DeMauro: Boat time shares
mean good times, all the time

It's sort of a like a country club. Since most people can't have an 18-hole course on their property, it makes a lot of sense to split the cost up among many members.

In essence, that's what Tony DeMauro is doing with the Queen City Boat Club, based in Cornelius. The for-profit enterprise is like a time-share for runabout-size boats, which nowadays run from a minimum of $1,500 a foot to well over $2,000 a foot.

Members pay as little as $2,880 a year, with a $1,500 initiation fee. There are other upsides as well: Owners do not have to invest as much in real estate, either with waterfront property or land in a lake access community. For example, there are virtually no homes priced below about $400,000 touching the lake in Cornelius. At the same time, matters such as storing the boat during the winter, cleaning, registration, maintenance, depreciation and insurance become DeMauro's concerns.

Members don't seem to mind in light of the old saw: "Boats are holes in the water into which one pours money." DeMauro says he has been working with a friend and CPA, John Minahan, for nine months to put a business plan together.

The cost of membership, they figure, is about 50 percent that of owning and maintaining your own boat.

They already have four members and two boats. They anticipate break-even for this business to occur at around 12 members. The boats are a Crest pontoon and a 22-foot Chaparral. Minahan and DeMauro did the business plan.

Business Today: What's your projected revenue at the end of the first year?

DeMauro: "With relatively low overhead and strong revenue from membership sales, our expected EBIT at years end is in the excess of $75,000."

Business Today: Break-even?

DeMauro: "Our break-even point is 12 members which we plan to hit by June 1st."

Business Today: How many employees?

DeMauro: "I currently have only one employee on staff which consequently is myself! As membership grows and our fleet expands, I plan to bring in another two employees (probably not until next boating season.) This is my first enterprise, officially making me an entrepreneur."

Business Today: What experiences from prior work has prepared you for running Queen City Boat Club?

DeMauro: "I have spent the last four years working as a territory manager for a company in Atlanta called Roofing & Insulation Supply. While there I learned valuable sales and marketing skills which have enabled me to get The Club up and running. The Club is not only a way for me to pursue my professional goals but a way to obtain some personal goals as well. As a kid growing up on the lake, I hold tightly to the memories of the time spent on the water with my family and friends. It is our mission to help others fill this dream."

Business Today: How much have you invested in the new company?

DeMauro: "I have invested a lot of my personal money as well as capital from family and friends whose support I depend on everyday. Overall we have invested approximately $20,000 of private capital."

Website: www.queencityboatclub.com