How to make new business clients for life!

[jordyonbass]

My father recently started his own business and went into negotiations with a large construction company to win some of their structural steel jobs. Part of the negotiations was a meeting in my father's office to discuss what he does and what services he can offer. However this only lasted for about 15 minutes of the scheduled hour-long meeting when the client noticed a picture of my father's boat.

The client revealed he had just bought himself a boat but was unsure of how to use it or fish for large marine apex predators like Marlin and Tuna, so my father offered to teach them and run their boat for them for the day. At first the guys went about 30 miles out to sea where they were dropping baits 1/4 mile to the bottom for some tasty blue eye cod. But later in the day something remarkable happened, hundreds of Bluefin Tuna up to 180lb started to jump around and into the sides of the boat. The boys fired casts with lures and baits at the frenzied fish and they ended up with 5 fish between 140-180lb. Then on the way home they had a 200lb Yellowfin Tuna eat a lure that was being dragged behind the boat and it gave the angler all sorts of trouble in low light for an hour and a half. The end result for the day was around 1000lb of high quality tuna, 100lb of high quality cod, knuckles dragging on the ground and smiles from ear to ear all around. All up around $20k worth of fish for a day's fishing.

My father locked in his first 5 jobs with the company before getting to the dock to weigh and clean up the fish. The first 5 jobs should bring in a gross of over $100k, if not more. Sometimes what you do outside of work for a client can improve your reputation more than anything you do at the work site!! Thinking I may have to head up to Sydney to go and get at least 20lb of high quality sashimi Bluefin, it's worth the 20 hour round trip

 

[jordyonbass]

And some pics of the happy boys and their dinner!

 

[Rockinruby]

Jordy, thanks for sharing this story. Your Dad really did a wonderful thing and it's nice to see such a wonderful outcome for all. Btw, great photos! I've never seen fins like that before. I love how educational PS can be. Haha, I think I will tell my husband I want him to look at something on PS that is big, beautiful, shiny and worth a few thousand. He might be very surprised to see Tuna instead of a diamond!

 

[minousbijoux]

Haha, I think I will tell my husband I want him to look at something on PS that is big, beautiful, shiny and worth a few thousand. He might be very surprised to see Tuna instead of a diamond!

One of the best quotes on PS ever!

 

[Calliecake]

Jordyonbass, What a great story. Your dad looks so happy! You recently posted that you needed to go fishing with him. Do it soon, don't put it off! Your dad sounds like a wonderful man.

 

[iLander]

Wow! Those are some big fish! It's hard to believe those giant tunas fit in those little cans!

Note to self; for client holiday gifts, send random fish bits.

 

[sarahb]

What a cool story, thanks for sharing the pictures, they were indeed fun to look at!! Beautiful creatures

 

[PintoBean]

Wow! Those are some big fish! It's hard to believe those giant tunas fit in those little cans!

Note to self; for client holiday gifts, send random fish bits.

You've got me rolling... hahahahahhaha

 

[jordyonbass]

Thanks for the kind comments all! Since I made this post, the guys have also thrown my dad another $30k worth of jobs. He's going to be hard-pressed finding time to fish for a while!!

Calliecake, my father isn't in any of these pics as the fish would look even bigger (he is only 5'7) - I'd say he was probably taking the pics as he has had plenty of pics with big fish. You're right about us needing to go fishing together more as I only see him twice or 3 times a year, here's a picture of me and my father just after he finished re-building his current boat. He's onto a 200lb Marlin that I tagged and released for him and I'm giving him all sorts of grief about needing to toughen up!

And Rockingruby, you're killing me right now!!!

 

[partgypsy]

There's a lot of people who buy boats and never or hardly ever take them out, but just to say they have a boat. Looks like your Dad knows what he is doing both with boat care and fishing. And at least the wild creatures have more of a chance versus net or trawl fishing.

 

[jordyonbass]

There's a lot of people who buy boats and never or hardly ever take them out, but just to say they have a boat. Looks like your Dad knows what he is doing both with boat care and fishing. And at least the wild creatures have more of a chance versus net or trawl fishing.

Not only that, but we tend to release our bigger fish and keep the smaller, more prevalent species (my biggest Marlin was released). And even then we limit our kill, not kill our limit. We try to be ethical and take only what we need, but sometimes when you've got hundreds of fish that weigh more than you boiling up around the boat - it can be tempting to catch a bunch to share with friends and family

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

That is quite a fish story!

Is there a service at the Marina that cleans, freezes and packs the fish for you? Or do you do that yourself?

cheers--Sharon

 

[jordyonbass]

canuk-gal,

We do it all ourselves, an expensive day on the water would be even more costly if we had someone do that! But it's actually pretty easy if you have a big sharp knife as there's plenty of room for error (unlike smaller fish that require delicate knife skills). Usually when we get them on-board we slice an artery to get rid of the blood, then take out the gills and guts if the action isn't too crazy. This helps preserve the quality as they literally cook themselves from the inside from the lactic acid.

Sashimi Bluefin tuna with lemon, lime, wasabi and soy sauce......

GOOD GOOGLY MOOGLY!!!!

 

[Modified Brilliant]

What a great story! Thank you for sharing. In addition, I would like to add that as a small business owner if you read Success magazine, Inc. magazine, and the Wall Street Journal Weekend edition, you will be the smartest person in any room.

