July 1, 2015
State and federal regulations—and common sense—keep shops safe. By Mason Riddle Marine shop safety entails more than the classic red and white first-aid kit filled with Band-Aids, Neosporin and ibuprofen. And what constitutes safety varies from shop to shop, depending on what is being fabricated, the number of employees and clientele. Local fire marshals and …
May 1, 2015
Where to find money in a tight economy By William J. Lynott Credit is the oil that lubricates the machinery of business. Whether it’s a loan to buy inventory or supplies, to support expansion, an equipment purchase, or just the need for a short-term loan to meet payroll or other operating expenses, most marine fabricators …
Custom Canvas by Yvonne Contact: Yvonne M. Peters Location: Fort Myers, Fla. Year Established: 1996 Number of employees: 1 (self) Shop size: 1,000 sq. ft. How did your shop get started? Owning a boat with my husband, Michael, and daughters Jessica, Melissa and Denise, who were young girls at the time, I had to …
March 1, 2015
A steady hand and a fallback plan can keep even best-laid plans from veering too far off course. Deadlines can paralyze, but it’s worth taking the time to analyze the situation. Use these questions to think through the issue: Am I facing a deadline or a target? A deadline is fixed, and implies some degree …
September 2, 2014
Liability insurance protects shop owners from being swamped by possible misfortunes. Predicting the future is like forecasting the weather. You think you know what’s going to happen—then it doesn’t. There has been a great deal written in the past few years concerning the legal liability of companies, usually in terms of a weather-related crisis or …
Remember the Good Old Days? You offered a service; they signed up and sent the money. That was then. Today’s fabricators of marine products must be proactive in securing business. And if you’re seeking to procure accounts with the military and/or government sector, that business mantra spikes to a whole new level. This is not …
July 1, 2014
Both have their advocates. Hear from the experts in the marine fabrication industry to see which fits your business. What is the best route to become a skilled marine canvas fabricator? Focused classes or on-the-job training? For Mark Hood, owner of Hood Marine Canvas in Merrimac, Mass., taking a series of focused classes is the …
You can protect your workers … while keeping workers’ compensation costs in line. If you’re a typical marine-fabrication business owner, workers’ compensation costs—or the threat of them—can quickly become a major expense burden. Almost every business in the United States that has employees must deal with the cost of workers’ compensation; it’s a perennial issue, …
Quinte Marine Canvas and Upholstery Quinte Marine Canvas and Upholstery How did you get started? I bought a boat. Its upholstery, though, was not something I would want my cat to sit on. An old-school electrician and contractor, my dad always taught me to be handy, to fix things on my own. So, with a …
By Bill Foster There is certainly no lack of advice on how to increase your sales success. Books and seminars can be counted by the hundreds, and many of these are quite good. First-hand experience working for others in sales positions and managing my own business have helped me to formulate principles that can help …