He Floated An Idea

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday August 16, 2008

Anthony Stavrinos

The roar of marine engines and the smell of seaspray tempted a one-time car salesman, writes Anthony Stavrinos.

Charles Walter was set for a successful career in either real estate or automotive sales but his love of the sea led him in a fresh direction.

Working as a salesman at a new car dealership, he dreamt of establishing his own boating website and then quit the well-paying job to follow his dream. The risk is paying off, with the site now doing good business.

An avid sailor as a boy, Walter says his lifestyle dream was to spend his days on the water but other priorities intervened.

"I was so hooked on the lifestyle and the relaxation of being on the water that I imagined spending all my days taking in the sun, doing a spot of fishing and cruising around Sydney's foreshore," he says.

"But the reality is you need lots of money or a lifetime of work and retirement income to maintain a lifestyle like that. When I finished school, I went about trying to establish a career in areas that I found interesting - real estate and cars."

During his years at Scots College, Walter had already shown a budding entrepreneurial spirit by operating a mobile car wash. After finishing school, he studied for and obtained his real estate licence and diploma in property.

"I wanted to get a feel for the property market and gain some knowledge and experience," he says. "Ultimately, I had aimed to own and develop commercial properties." Those plans were deferred when a sales job at a city car dealership became available. "It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up and I ended up being the top-grossing salesperson after my first year."

At this job the idea of the boat site came to him. "I remember sitting at my desk in a dark corner of the showroom, looking out the window," he says. "That's when the idea of combining my love for boating with the day-to-day grind of work came about."

He began by looking at what tools existed for people wanting to buy boats and other marine products. He also began looking at other key areas, such as ways of attracting visitors to the site, www.boatsplus.com.au. "But that's not all: the look and feel of the site need to constantly evolve, software and hardware upgrades become essential and maintaining a database of the users of the site is a tedious, time-consuming but crucial task," he says.

"All these wheels have to constantly keep turning and if one stops, it could cause the ship to go down."

The site, which sells new boats and equipment, has been operating for more than 18 months.

"Part of being able to do that successfully involves a genuine understanding of the industry and what new and exciting products are coming on to the market," Walter says.

"That's why being at the recent Sydney Boat Show at Darling Harbour was absolutely critical."

The idea of being able to run a successful business on the internet, using only online resources and never ever having to leave your home or office, is a myth, he says.

"The internet revolution is one thing but the reality is that people that do business with you always feel more comfortable when they've had a bit of face-to-face contact and I'm the same way."

Having established the site, Walter is now focused on enlarging its audience and is finalising a deal with an online marine-related outlet which he expects will boost traffic.

"I'm always looking at new ways of spreading the reach of the site," he says.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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