After purchasing a home on beautiful Lake Manitou, Shane and Lisa Reffett quickly realized the lack of lakefront services available to the community. In 2008, they decided to start providing their own dock and lift service, eventually branching out to other friends and family. Fast forward to fourteen employees later, Rochester Boat Company was established, now offering a variety of services to the local lake community including dock & lift: sales, service, installation, winter storage, sales & service: pontoons & boats. They are a proud OEM dealership for Crest, Suzuki and ShoreSation.
Like most successful businesses starting out, Rochester Boat Company experienced their own set of unique challenges from learning how the backend of a business worked, finding & keeping good help along with growing pains. The Reffetts turned to BizGro by FEDCO’s BizGro business resources for help. Shane is a graduate of the NxLevel Business Planning and Management Course, a [now] five week program offered each fall and spring. Sharing about the class, Reffett stated, “The NxLevel class definitely opened my eyes that there is a lot more to running a business than going out and just doing the work. There are financials, insurance, line of credit to establish, etc.” The Reffetts credit the BizGro program with learning that their business had a unique set of insurance challenges and needs beyond the first business package the average insurance agency will sell.
In addition, while taking the class, the Reffetts also learned how to receive a line of credit and received support and encouragement while expanding into a Suzuki and Crest Dealership. Shane really enjoyed how the business planning portion of the class helped him organize all aspects of the business. “You can’t do it on your own. You need help. Each week of [The NxLevel class] builds off the other. It’s all put together in the end and gives you a clear path.”
When asked what was one of the most important things the Reffetts learned from the NxLevel Business Planning and Management Course, they stated, “To not grow past your ability to serve customers.”
With the customer service tools and knowledge learned from the NxLevel class, Rochester Boat Company were winners of the 2021 Marine Industry Dealer Award from Crest. This special award is only given to twenty dealerships across the country and the Reffets attribute the BizGro program to this success.
With their education and experience, the Reffetts are now a wealth of advice and knowledge to any beginning entrepreneur. When asked what advice they’d give to someone thinking about starting their own business, they said,
“Do a lot of research and be prepared to commit a lot of hours. Be sure to know when to get help. Make sure it’s something you enjoy doing. Not one person can run an entire business. Save your own money. Establish a critical foundation with a CPA, attorney and a banking institution. Be prepared to put in the time and effort.”
To find out more about Rochester Boat Company, visit their website at rochesterboatcompany.com
Follow them on Facebook!
Give them a call at (574) 223-2675
If you were inspired by Shane & Lisa’s story and would like more information on BizGro’s resources, visit BizGro by FEDCO’s Website.
To sign up or find out details for the NxLevel Business Planning & Management Course, contact Amy Beechy at 574-709-7955 or amy@projectmattersllc.com
Thank you to Flagstar® Bank for sponsoring the Stories of BizGro!