Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Allen. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Joshua Allen is the Owner of Great Lakes Watersports. In 2016, Joshua dropped out of his Software Engineering Masters program at Cleveland State University to begin his self-education in business and acquired Great Lakes Watersports in 2021. Joshua is also a Computer Engineer at NASA Glenn Research Center. He supports NASA Glenn’s world-class aeronautics, aerospace, and space test facilities. In 2020, He was awarded the Silver Achievement Medal, one of the most prestigious awards at NASA, for helping to enable the successful testing of the Orion spacecraft. Joshua holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Engineering from Wilberforce University. His most important position is being a father of Joshua Jr.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest challenge in this business has been keeping our customers safe on the water and instructing our customers to operate our watercraft without damaging the equipment. During the pandemic in 2020, a year before I acquired the business, there was chaos at Great Lakes Watersports; a kayaker died, and a boat sank. In 2019, customers sank 3 jetskis, so the owner stopped renting jetskis. After acquiring the business in 2021, I made sure we had a Jetski on our dock at all times in case of an emergency. In 2022, I brought Jetski rentals back to Great Lakes Watersports with a staff guide assigned to all Jetski rentals. That year, we had record revenue but almost 100k in damages to our boats and a sunk jetski. How we instructed our customers had to change. How do you prevent less than one percent of customers from damaging our boats without restricting the 99% of amazing customers? I struggled with that question all summer.
I discovered that every catastrophic boating incident on the water started with the customer unable to start the boat. Beginning in 2023, we changed our boat speech to instruct customers to anchor if they cannot start to the boat. The entire boat speech is centered around this principle. A pre-and-on-board boat speech reiterates this principle at least 3 times. We also give test drives to all new boaters to ensure they operate the boat comfortably. We also developed a red flag policy to prevent credit card fraud and prevent high-risk customers from even getting on a boat.
I also discovered every catastrophic jetski incident started when a customer flipped over a jetski. So I changed the Jetski speech and told customers that if they flip the jetski over, their ride is over immediately, and if they do not flip the jetski back the right way, they will damage it and be responsible for the damages. Weight is a big reason jetskis flip over, so we implemented strict weight policies.
All those safety policy changes at Great Lakes Watersports resulted in less than 10k in damages in 2023, the following year. Customers’ anchoring was prevented when they couldn’t start the boat, so they kept it off the rocks. A boat on the rocks causes catastrophic damage. This is how the previous owner’s boat was sunk. We had one customer flip a jet ski, but he flipped it back over because of our instructions. Of course, he flipped it over the wrong way and lost his deposit, but we were able to get that jetski fixed.
We’ve been impressed with Great Lakes Watersports, but for folks who might need to be more familiar, what can you share about what you do and what sets you apart?
We provide experiences on the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie for friends and family to enjoy without the hassle of owning a boat. We are located on the West Bank of the FLATS inside the Nautica Waterfront District. Our 4000 sf custom jet dock houses our fleet of 36 kayaks, 3 Pontoon boats, 2 Speed Boats, and 4 jet skis. Our location, watercraft, safety policies, and fast check-in process sets us apart from everyone on the water. We have luxury and affordable boat rental options, captained cruises, walk-up-only kayak rentals, Jetski rentals, and corporate urban kayaking events. If you get in trouble in the water, our experienced staff or I will hoop on our safety jetski and come to the rescue. We always have kayaks available.
What changes do you expect to see in your work and the industry over the next five to ten years?
We are seeing electric boat rentals and jet car rentals in our market. We don’t anticipate bringing either of these to our rental fleet because our pontoon boat, speed boat, and jetskis are so popular. The founder of Great Lakes Watersports started with parasailing, and we have plans to bring parasailing back to Cleveland in the next 5 years.
Pricing:
- 2 and 4-hour boat rentals starting at $300
- 2 and 4-hour Captained Cruises starting at $500
- Jetski rental starts at $150
- Single Kayak rentals $26 for 1 hr 2nd hr half off
- Double Kayak rentals $32 for 1 hr 2nd hr half off
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.glwatersports.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatlakeswatersports?igsh=ZDVpamFrOGY0dTZx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLakesWatersports?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-allen-b198b740?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app
- Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/great-lakes-watersports-cleveland
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/great-lakes-watersports/
Image Credits
Great Lakes Watersports
