Exploring Life & Business with Eric Feola of Alibi Boat Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Feola

Hi Eric , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was growing up, my dad owned his own sand and gravel trucking company. My dad took pride in how clean his trucks were. When I’d get in trouble, my dad would sometimes “punish” me by having me clean his trucks. But, I found quickly that I loved it. I loved taking pride in something that had my hard work attached to it. Although the trucks weren’t mine, they did have my last name on them, and I loved that. Fast forward 20 years and I have made a successful living doing this. Three years ago I walked into Wakeboard and Waterski Specialties asking if they needed a detailer, they gave me a shot and the rest is history. At this point, we are transitioning the business to focus mainly on boats. The business is now called Alibi Boat Company and we are focusing heavily on gel coat and fiberglass repair.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No it hasn’t been smooth. The first couple years were doing everything I could to get my name out there, and a lot of rejection. Everyone sees the success, but they don’t see the early mornings and the late nights. They don’t see the worries. It’s either feast of famine. This business is very much economy driven, it’s a luxury. The last year or so, folks haven’t had the disposable income like before. It’s been a learning curve on how to continue to grow the business.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Alibi Boat Company?
Here at Alibi Boat Company we focus on customer service. We do our best to make the experience convenient and memorable for everyone we interact with. We will pick up/drop off vehicles or boats and we will do a mobile service for detailing. While we are not the cheapest, but we pride ourselves in being one of the best. We’ve had very happy customers, many of which are return customers. Many of the boats we work on have a price tag of about $350k, so customer service and quality of workmanship are key.

We are known for boats, basically anything cosmetic involving them. We have been in the boat community for years and have several contacts, so we can help with any needs that may arise. As mentioned above, what sets us apart is our customer service. We realize life is busy and taking time out of your busy day is somewhat impossible. We strive to make this experience as easy and streamlined as possible.

I am most proud of the name and the reputation we have built. I started this company with a cheap pressure washer, some soap and a vacuum. Now we have a 2400 square foot shop we work out of and have big name clients, a few of them are Bass Pro Shops and Wakeboard and Waterski Specialties.

Although we do focus heavily on boats, we still offer detailing and ceramic coatings on vehicles, motorcycles and RV’s. We’ve even done horse trailers in the past. We have very high expectations for the work we do, most of the time, we are more picky than our customers, which ensures customers will be ecstatic with the end result.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Anyone that tells you they haven’t had a stroke of good luck in a successful business it lying to you and themselves. There have been a few opportunities that proved to be huge for us simply based on good luck. I walked into that business at the right time, then was given the opportunity to earn their business.

I don’t particularly believe in bad luck, I believe in “Tough Luck.” When I think of bad luck I think of giving up and I think of closing a door per se. I say “tough luck” because I refuse to give up, I refuse to quit. I believe when we have to struggle, and work through a less than favorable scenario, it makes us a better person. I believe you never lose, you learn. You take that experience and you learn from it for the next scenario that arises. I’m lucky enough to come from a long line of successful business owners and they have taught me things they have learned from their tough luck.

Pricing:

• Detailing starts at $179 for vehicles
• Boats and RV’s are quoted at time of inquiry

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alibiboatco.com
• Instagram: alibi_boat_co
• Facebook: Alibi Boat Company