How's Business?

[stillhustlin]

Residential homebuilder. Ytd beating sales forecast by roughly 30%, closing only beating forecast by 5%. All models homes are still busy with a lot of offers. Our only sign of a slowdown is we are out of lots in May 2024 and no one is developing anything. Literally sorting through the scraps right now to find buildable finished lots. Need to purchase 175 for 2024.

 

[Cdog]

Residential homebuilder. Ytd beating sales forecast by roughly 30%, closing only beating forecast by 5%. All models homes are still busy with a lot of offers. Our only sign of a slowdown is we are out of lots in May 2024 and no one is developing anything. Literally sorting through the scraps right now to find buildable finished lots. Need to purchase 175 for 2024.

Where are you building?

 

[stillhustlin]

Where are you building?

Northern Utah

 

[arch stanton]

All of the story’s are great and I like hearing what is happening in the different industries but the information would be more relevant if you include the area that you work in
While some of you post all the time and I feel like I know you i don’t remember where you live and work
HB Craig love the pics and the story’s and the info on your local sales southern california?
How are the sales for the parent company on the east coat or Europe
The trucking guy that wants to start a go fund me what do you do dry van, refer, hotshot
I’m in dump trucking in San Diego and have been busy except for the hurricane 2 weeks ago but that brought work down in Palm Springs working on the flooded UP tracks and then went down to Liland to help with the track problems over there my guys have never made that much money in a week before
And today moved this and had to turn down an 7 hour emergency move tonight just too much happening tomorrow
What i should also say is I have been trucking local San Diego for 35 years and I am and very lucky to be working with the same people and families for decades so the fact that I’m always busy will not be the same thing another guy tells you that has doing local trucking 2 years

 

[RiverDave]

No doubt. Nordic will make it through anything with their financial backing. I’ve seen a few 26s for inventory which shows they don’t have any on order. I’ll be curious to see what company’s slow I don’t wish it upon anyone though. There’s one builder in havasu I think is barely hanging on as is. We will see the outcome of them it’s unfortunate cause they have one nice 27 and 26 deck.

I’m not sure if you are referring to e ticket or? E ticket is closed for building boats.. Brad will sell the assets if anyone’s interested.

 

[JFMFG]

I’m not sure if you are referring to e ticket or? E ticket is closed for building boats.. Brad will sell the assets if anyone’s interested.

Nope not e ticket. Ultra is who I’m referring too.

 

[GRADZ]

Trophy Husband business is stronger than ever!

 

[702sandman]

For those that have been busy and are still busy are you stronger financially today than pre pandemic or not in as good a spot ? Just curious how Covid affected the bottom line if any.

 

[arch stanton]

For those that have been busy and are still busy are you stronger financially today than pre pandemic or not in as good a spot ? Just curious how Covid affected the bottom line if any.

Covid was good for business for me construction trucking in San Diego never slowed down and the roads were clear of traffic, since most of you may have been locked down it was Nervana out on the roads compared to normal traffic even the cops seemed to be afraid to pull you over. Truck drivers are in the original social distance occupation no one cared if you were masked up

 

[JFMFG]

For those that have been busy and are still busy are you stronger financially today than pre pandemic or not in as good a spot ? Just curious how Covid affected the bottom line if any.

We are in a much better spot than pre Covid. When our lease was up in our old building we downsized cause of the unknown dropped our rent by 10k a month. Also being in the golf industry after things re opened that was the only thing most people could do. With that means more new players. Every course I talk to is booked out with tee times for weeks.

 

[whiteworks]

For those that have been busy and are still busy are you stronger financially today than pre pandemic or not in as good a spot ? Just curious how Covid affected the bottom line if any.

After 2008 meltdown I’ve always kept things in control, don’t spend more than you make, save for rainy day etc… survival is success was my thought and still is. Covid was unique and I saw a total shut down on the residential side for about 6 months and then it ramped up and went crazy for a bit. Last year was rough as Q4 just never happened, like someone turned off a light switch.

