In business you don’t always have time to do all the research necessary, or the finances for that matter. However, that doesn’t matter, because crunch time still comes and you still have to make decisions. When you find yourself on the fence with an issue or decision, go with your gut. I’m NOT saying don’t do the research, and I’m certainly NOT saying don’t get all the information possible. What I am saying is do all the research you can. Get all the information you can by looking at past decisions and how they panned out. Also, have people (good people) around you to help fill in the blanks. Then, if you’re still a bit in the dark as to what to do, go with your gut. In the beginning, The Surfboard Warehouse was like most small businesses. We didn’t have the budget or the personnel to be making the kinds of decisions we had to make, but that didn’t bring everything to a halt. I did research the best I could, (There weren’t many bench marks to look at. We pioneered a lot of stuff when it came to selling surf gear on the internet.) then on a shoe string budget made decisions. In hindsight I don’t agree with all the decisions I made, (my wife doesn’t agree with a lot of them! lol) however were still here! Proof my gut was just as good as it needed to be! GO WITH YOUR GUT!
Tag Archives: The Surfboard Warehouse
Journey of The Surfboard Warehouse (Part Uno)
I figured we would work on our Spanish during this round of posts. lol Anyway, with the addition of Billabong, Quiksilver (Which reminds me! Congrats to Kelly Slater who won his 11th. world title yesterday! One word, FREAK! On a personal note I called it back on Oct. 12th. in my FIRST “Future Fins or FCS Fins?!?” post. So , without further adieu, I told you so and I told you it was coming. lol) and Hurley, I sat back with a smile as we hit this important mile stone and reflected on where we have come from. I figured I would share some of our story with you. Growing The Surfboard Warehouse has been an unbelievable experience and without diving into this right now I would like to say that the fact that The Surfboard Warehouse exists is proof that God exists. The Surfboard Warehouse was a class project of mine my Junior year of college. In the beginning I’ll admit had NO IDEA what I was doing as a business man. However, through the grace of God, things happened that not only kept us going, but had us thriving in no time. I’ll make it simple for you, if you have a business and want it to succeed pray over it. PERIOD. I’ll dive into The Surfboard Warehouse‘s past over the next few posts.
Surfboard Travel Bags: They’re all the same right?!? (The Sixthquel)
I think I just made up a new word. lol The point is that this SHOULD BE my LAST “Surfboard Travel Bag” post! (Somehow some of you will be upset and the rest of you, grateful… I don’t understand. Either way we’ll be moving on after this.) I was breaking down some KEY differences (generally) between companies. So, lets continue! Next up, Creatures of Leisure. Born in Aus., their Surfboard Travel Bag claim to be “Slim Fit”, (which they are) giving you less size and weight! Meanwhile, Dakine has the industry leading Recon II, available in both Shortboard and Longboard sizes. The Recon II is one of our best selling Surfboard Travel Bag and for good reason. It’s one of the SICKEST slim doubles we offer. It COMPLETELY HIDES YOUR 2nd BOARD! (Stick it to the Airlines! Hey, don’t judge! Those airline fees are getting out of control.) Next up is Destination Surf. With their Family Owned attitude and industry leading Manufacturer warranty, you know your set with one of their bags. Last BUT NOT LEAST is Ocean and Earth. Their price point approach gets you a SOLID Surfboard Travel Bag at a GREAT price. With all this said, we carry all these brands and more! If you want the BEST surf gear in the world there’s no better place than www.TheSurfboardWarehouse.com! If you need help sorting through our Surfboard Travel Bag, our LIVE CHAT is a GREAT place to start! Thanks again, see you soon!
FCS and The Surfboard Warehouse 101
Sorry to blog so late on a Friday! (I meant to have this up in the AM, however once again I got tied up! This time it was helping with the Finatic Fin Testing Program.) So, it’s time to let the pendulum swing the other way and talk about our INCREDIBLE relationship with FCS! FCS has been around longer than Futures, thus when we came onto the scene in 2005, FCS had to feel us out for a bit and make sure we were a good fit for each other. I think they saw me as a crazy man that may just be able to pull off such an insane online surf shop! lol Once they gave us the green light in early 2006, BOY did I prove them right! ha ha (Yes, I realize I’m admitting to being a crazy man.) The Surfboard Warehouse‘s sales have grown consistently year after year with FCS! This brings us to where we are today, one of FCS‘s LARGEST online accounts in the US! This is NO small accomplishment with the amount of competition there is on the Net now a days. So how did we do it? Well, when you pair FCS, an established global leader in both surfboard fins and surf gear, and The Surfboard Warehouse with our exclusive Finatic Fin Testing Program which has helped to fuel our FCS Fin sales, there was no doubt in my mind that it was just a matter of time before we would begin to aid FCS in setting the bar.
