CASE STUDY
Who Steve and Linda Scott
What BoatHoist International Pty Ltd
Where Nelson Bay, NSW
Web www.boathoist.com.au
Steve and Linda Scott have weathered the challenges of starting and growing a business amid the turbulence of the GFC. Now their hard work and innovation are paying off.
Based at Nelson Bay, NSW, BoatHoist specialises in the design, manufacture and retailing of a range of aluminium boat loaders, folding trailers, kayak loaders and accessories for the outdoor caravan and adventure markets. It holds patents, design registrations and trademarks across its range of products.
Starting out
The Scotts first incorporated their company as Steelin Pty Ltd in 1999 as a small steel-fabrication business on the Gold Coast.
In 2002 they secured a supply contract to fabricate steel power-pole brackets for Nu-Lec Industries Pty Ltd, an electrical-engineering firm producing electrical switchgear for the domestic and international power industry. Central to this operation’s success was developing robotic welding and pneumatic indexing to produce the brackets.
The birth of BoatHoist
Throughout his career Steve had always been solving practical problems. He and Linda recognised an expanding need in the caravanning market for a system to lift and carry car-topper boats. ‘I have always enjoyed this,’ he says, ‘so designing our own range of aluminium projects seemed natural. A good bit of old-fashioned market research identified the upcoming baby-boomer retirement wave and the seeds for BoatHoist were sown.’
They sold the Nu-Lec contract and in 2006 Steve invented an electric boat loader to help load a small car-topper tinnie onto a vehicle roof. BoatHoist was established after this invention featured on ABC TV’s New Inventors.
In 2008 Steelin Pty Ltd became BoatHoist International Pty Ltd and the product-development program has seen the suite of products increase to three electric boat loaders, three folding trailers, an outboard-motor trolley and two trolling rod holders. After numerous enquiries from kayak owners at caravan shows Steve developed the StrongArm kayak loader .This new design led to him featuring once again on New Inventors in 2011, boosting StrongArm sales and the profile of the business.
The challenge of the GFC
In the early days the biggest challenges lay in not only starting from scratch, but also getting a unique range of products into the market.
The GFC hit 12 months after starting BoatHoist. Steve and Linda had to deal with the financial pressures of starting a business targeted at retirees just as the retirement wealth of the nation was decimated, combined with having two children at primary school and Linda being diagnosed with – and successfully battling – breast cancer.
‘Many times I have walked the floor at two a.m. questioning my decision to leave the mining industry just as it was booming to pursue this dream,’ Steve says. ‘The net impact has been long hours with low returns, external contract work to stay cash positive as required and many frustrations with two steps forward and three steps back.’
‘We have never lost the vision of what we want to achieve.’
The Scotts have committed a ‘significant amount of time and money’ over the past few years to developing the product range, brand name and market profile, including online business.
‘Through this, however, we have never lost the vision of what we want to achieve and five years later our market has stabilised, our range of products has increased and sales continue to grow. BoatHoist is a flexible manufacturing business that sells direct to the market with sales across all states. We are not tied to fixed operating hours or a particular location so we could relocate anywhere in Australia without affecting our viability.’
‘The future looks as promising as it did in 2007 and the opportunity to grow our business so we can combine sales growth with travel as we attend caravan shows across Australia and overseas is something we both enjoy. This flexibility will allow us to move into semi-retirement in the years to come with sales growth driven by the 80% increase in market size as baby boomers retire over the next 20 years, ’says Steve.
Steve’s business ethos
It is very important to Steve that he enjoys what he does. ‘I didn’t start this business just to make money –something that Linda regularly points out as she pays all the bills – but because I love building things that work.’
‘We always have Sunday off, stay involved in the kids’ school and sport, and try to get away every six weeks or so; even an overnight trip acts as a necessary circuit breaker, ’he says. BoatHoist International Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Scott Family Trust with Steve and Linda Scott as the sole shareholders and directors of the company.
Next week we look at the way Steve and Linda are attracting new clients, both in Australia and further afield, and adapting to the changing nature of business today.
Linda and Steve Scott wrote replies to questions submitted by The Business Centre (Newcastle Region), which has been providing business advisory services, mentoring and training to both start-up and established small businesses for nearly 30 years in the Hunter region of NSW.
For more information, go to www.businesscentre.com.au or call 02 4925 7700.