I don’t do any advertising, no marketing, don’t even have a website. It’s amazing to me that people are even able to find me and I’m super grateful for every relationship and the referrals that have gotten me to where I am. The strategy has been and will continue to be to take care of people, pass the savings on to them and invest in the customer relationships to provide the referrals. Obviously I could be more proactive and competitive with both the commercial and residential sides of the business, but the reality is I want to do something different as I am getting older, something with room to expand my personal growth and also have a significant positive impact on people I’m working with/for.

I’m not shutting down my window covering gig, but I’m taking the slowdown and refocusing my energy and excess bandwidth on a new venture. I’m in a transition period and hopeful it will fall into place and demand enough of my time and energy that I can step away from a business that has been pretty good to me as far a freedom and quality of life. It’s tough to think there may come a day where I would actually turn down window covering business as I’ve always hustled to keep that thing going. If the new gig fails I can always go back to what I know and stay in my lane, but I’d have to change things up a bit and hire some people to carry the work load on the labor side while I promote and expand the business to provide for them as a well and shift me away from the heavy lifting as I age out.

And that in a nutshell is the problem for a small business that is based around physical labor. I’ve still got it, but it beats me up. Last week I did a 36 window shutter install in a day, I was smoked at the end of the day, I don’t want to have to work like that in 10 years from now LOL

 

[BingerFang]

I work in commercial banking, covering LA to San Diego working with all different types of businesses that are $10- $150mm in revenue. A majority of my manufacturing clients are still charging forward, busier than ever. Food manufacturing, aerospace manufacturing, plastics manufacturing, they are all kicking ass.

The most slowdown I have seen are my port drayage truckers, they are very slow. However, my guys down at the southern border hauling for the businesses in the maquiladora cannot buy trucks fast enough. I will be down near the border tomorrow meeting with a company that needs a loan for $5-6mm in trucks because he just picked up a huge contract with a medical device manufacturer.

It’s a strange time for sure but I’m enjoying the ride.

 

[Cdog]

All of the story’s are great and I like hearing what is happening in the different industries but the information would be more relevant if you include the area that you work in
While some of you post all the time and I feel like I know you i don’t remember where you live and work
HB Craig love the pics and the story’s and the info on your local sales southern california?
How are the sales for the parent company on the east coat or Europe
The trucking guy that wants to start a go fund me what do you do dry van, refer, hotshot
I’m in dump trucking in San Diego and have been busy except for the hurricane 2 weeks ago but that brought work down in Palm Springs working on the flooded UP tracks and then went down to Liland to help with the track problems over there my guys have never made that much money in a week before
And today moved this and had to turn down an 7 hour emergency move tonight just too much happening tomorrow
What i should also say is I have been trucking local San Diego for 35 years and I am and very lucky to be working with the same people and families for decades so the fact that I’m always busy will not be the same thing another guy tells you that has doing local trucking 2 years

The OTR guys are hurting. Supply & demand. Too many drivers fighting to stay in business driving down rates. Fuel is high. Bad combo

 

[D19]

I agree with the pricing. I talked to Nordic in 2018 about a new 29 deck with a 600 price loaded was 179k now that same boat easily 320

In addition to the crazy pricing, it's interesting how several companies did away with the smaller, entry level models. Much of the West Coast performance boat industry left the middle class market in the dust. Curious how that will work for them in the long run. I don't know if it's ego or what, but why you would abandon an entire market that got you where you are is beyond me.

 

[Done-it-again]

In addition to the crazy pricing, it's interesting how several companies did away with the smaller, entry level models. Much of the West Coast performance boat industry left the middle class market in the dust. Curious how that will work for them in the long run. I don't know if it's ego or what, but why you would abandon an entire market that got you where you are is beyond me.

in 3-2-1...... it will be said that margins are better in the upper end and not entry level.... why build 50 small/entry level boats when 5 upper end boats will net you the same margins.

 

[hallett21]

in 3-2-1...... it will be said that margins are better in the upper end and not entry level.... why build 50 small/entry level boats when 5 upper end boats will net you the same margins.

And you can always dust off the “entry level” molds if the big ticket boats stop selling

 

[Cole Trickle]

In addition to the crazy pricing, it's interesting how several companies did away with the smaller, entry level models. Much of the West Coast performance boat industry left the middle class market in the dust. Curious how that will work for them in the long run. I don't know if it's ego or what, but why you would abandon an entire market that got you where you are is beyond me.