Future Fins and The Surfboard Warehouse 101
Hey Guys! I’m a bit Travel Surfboard Bagged out… lol So I figured I would talk about Future Fins and our relationship with them for a bit. The Surfboard Warehouse has a GREAT relationship with Future Fins as WE PIONEERED selling Future Fins online. (Don’t let anyone tell you different.) Back in 2005 when we opened we were just selling Custom Surfboards. By 2006 we had received our contracts with both FCS and Future Fins. However, Future Fins as a company was much smaller than they are today, and to our knowledge, didn’t have ANY other all online accounts. (We’re still one of the ONLY all online accounts for many of the companies we sell.) Anyway, fast forward almost 6 years and Futures Fins is as glad they took a chance on us as we are that we took a chance on them! Because, within that time both Future Fins and The Surfboard Warehouse have experienced MASSIVE GROWTH that may not be equaled anywhere else in the surf industry! By combining Future Fins, one of the world’s leading Fins and Fin Box systems, and our effort to give everyone EVERYWHERE an equal opportunity to get the EXACT surf gear they demand, both companies have experienced massive growth that otherwise may not have happened. Now you know…
Intro to Guest Bloggers 101
Hey Guys! In the future I will be getting as many guest bloggers as possible for The Surfboard Warehouse Blog, and ideally they will have two things in common. One, they work for/run/own a business that operates within the surf industry. Two, I believe they have a level of business expertise that we could all learn from. With that said, I am EXCITED to kick off The Surfboard Warehouse‘s very first guest blogger! Scott Llamas, who owns Go Surf Mexico, his story will be presented in the upcoming post! Thanks for tuning in here to The Surfboard Warehouse to increase you knowledge of business within the surf industry! I hope that if it is your passion to carve your own wave in the world (and more specifically within the surf industry) my blog will help inspire you to realize that it’s possible! After all, HERE WE ARE! www.TheSurfboardWarehouse.com was a class project my Junior year of College and now 6 years later I believe we set the standard and push the envelope when it comes to online surf shops. I am making my mark! Go make yours!
Third Lesson… “A Monday Morning Perspective.”
To be a successful CEO, you may need to change your frame of mind. (Even if you don’t want to.) Owning/running The Surfboard Warehouse is exhausting, (don’t get me wrong it’s equally as rewarding) because on the weekend when I remove myself from work I’m still thinking about it; worrying about customers that are having issues, thinking about new business relationships, etc. However, when the “dreaded” Monday morning comes around I am EXCITED to think about the potential for progress during the upcoming week! The Surfboard Warehouse has all week to improve, move forward and get better. Therefore, Monday’s are GREAT! (Monday’s are infinite, they begin, they start.) Which is definitely contrary to the “Corporate America” attitude. For me, when looking at a work week from Monday Morning Perspective, the possibilities are limitless. That being said, when I look at a work week from a Friday Afternoon Perspective, when everyone else is excited about the week being over, all I see are the things that we didn’t get accomplished. (Friday’s are finite, they finish, they end.) If you change your mindset to reflect this school of thought you’ll be blown away by your own increased productivity.
Second Lesson… A Yes is a Yes.
Hey Guys! (and Gals) While this may not be the best practice in your personal life, in business it’s never served me wrong. In any situation where you’re trying to get bigger more established company involved with what your doing, a yes is a yes. (Then you prove yourself afterwards.) Along the way The Surfboard Warehouse has had MANY people/companies that didn’t want to give me/us the time of day. So what did I do?!? I didn’t take no for an answer. I came up with answers to their excuses for NOT giving us a chance BEFORE hand, so they couldn’t object. Some companies may have opened us up (let us sell there gear) not because they wanted to say “Yes”, but because they wanted me to stop asking. Again, a yes is a yes, the reason(s) for the yes are irrelevant. Why? Well fast forward 5 years and we’re the largest account for some of those VERY companies! And guess what?!? Now, their SO happy they said “Yes”. Without this philosophy, we wouldn’t have Finatic; SIX months it took me/us to get both FCS and Futures on board, why?!? It’s new, it’s different and people don’t like “different”. Well, trust me they both like “different” now and their both glad they said “Yes”. So, don’t take no for an answer, get the “Yes” and run with it!
Future Fins or FCS Fins?!? (Final FINAL thoughts)
Hey Guys! I figured this would be a GREAT time and place to throw a plug out there for our EXCLUSIVE Finatic Fin testing program! (No shame here!) While our discussion concluded that FCS Fins and Future Fins are just “different”, depending on which fin system you choose, you NEED the Fins that take YOUR surfing to the next level! And the BEST way of knowing which fins are best for YOU is to try them all! What’s that you say? That’s impossible?!? Well it was… (You can thank us later) This problem is EXACTLY why we created Finatic! (INNOVATION and we are the MASTERS! Again thank us later.) For one LOW monthly price (currently $9.99 a month, shipping INCLUDED) you can check out and test virtually EVERY set of fins that FCS Fins, Future Fins and Kinetik Racing Fins have to offer! Keep the Fins as LONG as you like! Surf on them WHEREVER you want! (Now is the time to thank us.) You can only find the Finatic Fin testing program here at The Surfboard Warehouse and we’re the ONLY one’s with anything like it! So what are you waiting for! Become a Finatic today!
First Lesson… If you can’t Sleep; Work.
Hey everyone! I thought I would share a deep thought I had at 4:29am, (if you can have a deep thought at this god awful hour) if you can’t sleep; work. People often wonder what kinds of things make you successful when owning and running your own business, well there you have it. I woke up around 3:15am and couldn’t sleep, so I got up, started up the old the home office computer and began to plug away. Why? (Excellent question, I am searching for the answer, while simultaneously holding my eyes open) Because when your CEO there’s always work to be done. That’s it. PERIOD. You want to be successful? Get it done. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE owning The Surfboard Warehouse, but if you think I surf (or sleep) more than I work you’d be wrong. Just a thought, be successful, get it done, the time on your watch is irrelevant.