 

[canuk-gal]

canuk-gal,

We do it all ourselves, an expensive day on the water would be even more costly if we had someone do that! But it's actually pretty easy if you have a big sharp knife as there's plenty of room for error (unlike smaller fish that require delicate knife skills). Usually when we get them on-board we slice an artery to get rid of the blood, then take out the gills and guts if the action isn't too crazy. This helps preserve the quality as they literally cook themselves from the inside from the lactic acid.

Sashimi Bluefin tuna with lemon, lime, wasabi and soy sauce......

GOOD GOOGLY MOOGLY!!!!

This sounds fabulous except for the whole gutting/gilling and cleaning up---I really like the eating part! Of course, I am happy you enjoy all aspects of fishing; I used to go with my Dad (ice fishing, fly fishing, etc, etc) but didn't ever like the clean up!!

British Columbia has great salmon fishing as tourism. Catch, but no cleaning. flash frozen and shipped to your door!

cheers--Sharon

 

[jordyonbass]

Thanks Modified Brilliant! Establishing rapport with a potential client is something I have always seen as very important, first impressions last! Taking them fishing and helping them catch their biggest ever fish (followed an hour later by one that is bigger again) is about as good rapport as you will ever build in my opinion! They've also thrown him a half-day job for the weekend which will be over $1000, it seems that my father is now getting first priority with the work from his new client.

Canuk-gal, you're not alone there. Nearly everyone I take fishing is happy to go for the ride, catch fish and eat them - but I've gotta crack the whip when it comes to helping me load the boat onto the trailer, clean the catch and clean my boat!!
Reminds me of an old saying; my boat does not run on 'thanks'.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Jordy,

Loved the story, and your point. What an exciting day..

Annette

 

[Rockinruby]

Haha, I think I will tell my husband I want him to look at something on PS that is big, beautiful, shiny and worth a few thousand. He might be very surprised to see Tuna instead of a diamond!

One of the best quotes on PS ever!

I have my moments! Thanks Minousbijoux!

 

[Rockinruby]

Thanks for the kind comments all! Since I made this post, the guys have also thrown my dad another $30k worth of jobs. He's going to be hard-pressed finding time to fish for a while!!

Calliecake, my father isn't in any of these pics as the fish would look even bigger (he is only 5'7) - I'd say he was probably taking the pics as he has had plenty of pics with big fish. You're right about us needing to go fishing together more as I only see him twice or 3 times a year, here's a picture of me and my father just after he finished re-building his current boat. He's onto a 200lb Marlin that I tagged and released for him and I'm giving him all sorts of grief about needing to toughen up!

And Rockingruby, you're killing me right now!!!

Great photo Jordy! I love that you make an effort to spend time with your Dad while doing something you both have a passion for.

I actually did tell my husband that I wanted to show him something big, shiny & expensive on PS. (Btw, he's quite used to being asked to look at jewely on a regular basis!) He asked "what is it? An owc or ais or something by the cd or Klass people?" Translation = What are you hinting at now? An OEC or AGS stone in a custom setting by CVB or David Klass? He got quite a laugh when I showed him your Tuna pics! He said he would love to have a client relationship like that too! It sounds like your Dad will be busy for quite awhile though!

On another note...l guess my jewelry hints aren't as subtle as I had hoped!

 

[jordyonbass]

Rockinruby, your jewelry subtleness may be off but your fish pic suggestions are obviously spot on!!

We do have a good relationship nowadays but it wasn't always so, when I was a teen we clashed so badly that I basically had to move or else we probably would have killed each other. We didn't speak for a good 12 months but then patched things up and it's been great ever since, we are more equals now and there's more mutual respect now than there ever has been. I know he misses having me live near him (I'm currently 700 miles away), he's been having trouble finding a good replacement deckhand that is as competent and knows his boat (I know it inside out as I helped him rebuild it when I lived near him). It's tempting to move back but I know my wife wouldn't want to be 700 miles away from her family

ETA: He starts his first job on Monday for his new client/fishing mates, a 'tidy 4 day job with 2 crew' that he quoted for $20k. He's a very happy guy right now as he was kinda concerned how his new business would start off. It's starting fantastically by the look of it

 

[Rockinruby]

Rockinruby, your jewelry subtleness may be off but your fish pic suggestions are obviously spot on!!

We do have a good relationship nowadays but it wasn't always so, when I was a teen we clashed so badly that I basically had to move or else we probably would have killed each other. We didn't speak for a good 12 months but then patched things up and it's been great ever since, we are more equals now and there's more mutual respect now than there ever has been. I know he misses having me live near him (I'm currently 700 miles away), he's been having trouble finding a good replacement deckhand that is as competent and knows his boat (I know it inside out as I helped him rebuild it when I lived near him). It's tempting to move back but I know my wife wouldn't want to be 700 miles away from her family

ETA: He starts his first job on Monday for his new client/fishing mates, a 'tidy 4 day job with 2 crew' that he quoted for $20k. He's a very happy guy right now as he was kinda concerned how his new business would start off. It's starting fantastically by the look of it

Wow! It sounds like your relationship has come a long way since your teen years. I think it's wonderful that you now have a mutual respect for each other & can appreciate your relationship so much more. No wonder he misses you! 700 miles is quite a distance plus I doubt anyone knows his boat as well as you do. I bet you are really happy to see your Dad have a successful start to his new endeavor! Maybe you can go for a visit soon!

Btw, my husband said he can't complain about my hints since he's the one that started buying me jewelry in the first place! I'm glad he's such a good sport about it!