You can double the price on a 28' boat compared to a 21' boat is the answer. The hardware cost mostly the same and what does 7' in gel/fiberglass equate out to in the grand scheme of things. (obviously this changes with big power and twins)

Realistically I think the boat market changed with the times and there are some serious business men with fat wallets running the companies these days. They no longer want to grind for a 10k profit when they can make way more on bigger big dollar cats and CC.

 

[Done-it-again]

And you can always dust off the “entry level” molds if the big ticket boats stop selling

for sure, if they still have the molds... I don't totally get it though, I've taken jobs for cost when things are slow to keep guys busy and bills paid. The WC boat industry has to much ego I guess to do this..

 

[Wicky]

One sign that people have less money is that my local gun shop has two huge cabinets full of PPT guns. We heard that lots of people bought guns during the pandemic but at this shop there used to be 10-15 guns for private party transfer but now there are more than 200.

Target sales suck. I can vouch for that.

 

[hallett21]

for sure, if they still have the molds... I don't totally get it though, I've taken jobs for cost when things are slow to keep guys busy and bills paid. The WC boat industry has to much ego I guess to do this..

My guess is you and I need our businesses to be profitable in order to put food on the table. A lot of these boat companies are a second or third businesses. If they get slow they build the owner a new boat lol.

The Barron’s made their money in commercial real estate I believe.

Nordic has an owner with a huge construction company.

DCB has a new big money owner.

Eliminator has investors behind them.

Not sure about Howard but they seem to always have orders.

Schiada ain’t going anywhere.

Sadly some badass shops have closed. But if all you’re doing is getting by you mine as well go be a W2 employee and alleviate some stress.

 

[was thatguy]

Absolutely sickening View attachment 1274432

 

[Dan Lorenze]

Entertainment industry- TV, Camera department..

The writers strike is really hurting so many people right now, it's sad. From the rumblings I hear the writers were offered quite a bit, but they turned it down. They want a lot... The writers have a history for long strikes in the industry.. I would feel so bad refusing deals while families are losing their homes and most certainly won't qualify for their health benefits due to lack of hours to qualify. Producers and networks are very greedy... So it looks like the strike will continue. This will hurt the networks also btw, eventually they will start to run out of content. Most scripted shows are being put on hold.

As far as my situation personally, I have two major genres I work in TV.. 1-Sitcom/Multicamera shows and 2-Live TV and non-scripted shows.. , Sitcoms are a big part of my income. That's all on hold, I had "How I met your Father" ready to go for another season, It just got cancelled. I have "That 90's Show", it's on hold. I have "Frasier", it's on hold. These Sitcom's/mulitcamera shows are great for union hours, they count for health benefits and my pension. All is on hold because of the strike. Dang, we were just recovering from Covid.

Most of my income is coming from Live TV and non-scripted shows at this moment. It's been sparse, but I'm making it work. I have camera gear that I rent out to the studios and I'm able to keep chugging along with that so far. I'm currently working on "Masked Singer", it's a total grind, 16 hour day on set yesterday. I have a few jobs lined up that should put me in a decent situation for the rest of the year, hopefully by then the strike will be over, who knows...

All in all, I would say that I'm doing fine and I'm very grateful for the jobs I still have. I fill my days off easily with riding my motorcycles all over and also playing in my Eagles tribute band, which also pays.

 

[Mandelon]

San Diego. Our residential renovations are slowing down. We are still busy but I am turning away way less people. Our staff is down to under ten guys from 20 something before. I don't mind the lower stress levels to be honest. Less mistakes when I can keep an eye on people better.

The water damage/mold stuff is pretty regular. We have a good referral network that just keeps on giving.

The property management customers are pretty regular as well. We get fed the tricky projects and those have a good margin.

But it is definitely slowing down. IF things go to hell completely we will get back into foreclosure rehabs. That's where we started.

