b'Care for your boats.Be fiscally conservative. FOGHORN FOCUS This means all of your equipment, facilities, locations, and image.Prepare for those business shocks that somehow occur every eight to 10 Thirty years ago, vessel construction was affordable but sadly it isyears. Buffer cash to reinvest in the business and sleep at night. If the not today. Back then, we believed a boat had a 30-year life, but nowbanker says no, sometimes that can be a blessing. If you live within 50 years is achievable, even nec- your means, over a career you can essary,withgoodmaintenancebecome the millionaire next door. andselectivenewtechnology. Show pride in your equipment.Leadership always makes Good person/bad person. Instinctively,yourcrewunder- RichardMelman,founderof stands that if the equipment isa difference, and when LettuceEntertainYouRestau-not in tip-top shape, you wontrants in Chicago, has developed invest in them either. paired with entrepreneurship, over 100 restaurants and several adaptability, and respect, prominentnationalchains.Ev-Build your team of advisorseryone wants to know his formu- (legal, tax, accounting).you will be unbeatable. la for success, and Ive seen him Getinvolvedinyourcom- generouslyanswerquestionsin munitybusinessassociationsmultiple public forums. He says (conventionandvisitorby the time a problem works its bureaus,chambersofcommerce,restaurantassociations,Pro- way up to the leader, it is usually complex with many nuances. The be-all peller Clubs), and know your elected officials and governmentand end-all question is: are we dealing with a good person or a bad per-regulators. Harness the power of PVA and form a peer group ofson? Because, he says, you cant do a good deal with a bad person, and non-competing operators with whom you can exchange ideas andyou cant do a bad deal with a good person. Spend time with the right lessons learned. And finally, always be on good terms with thepeople: they say you become like the five people you most associate with.local competition. In emergencies they will be there to help or to catch overflow businessgood competition grows the industryIf I could go back 30 years and had one wish, it would be to always hire pie bigger for all.the right people. A lieutenant friend of mine, the eventual Chairman KEEPING BAY AREA FLEETS IN SERVICE FOR OVER 40 YEARSBay Ship and Yacht makes it a priority to per-form on-time, quality service for all vessels. We are a full service shipyard cosistently serving Al- 5 1 0 . 3 3 7 . 9 1 2 2 ameda, San Francisco Bay, the west coast andwww.bay-ship.com the worlds maritime industry for over 40 years. A l a m e d a , C AFOGHORN 16'