that the boats are in Italy and not in Finland where the sailboats are built. I’ve visited the shipyards personally and I speak to them almost daily. We were at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September with a Nautor Swan powerboat displayed there. It’s a great relationship that we have with them. We are very open with communication so it’s always ongoing. WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST REWARDING ASPECT IN PARTNERING WITH NAUTOR SWAN? Working with such a prestigious brand elevates our business by offering a really premium product from a new boat standpoint. Most of our business has been largely focused on brokerage or pre-owned boats so adding a newer division featuring Nautor Swan is appropriate. Being partnered with them also elevates their business because we provide a massive amount of sales experience in the yacht division especially in motoryachts. So it’s a great relationship from that standpoint where they have such a strong brand and we have sales experience in the motoryacht world. IS THERE ANYTHING EXCITING IN THE WORKS FOR 26 NORTH YACHTS? We are putting a much larger emphasis on chartering yachts and private yachts across the world - not just here in Florida. That’s a big vision of ours. Areas that we’re really spending a lot of our time on are both on the charter side but also on the yacht charter management side. Someone who wants to purchase the yacht but is in need of a successful charter program will benefit from this. We put a strong emphasis on that because we see a lot of opportunity there and a way to differentiate ourselves and the boats we represent from our competitors.
accomplish. As far as my own personal experience, I really love going to the smaller towns in the Mediterranean. The Caribbean is great as well. Croatia is also an exceptionally great up-and-coming place that more boats are starting to visit. I think it really depends on what kind of experience you’re looking for. But I think one that really stands out is Corsica. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE LOOKING TO BUY THEIR FIRST YACHT? There’s a lot more to owning a boat than just purchasing it. It’s really important to speak to someone who has the experience but is also giving you accurate and honest information. The purchase price is really just a small piece of the pie, there’s more to it than that so I think it’s really important to find someone who has the right experience in the size boat that you’re looking at and also the ownership process as well. WHAT ROLE DOES CUSTOMER FEEDBACK PLAY IN SHAPING YOUR BUSINESS? I think it plays the most important role. Our entire business is based on the satisfaction of our customers and the referrals are a huge part of it. Because of that, we take the feedback seriously and it’s really important to us. Whether it’s good or bad, we always take them into consideration. We provide surveys at the end of each transaction to find areas where we can improve. That feedback is what helps us become a better company. WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO INCLUDE NAUTOR SWAN IN YOUR PORTFOLIO AND HOW HAS THAT DECISION IMPACTED YOUR BUSINESS? Nautor Swan is one of the most premier sailboat manufacturers in the world and has the reputation for that. I used to be a big sailor and do a lot of offshore racing so I was always on Nautor Swans. I also worked on boats right out of college with professional crews so I was always on a Swan back then too. That made me become very passionate about the brand. Then seeing them develop into the motoryachts division really caught my attention because I always recognized how strong of a brand Nautor Swan has been and that’s what really got me excited to get involved. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE RELATIONSHIP WITH NAUTOR SWAN? The difference with the powerboats division is
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Q&A | BIZ CHAT WITH MIKE CARLSON NEW & NOTEWORTHY
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