 

[RVRKID]

All of the story’s are great and I like hearing what is happening in the different industries but the information would be more relevant if you include the area that you work in
While some of you post all the time and I feel like I know you i don’t remember where you live and work
HB Craig love the pics and the story’s and the info on your local sales southern california?
How are the sales for the parent company on the east coat or Europe
The trucking guy that wants to start a go fund me what do you do dry van, refer, hotshot
I’m in dump trucking in San Diego and have been busy except for the hurricane 2 weeks ago but that brought work down in Palm Springs working on the flooded UP tracks and then went down to Liland to help with the track problems over there my guys have never made that much money in a week before
And today moved this and had to turn down an 7 hour emergency move tonight just too much happening tomorrow
What i should also say is I have been trucking local San Diego for 35 years and I am and very lucky to be working with the same people and families for decades so the fact that I’m always busy will not be the same thing another guy tells you that has doing local trucking 2 years

My buddy(ATS) had a bunch of trucks out there for UP also.

 

[Buddy]

Definitely a factor. Usually doesn't trickle down my way so much because majority of our customers are military members that just from one bases housing to another. Definitely a strange year .. what's your buddy's company name Joe?

My best buddy owns an Allied moving franchise in Fl. He’s been deadly slow this summer, and is in full panic mode for winter now.

 

[Rondog4405]

My best buddy owns an Allied moving franchise in Fl. He’s been deadly slow this summer, and is in full panic mode for winter now.

The company I contract for just became a allied agent .. I feel his pain... gonna be looking for a new career real soon..

 

[RiverDave]

In addition to the crazy pricing, it's interesting how several companies did away with the smaller, entry level models. Much of the West Coast performance boat industry left the middle class market in the dust. Curious how that will work for them in the long run. I don't know if it's ego or what, but why you would abandon an entire market that got you where you are is beyond me.

Because they figured out that three feet of fiberglass doesn’t cost anymore but ya can bill a shit ton more.. now just keep scaling up

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

In addition to the crazy pricing, it's interesting how several companies did away with the smaller, entry level models. Much of the West Coast performance boat industry left the middle class market in the dust. Curious how that will work for them in the long run. I don't know if it's ego or what, but why you would abandon an entire market that got you where you are is beyond me.

Its going to work out great for them building 10-20 high end boats a year for people that have money when the economy is good or bad vs. 50 low end boats that will have buyers evaporate instantly when the economy turns.

Why work 2-3 times as hard for less stability and less profit?

 

[RiverDave]

My guess is you and I need our businesses to be profitable in order to put food on the table. A lot of these boat companies are a second or third businesses. If they get slow they build the owner a new boat lol.

The Barron’s made their money in commercial real estate I believe.

Nordic has an owner with a huge construction company.

DCB has a new big money owner.

Eliminator has investors behind them.

Not sure about Howard but they seem to always have orders.

Schiada ain’t going anywhere.

Sadly some badass shops have closed. But if all you’re doing is getting by you mine as well go be a W2 employee and alleviate some stress.

Earlier in this thread I mentioned I’d like to write a series of articles that is titled “what happens in 5 years”

I can tell you Stan at Schiada will likely retire by or before then.. it’s my intention to time my shot just right to get one of his last boats..

What happens with the company when he retires? I have no idea..

RD

 

[hallett21]

Earlier in this thread I mentioned I’d like to write a series of articles that is titled “what happens in 5 years”

I can tell you Stan at Schiada will likely retire by or before then.. it’s my intention to time my shot just right to get one of his last boats..

What happens with the company when he retires? I have no idea..

RD

I gotta imagine a big enthusiast would step in to continue the name?

I’ve never been to their shop but it’s probably under 20 employees building effectively one off pieces of art. As long as somebody maintained the quality control Stan/Lee do I don’t see the name going anywhere.

The biggest hurdle imo would be remaining a truly “custom” shop where the word no doesn’t exist. I think the boating industry is full of ego who cannot see past their own ideas.

 

[D19]

Its going to work out great for them building 10-20 high end boats a year for people that have money when the economy is good or bad vs. 50 low end boats that will have buyers evaporate instantly when the economy turns.

Why work 2-3 times as hard for less stability and less profit?

I don't know about that.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

I don't know about that.

Well they tried the other way making tons of boats a year 20 years ago. That didn’t work out so well.

There are smarter and more wealthy owners backing the successful custom boat companies now. I’m pretty sure they have it covered.

It’s real simple. How many 21’ boats does is take to make the same $ in margin as a twin engine 30’ boat? It takes longer and you have to outlay more money to do it.

