4-30-15 Filling a business niche by noticing what’s missing

I wrote a story for Whidbey Local a week ago about Whidbey Island Charters 

This business story has many of the items that you have probably seen mentioned in these Blogs several times: a passion for the business, collaborating with others to make something happen, a strong focus on the needs and interests of the customer, etc. 

What also is true for this story is that the owner of Whidbey Island Charters, Bob Maschmedt, identified a niche market and decided he could fill it.

Here is some of what I wrote: “Bob owns a 32 foot Bayliner Classic Elite.  He has lived on Whidbey Island his whole life, and over the years he heard people talk about how much they’d love to cruise in a small boat, but didn’t want to spend the money for a boat or its upkeep.  As a business man, Bob realized that no one else on the island was doing custom leisure cruises, and he saw the potential to create a successful day cruise business.”

Bob made several other smart business moves to create Whidbey Island Charters.  But, most importantly, he saw a business need and had the vision to fill that need.