Making a Splash at BoatVentures
A Case Study by
Capt. Martin Schedlbauer, Ph.D., CBAP
Capt. Martin Schedlbauer, Ph.D., CBAP
Background
Chris Kelly got his captain’s license when he was still working as a yard hand in Southern Florida back in the early 1990’s. His love for boats and the ocean was always strong and he promised himself that when he got older he would allow others to share his enthusiasm and make sure that he would stay connected to the water. So, when the chance arose in 1999 to join the crew of a large yacht owned by a wealthy technology entrepreneur, he did not hesitate. Although he was only a deckhand at first, he quickly demonstrated his seamanship, deck skills, and superb trouble shooting abilities in pressure situations. He was promoted to First Mate within a year and then when the position of ship’s Master opened up he jumped at the chance. He got his 100GT USCG Master’s License and ran the Solitude and managed its crew of four with a steady hand.
In 2005, Chris moved to Cape Cod with his fiancé so that she could be closer to her family. He took work in several yards around Falmouth, but was not happy. In 2006, he had a chance to buy a 38’ sail boat that was being foreclosed on. He bought the boat with some savings and a sizable mortgage and decided to put the boat to work through chartering. His business increased rapidly and soon he was able to book more charters than he had time for. He bought two more boats: a 20’ Mako center console for inland fishing charters and a 46’ Maxum power yacht for cruises to the nearby islands of Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Cuttyhunk, Block Island, and the shores of Long Island. His charter company, BoatVentures, took off.
In 2005, Chris moved to Cape Cod with his fiancé so that she could be closer to her family. He took work in several yards around Falmouth, but was not happy. In 2006, he had a chance to buy a 38’ sail boat that was being foreclosed on. He bought the boat with some savings and a sizable mortgage and decided to put the boat to work through chartering. His business increased rapidly and soon he was able to book more charters than he had time for. He bought two more boats: a 20’ Mako center console for inland fishing charters and a 46’ Maxum power yacht for cruises to the nearby islands of Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Cuttyhunk, Block Island, and the shores of Long Island. His charter company, BoatVentures, took off.
The Business Problem
The Franklin Planner that Chris was using to track his captains, crew, bookings, guests, leads, and marine contractors was quickly becoming too cumbersome to use – particularly now that he had hired two part-time charter agents and had established relationships with several regional charter brokers. He was getting an increasing number of charter inquiries each day and had trouble tracking them in his Planner. The e-mails that his agents were sending him were piling up and he found that he often missed sales leads causing lost sales opportunities.
So, Chris recently decided to hire an interactive design firm to help him launch a new website for his growing charter business. He wants his guests to be able to book online, view available yachts and open dates, investigate yacht specifications, select cruises, and explore pricing for different destinations. He also feels that the website should be a general resource for yacht chartering in the Northeast.
So, Chris recently decided to hire an interactive design firm to help him launch a new website for his growing charter business. He wants his guests to be able to book online, view available yachts and open dates, investigate yacht specifications, select cruises, and explore pricing for different destinations. He also feels that the website should be a general resource for yacht chartering in the Northeast.
Your Role
You work for the firm that Chris has hired and you have been assigned as the lead web designer for this project. Your job is to design and build an interactive website for BoatVentures that meets Chris' needs.