Who is their right mind would choose that path if you had both options? You’d have to pay me double to build a 21’ boat because of the opportunity costs associated with missing constructing a 30’ boat.

And that is what we are seeing and why a entry level boat from a high end MFG is $150k.

It’s the same reason is costs $500 for an AC guy to come change a $15 capacitor.

 

[D19]

Well they tried the other way making tons of boats a year 20 years ago. That didn’t work out so well.

It didn't? How so?

 

[hallett21]

Well they tried the other way making tons of boats a year 20 years ago. That didn’t work out so well.

The other issue is comparing todays boat against a 20-30 year old boat.

You wouldn’t accept a new build today using 90s standards. That goes for Schiada as well. Everyone has improved ten fold since the 90s.

 

[hallett21]

It didn't? How so?

My short answer would be who owned those companies 20 years ago that still owns them today and are still making boats?

Honestly Howard is the only one I can think of that still has family blood in the company.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

The other issue is comparing todays boat against a 20-30 year old boat.

You wouldn’t accept a new build today using 90s standards. That goes for Schiada as well. Everyone has improved ten fold since the 90s.

Agreed.

For the record I’d accept 90s standards for 90s pricing

 

[hallett21]

Agreed.

For the record I’d accept 90s standards for 90s pricing

Me too lol.

But like @RiverDave said he wants to do a “behind the scenes of the boating industry” there was so much funny business back then.

Running boats with no interior to get a top speed for Hot Boat. Hallett told my dad flat out they wouldn’t rig an outboard and shipped our boat to Fresno to be rigged.

Builders we’re throwing bags of concrete in them to make them ride right!! Lol.

And today we have hulls built on CNC machines and wind tunnel tested. Carbon fiber, infusion and naval architects measuring what goes into a hull.

And we haven’t even gotten into the motors, drives and accessories. It’s like comparing a 60/70s sports car to todays M5.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Me too lol.

But like @RiverDave said he wants to do a “behind the scenes of the boating industry” there was so much funny business back then.

Running boats with no interior to get a top speed for Hot Boat. Hallett told my dad flat out they wouldn’t rig an outboard and shipped our boat to Fresno to be rigged.

Builders we’re throwing bags of concrete in them to make them ride right!! Lol.

And today we have hulls built on CNC machines and wind tunnel tested. Carbon fiber, infusion and naval architects measuring what goes into a hull.

And we haven’t even gotten into the motors, drives and accessories. It’s like comparing a 60/70s sports car to todays M5.

Agreed. There is still plenty of funny business though, but far fewer people in the back huffing resin fumes and counting money.

 

[hallett21]

Agreed. There is still plenty of funny business though, but far fewer people in the back huffing resin fumes and counting money.

And also I’ll be the first to say there are a lot of “enthusiasts” who say how the industry should work.

But DCB, Eliminator, Nordic, Howard etc are only listening to those who are cutting checks.

It would be a different story if 10-40 people came to a company saying we have 70k cash, build us a boat. I just don’t think that market exists today.

 

[BUDMAN]

Still pretty steady, however not to the capacity I was before the pandemic. Went from having 9 service trucks down to barely keeping 2 guys busy. Finally back to having a full load with the two trucks we have with extra work if wanted. Adding a third truck in the next month or so. There's work out there, just depends how hard I want to work for it.

follow up. just spent the last hour on the phone with #1 customer about handling more of there business in SoCal area as well as handling their fleet of trucks and trailers in a new Nevada location that they will be the dedicated carrier for 300+ units

 

[Yldboyz]

Our business has gone through the roof, nationwide we're still the #1 rep going into our fourth consecutive year. As mush as I want to slow down, I'll take it.

 

[D19]

My short answer would be who owned those companies 20 years ago that still owns them today and are still making boats?

Honestly Howard is the only one I can think of that still has family blood in the company.

Shockwave seems to be doing great. Lots of options from big to small.

 

[hallett21]

Shockwave seems to be doing great. Lots of options from big to small.

Touché. And 100 percent!

Trying to think of another one like them? Essex/Laser?

Anyone else?

