(This post is intended for another publication but I want to get some feedback here first).
History and trends
Before my generation, almost all prime working-age American men had full-time or part-time jobs. Now 1 in 7 are not employed. Forecasts say this trend will continue and that the number of employed men will decrease in the future. Why did so many men stop having jobs?
– Disabilities tripled
– Attitudinal shift
– More are self-employed
– More are in graduate education
– More are stay at home parents
– Higher incarceration rates
– Drug addiction
– Financially successful already retired
Why do we care?
This is the demographic segment that supported recreational boating and marinas before most of the rural marinas in our region closed. Many of these men tell us that they just can’t afford it anymore. The number of boats in our state sitting in backyards of our suburban and rural communities, unregistered and unused, is a shocking statistic. It is clear that the rural marina industry is a casualty of the widening wealth and income gap.
Same values
Aside from the lack of funds, we believe that this group still holds the same underlying desires:
– To spend time outdoors
– To be on a boat
– To be involved in the hobbies of fishing, crabbing and shell-fishing
– To socialize at the waterfront
What about DEI?
Historically over 95% of our marina customers were white men. In the 2010s a deliberate effort here to promote DEI led to more Latin-American, black and female customers. Still, it was 90% white men. Covid changed that dramatically. Few of the men who were previous customers can afford the price increases of marina services here that accompanied the post-Covid era. Now over 90% of visitors to the marina are Asians from Philadelphia. Many do not speak English so market research is difficult for us. But they are not ‘customers’ in the traditional sense in that they do not spend money on marina products or services. Our primary focus is how to keep non-English speaking people from engaging in dangerous activities on the property. They engage in activities that were previously not so common here: beach fishing, shrimp and minnow harvesting, and shell-fishing. (Some of these activities may not be legal under the state’s laws but that is not addressed here). I’ve reached out to our tourism board but have no feedback in how we might consider this in our plans for the future. This post is not meant to be a social commentary on DEI. We have no meaningful information on potential customers outside of our core market are simply reflecting the fact that our market is predominantly middle aged white men.
The Plan
We have a business sustainability plan that includes efforts to attract some of these men who are not employed in full time or part time jobs. We think that some of these men displaced from their former activities may have an interest in being involved in the rural marina a different capacity than in the past. The new business plan calls for a cooperative working agreement between working class men and the work of professionals to focus on integrating environmental sustainability and restoring natural waterfront resources. Some may be involved for fun if there is no cost, others may wish to build ‘sweat equity’ in the business as shareholders, and others may wish to take advantage of the tax benefits and appreciation potential of long term investment in rural waterfront real estate. Our plans are largely untested, but we believe that we can attract some new associates in each of these categories.
Next steps
We are now speaking with individuals who may want to be involved as ‘sweat equity’ shareholders, casual workers or just volunteers, tax-motivated real estate investors, and environmental professionals. If you have an interest in learning more, please speak with Tony Novak at (856) 314-5625.