Prophish LLC.

Once upon a time... There were a few, three to be exact, proficient machinist with a bright idea. They wanted to build a great pedal powered boat. This turned out to be much harder than they ever thought it would be. First they knew almost nothing about what they were attempting to do; all they really knew how to do was make good reliable parts. These parts were (and are still) used by some of the largest companies and industries in the world, including; manufacturing companies, mining, food processing, oil & gas, water treatment, medical products and machines. This background gave them the confidence and belief, that they could build a great pedal boat. They have. But that is only part of their story.

What they didn't know was that almost every part they needed for their boat, didn't exist in the marketplace, they had to design it and then build it. They build every part on their boats except the pedals and the seat, and they even build those to meet special customer needs. They already knew how to design and build their metal parts the gears, shafts, housings, control linkages, aluminum frames, they even designed and built their own propellers. They knew these parts had to wear well and not rust or corrode from the weather and being in water.

They had to organize a company ProPhish, llc and learn how to operate and promote their business and their products. They had to set up their own machine shop and learn how to buy their raw materials. They learned how to work together, building on their individual strengths and overcoming their collective shortcomings. This can be such an adventure! No one should miss it as they travel through this life.

These task were full of interesting adventures and growth opportunities, which they took full advantage of. The one thing they knew next to nothing about was how to build pontoons for their WaterSkipper pedal boat. This stumped them for a couple of years. They tried working with some of the pontoon boats already on the market, these either didn't work well for what they needed or they made their boats retail cost too high.

• Most large companies don't or won't do business with a small start-up company. They seem to want only big accounts that make them large profits with minimum effort, who can blame them.
• When you find a sales person in any size company that works to solve your needs, give them your business if you can, they are few and far between.
• Don't expect anyone to give you anything. This includes your vendors, they need to make a buck on their time and product. If you find someone that is helpful or sympathetic to your endeavors, don't wear them out with endless request.
• Discovering how to find and buy your products can be very difficult, don't give up, keep looking.
• Stay flexible when you are in a design prototype cycle. Don't spend your cash on expensive molds and setup designs that you may find hard to recoup your investment from. Rather out source as much of your work as possible. This saves you time and money in the long run. And MOST importantly it leaves you flexible as to what type of product you bring to market.
• Never discount what your potential customers tell you about your product or service. Listen to them and they will tell you what they want or need.
• Be persistent, like the saying goes "Don't give up, ever!"