Edit. Tahiti for sure

 

[Cole Trickle]

Earlier in this thread I mentioned I’d like to write a series of articles that is titled “what happens in 5 years”

I can tell you Stan at Schiada will likely retire by or before then.. it’s my intention to time my shot just right to get one of his last boats..

What happens with the company when he retires? I have no idea..

RD

Do you think a top tier company (DCB) (KMC) could buy schiada and continue to turn out a couple top notch bad ass boats a year kind of as a side boutique business or do you think Schiada owners want things to go as they have always gone?

I look at Schiada like a high end restaurant. The second the chef that worked 18 hour days walks away and is replaced by someone without the love it looses what makes it special. I'm not privy to the business model but I imagine Stan didn't exactly only care about making $$ when building one of those boats. I imagine if you billed all the hours they have into a boat for making custom one off stuff the hourly rate is less than they are truly worth.

 

[hallett21]

Do you think a top tier company (DCB) (KMC) could buy schiada and continue to turn out a couple top notch bad ass boats a year kind of as a side boutique business or do you think Schiada owners want things to go as they have always gone?

I look at Schiada like a high end restaurant. The second the chef that worked 18 hour days walks away and is replaced by someone without the love it looses what makes it special. I'm not privy to the business model but I imagine Stan didn't exactly only care about making $$ when building one of those boats. I imagine if you billed all the hours they have into a boat for making custom one off stuff the hourly rate is less than they are truly worth.

I pictured it as the opposite lol. The hourly rate is what it is. And you pay the grand total at then end.

 

[eand28]

Sounds like Stan had quite a few years learning the business before he took the reins. Watching the interview, it doesn’t sound like there’s anyone that he’s been able to mentor to fill his shoes. It’s sad to see but it would take a special person in my opinion to take over. Wouldn’t be a 9-5 gig and I’m sure it’s not now

 

[Tooms22]

Bad drivers keep crashing into each other. Personal injury rarely slows down.

My business clients are either in merchant services or a random industry. Merchant services usually stays strong unless a client plays in one industry that gets hit hard. The clients in random industries are usually hustlers and keep movin'.

My wife is a commercial real estate attorney. That industry got weird. Office space is garbage. Industrial, residential development, and retail are all interesting for different reasons.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Touché. And 100 percent!

Trying to think of another one like them? Essex/Laser?

Anyone else?

Edit. Tahiti for sure

Cobra.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

I pictured it as the opposite lol. The hourly rate is what it is. And you pay the grand total at then end.

This. It’s like having Foose or the Ring Brothers build you a car from the ground up.

Howard, DCB, MTI Eliminator are more like Porsche, Ferrari or Lamborghini building you a car.

 

[RiverDave]

I gotta imagine a big enthusiast would step in to continue the name?

I’ve never been to their shop but it’s probably under 20 employees building effectively one off pieces of art. As long as somebody maintained the quality control Stan/Lee do I don’t see the name going anywhere.

The biggest hurdle imo would be remaining a truly “custom” shop where the word no doesn’t exist. I think the boating industry is full of ego who cannot see past their own ideas.

Do you think a top tier company (DCB) (KMC) could buy schiada and continue to turn out a couple top notch bad ass boats a year kind of as a side boutique business or do you think Schiada owners want things to go as they have always gone?

I look at Schiada like a high end restaurant. The second the chef that worked 18 hour days walks away and is replaced by someone without the love it looses what makes it special. I'm not privy to the business model but I imagine Stan didn't exactly only care about making $$ when building one of those boats. I imagine if you billed all the hours they have into a boat for making custom one off stuff the hourly rate is less than they are truly worth.

Short answer is no not really.. well For v drives at least..

They could turn out high end I/O boats..

For the v drives there just isn’t too many people around that know how to set them up for one.. but the main problem is all those 800 pieces of metal that goes into them are all typically hand machined. As in most of those boats don’t even share parts from one to the next, each one is custom. All these high end boat companies build one hell of a product.. but they aren’t anything like a v drive.

The mile kings, Stan’s, bob Teague’s of the world are getting fewer and fewer anymore.

Then there’s a whole ton of other things I’m not gonna put online for a variety of reasons.. but the days of v drive cruisers are in fact numbered, it isn’t if it’s how long..


RD