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2016 September October Marina World

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The magazine for the marina industry

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INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL P.O. Box 144 NL - 1135 ZK Edam The Netherlands Tel: + 31 (0) 299 622 396 E-mail: Info@JLDinternational.com Website: www.JLDinternational.com

FINANCING, VALUATION & INSURANCE Oscar Siches Assets, demons and decisions Drawing on 15 years of experience as a marina partner and manager, facts and opinions absorbed at conferences and seminars, and conversations with colleagues from all over the world, Oscar Siches CMM gives opinions and advice on how to face the challenges and pitfalls of money matters. Financing The well known quotation from Virgil’s Aeneid “beware of Greeks bearing gifts” is particularly appropriate when it comes to external finance offers for marinas. Tempting conditions and the promise of potential profits for board members make it easy to fall for such schemes. But they are often poisoned investments. The yachting business in general is complicated (as are many others) and relies on a very volatile factor: human If you need finance for marina refurbishment work, think about the expected life of a new system versus the length of your concession. beings seeking fun and escaping from schedules, obligations, routines and sometimes even from logic. In yacht harbours and marinas we help them achieve this aim by giving them a mild psychological nudge towards that special state of well-being even before they cast off (if they cast off at all). This is why we train our people in customer service; a very special customer service that goes far beyond a smile and being correct and knowledgeable, and comes closer to understanding personal needs and delivering the right response to the right client at the right moment. Unfortunately, there is no book or manual for this, and we all have to learn it and pass it on as best we can, augmenting it with our own experiences. The personal factor in this business is of huge importance. The same can be said for a shipyard, where the understanding of the client’s expectations, needs and limitations is a key factor in succeeding in creating his or her dream yacht. You cannot explain any of this on an Excel spreadsheet. Now we come to the conflict that I am aiming to analyse. How can an investment fund with completed spreadsheets covering returns on capital, profit increases, incremental indexes and statistic generated ratios deal, for instance, with a season of bad weather? Or a fuel price increase? Or an invasion of jellyfish? Or political instability? It can’t. But business is business so how can we maintain profits? Cutting costs seems an obvious solution but, as we all know, marinas, shipyards and service companies will not agree to reduce prices as this has negative repercussions in areas that are hard to measure, such as client credibility. It can take many years to bring business back to desired levels. Whenever you have to reach out for investment money, please try to maintain the right to make the decisions Supporting all the needs of your business to maximise growth. The PacsoftNG Marina Management System is the most comprehensive marina management system available. It allows you to streamline marina operations enabling maximisation of revenue opportunities, providing insights and analysis. Designed to meet the day-to-day management needs of Marinas, Boatyards, Dry stacks, Harbours and Yacht Clubs. Our integrated software solution features a wide range of tools including the following: › Visual Marina & Boatyard › Mobile Device Enabled › Marina and Drystack Booking and Management › Business Process Wizards › Haulout and Yard Management › Smart Invoicing & Account Processing ...... and much much more! Request your FREE REMOTE DEMO today at www.pacsoftmms.com www.marinaworld.com - September/October 2016 49

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