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Classic small business story |
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 Views of
Lake Chelan |
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Reed's Marine
Lake
Chelan
PO Box 474
Manson, Washington 98831
Dear Hattie
and Bruce:
Wow, you've got me! A friend suggested your website and
television program and I have spent hours going through story after story. I've
spent so much time with you that you seem like old friends. My husband and I
get so much from reading and listening to other people's stories. We all have
the same kinds of problems!
We own a boat dealership on Lake Chelan in
central Washington. You'll have to come out for a visit; it's truly God's
country! The lake is one of the most pristine in the country. It is just
gorgeous and huge -- over 50 miles long, some say 80 miles! You can imagine
that we have a great tourism business in the summer vacation months. And, then
it slows down, and down, and, well, it's cold this time of year. I've been
thinking about those folks in your show about State of Maine¹ where they are marketing all over the world. It
sure is difficult for us to think about how we would expand our business beyond
the wonderful horizons from the lake, sunrises while fishing in the early
morning, and wonderful sunsets from out in the middle of our lake on our boat
(it can be so quiet).*
My
husband, Randy, started Reed Shoreline Corporation when he was about 18 years
old. He started by selling and installing boat lifts on the lake to homeowners.
After about six years of that he added another division to the business,
renting boats and personal watercraft. He steadily grew the business and moved
into an actual office space! In 2001, we decided to become a boat dealer for a
brand that had impressed us as part of the rental fleet we had built. When we
made this decision, many people in our small community said we were crazy, how
would a boat dealership make it in such a small town?
After only a couple years of being a dealer,
everyone was blown away at the number of boats we were moving. So, we decided
to add more and now we are working on branding issues. Thanks again for great
insights from so many episodes.
We are now d/b/a Reed's Marine.
A good building in our town
came up for rent, so we took it and put in a bunch of retail space. We are now
going to get a first option to buy (Thank you Fess Parker² on the Study Guide Point #1).
We are surprised at how fast the business has
grown, and I think it has a lot to do with Randy's personal relations with the
people on this lake. We have the boat lift division, the rental division, the
dealership and the marine supplies and parts. We like to consider ourselves the
one-stop shop for boaters. And we are! |
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| WATCH TELEVISION
THAT TEACHES |
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| More Mail From
Viewers |
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| 1. |
Meet Marty
Richert, Georgia who was a viewer from Binghamton, NY, moved
down into Georgia's countryside, and is now a regular visitor on the web.
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| 2. |
Meet Kathy
Baldwin of New York; she said "I just watched this episode on Specialty Cheese. It was fantastic!
Coincidentally, I just completed an accelerated Marketing Communications
undergraduate class. I could have saved $1,275 because the same concepts were
explained in this show! I will take some time this week and review more of your
course offerings and view the TV listings for more of your work. Thanks!
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| 3. |
Meet Alan Preston,
Pennsylvania a viewer who especially enjoyed the episode about
leadership. |
| 4. |
Meet many other
wonderful people, just a few of our favorites from throughout the
years. |
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This fall we purchased an unused apple
storage shed across the street from our store. We have converted it into boat
storage and a service shop.
We have long-time boatlift customers who have
bought boats from us just because they like working with Randy and trust him,
and now we can service and store their boats during the off-season as well.
In our valley, many
businesses are seasonal and that can be the downfall of many of them. We have
found a way to offer what our customers need and be a year-round, full- time
business. Most people around here think that is a huge success in itself. Randy
and I share in the running of the business, him in sales and service and myself
in office operations and bookkeeping. I am always looking for better ways to
make things run more smoothly in the store/office.
So we get technology and we'll be getting as much
as we can afford. We're trying to take those eight steps to become an
e-culture³. We have Verizon's DSL at the office.
Next step will be to get the website on our own little server on that DSL line.
We are interested in purchasing a new retail management program to help cut
back a lot of unnecessary steps in day to day work, as well as keep better
track of our inventory and our customers.
I would say that we are probably coming up
on
Step
7 within your list.
I want to thank you for your time and the
fantastic information on your website, especially for us two who have no
schooling in business.
Keep up your great work!
Sincerely,
Johanna Reed
Reed's
Marine
PS. Come for a visit
sometime. If it's winter, we can go snowmobiling during the day (if it snows
again!) and have dinner at Campbell's Inn. The Festival of Lights is wonderful.
Apple blossoms in May are breathtaking.*
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Editor's
Footnotes: Helpful episodes
1. Besides Johanna, many other people responded to
Marketing from a Distance. Eleven small business owners talk about how they
keep selling after the tourists have gone home.
2. We also got thanks from PBS viewers who enjoyed
seeing an old friend on the episode titled, Wine Country.
Fess Parker aka Daniel Boone and Davy
Crockett, shared what he learned earlier from his father and Walt Disney; that
is, "...buy real estate." That's good advise for us
all.
3. There are many
references throughout the website to a box of options titled, Eight steps to an e-culture
where we tell everybody, "You have to have
broadband high-speed access for everyone in your business."
*After
writing such a letter, we had to go for a visit! In fact, we found a local
camera fellow and got this testimony about their recent adoption of
Microsoft's
Retail Management System.
Where is Lake Chelan? |
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