• Finding inspiration

    Published On: March 1, 2024Categories: Editorial

    When your projects start to feel stale or boring, make it a habit to look around for inspiration. Inspiration can be found through mentors, online training, classes, boat shows, workshops, books and conferences. It can also be found in unexpected places and through chance conversations. Once you bump into a new concept or technique, you [...]

  • Change and transformation

    Published On: January 1, 2024Categories: Editorial

    There is often confusion over the difference between change and transformation. They are closely related however change is typically smaller, well-defined and predictable, while transformation is something closer to reinvention. It involves greater risks, is far less predictable and results in more dramatic change. Both are critical for business success.  This issue of Marine Fabricator [...]

  • Serving customers and employees

    Published On: August 31, 2023Categories: Editorial

    Running a successful business means being on the same team as your customers and employees. During the busy season, this can be challenging. I was reminded of this by my son who works at a restaurant that’s open seven days a week. The food is wonderful and the place is always packed, but the restaurant [...]

  • The right tools

    Published On: July 1, 2023Categories: Editorial

    As a serious gardener, I think a lot about tools. Gardening in Minnesota is not for the faint of heart. Preparing the beds, pruning, weeding, planting and harvesting all happen in a relatively short period, so choosing the right tools, using them properly and keeping them in peak condition is critical to a successful harvest. [...]

  • At what cost

    Published On: May 1, 2023Categories: Editorial

    It’s important to think hard about your bottom line when you’re in business. You won’t be profitable or stay in business very long without keeping track of your expenses and revenues. It’s also true that fixating on your costs and cutting too many corners can create expensive mistakes.  This issue is about ensuring your shop’s [...]

  • Creative risk is messy

    Published On: March 1, 2023Categories: Editorial

    My brother is a wacky painter. A lot of his art is filled with blurry faces and unfinished bodies. Some of his paintings show finer techniques, but he says he prefers to take a “messy approach” to potentially achieve a more creative result than “something that matches a couch.” Being proficient at the nuts and [...]

  • Creative Connections

    Published On: January 1, 2023Categories: Editorial

    As a writer and editor, I prefer to do most of my work alone in the quiet of my home office. But during the dark days of a Minnesota winter, working alone gets lonely and my ideas feel thin and uninspired.  That’s why I attend literary conferences and classes each winter. The creative spark that [...]

  • Success at every age

    Published On: September 1, 2022Categories: Editorial

    There is a ritual (some would say a bad habit) where each generation complains about the generation that comes after it. “Young people today are (lazy, selfish, self-involved, distracted, demanding, impatient…fill in the blank).” Some young people are sometimes those things. And some older folks are sometimes those things too. But young or old, the [...]

  • Adaptation

    Published On: July 1, 2022Categories: Editorial

    If we humans are good at anything, it’s adapting to change. You might think I’m talking about pandemics, but I’m actually talking about business in general. Running a business means continuously adapting to forces both within and outside of your control. It’s about remaining flexible while having a strategic vision of your goals and constantly [...]

  • Spreading the word

    Published On: May 1, 2022Categories: Editorial

    Are your marketing efforts attracting the types of clients and projects you’re interested in? If not, how should you go about it? The first step, obviously, is creating quality projects. And then you need to get the word out to your desired clients. For Midwesterners like myself, tooting our own horns can feel uncomfortable, but [...]