given the economic climate. 

Where you a Yacht Broker before? 
No, I did a Chemistry degree at Loughborough University (He got a BSc 2.1 the clever chap!) then worked for 25 years in the Pharmaceutical industry in production operations but was made redundant by one of the big firms in the industry and so opted to do something different. 

Have you got your own boat, if so what would you chose? 
I haven't got a boat at the moment, teenage kids and a business to run mean I don't really have much time for a boat, I spend so much time on other peoples. I have had a few boats, the last one, which I shared with my brother we sold when he moved to Devon. My favourite boat was my Challenger 35, they're great sea boats but it was an absolute pig in marinas! I also had a Scanmar 40 which I did the ARC on in 2000. I skippered her down to Gran Canaria with various crew and then across the Atlantic. We kept her there for a while and did some Caribbean cruising. 

How many people are involved in your business? 
meet the team 
There’s me and 3 others now: 
David is a scout for me at the moment but hopefully he will become an agent very soon. He is a retired merchant banker who lives in West Mersea and last year sailed his 36 foot Beneteau round the UK 
Mike lives in Burnham which is pretty close to our office at Fambridge. He helps out with viewings but I have sold 3 of his boats and sold him 2 boats over the years. He always has a couple on the go and despite celebrating his 70th this year he's still a very active sailor and regularly works as a delivery skipper. 
Catherine is our newest recruit. She comes from a very boaty family in Burnham with her Dad working in the local marine industry. Catherine runs the office for me, she has come from a commercial sales background and is proving very useful, she seems to be enjoying it and is getting into boats. 

What new trends are happening in your business? 
We’ve had a lot more enquiries from abroad, especially Belgium and the Scandinavian countries. We are in a good location for European buyers owing to the transport links. Boatshed Essex is also getting better known locally and people now pop into the office whereas a year ago they were surprised to find a broker in the yard. I would like to develop this more and feel that we are building up a good reputation locally. 

What ratio sail to power are your listings? 
In terms of numbers it’s probably around 50:50 but in terms of value then the power boats probably represent over 60%. 

What new things are happening in your business at present? 
One of the things that seems to be working well is greater co-operation with other yards and brokers. I think this is an area well worth developing; we have all the brokerage from one yard who have chosen to out source all this to us. We have a shared commission arrangement but they send me all the boats for sale in the yard and have a big window display with boats for sale right next to their chandlery. I do know that I need to get out and about more and hope that now I’ve got some help with the business I will be able to do this. 

Where do you see your business in 2012? 
I intend to keep the business growing over the next few years, we have managed around 30% growth a year in the last 3 years, I know the business is getting well known in the area within around 20 miles of the office so I hope to increase that to around 50 miles. I am thinking of setting up another office, maybe in West Mersea with a broker and agents to grow the business. Boatshed Essex is still very much the new kid on the block competing against older established brokers but we are certainly getting better known and I would like to build on our good reputation. 

What do you feel important in running your Boatshed business on a daily basis? 
Being organised and keeping everyone informed each step of the way. 

What are you doing now? 
A chap has just arrived to do a second viewing on a Westerly Conway. 

www.boatshedessex.com