Last year Edward Kay joined the Boatshed Team, setting up Boatshed Riviera in the South of France as a new franchisee broker. A second broker, Solenne Vaudin d’Imecourt, now assists him. Edward has had a lifetime love affair with boating and the South of France, owning a classic power boat himself, and Boatshed Riviera is fast becoming a go-to brokerage for, in particular, large, luxury power boats.

This is what Edward has to say about joining Boatshed, or, as he puts it, “jumping in”:

“One of the first things I noticed when coming into Boatshed was the diverse backgrounds of the people who have entered the marine industry in this way. The experience base of Boatshed’s brokers is very diverse. I’ve met people who are commercial sailors, ex-sea captains, general boating enthusiasts, and even car salesmen. What we have in common is that yacht brokerage does not seem to be anyone’s first profession. The age range is wide as well, with plenty of mid-40 to late 50-year-olds involved after successful careers elsewhere.

Personally, I came from the finance industry, but with my kids being out of the house now, a desire to spend more time in sunnier climes, a passion for boating, and a need for a new challenge, it was a 'no brainer’ for me.

Had I been 25 years younger I'd have possibly set up from scratch. But when I met with the team at Boatshed HQ and saw the amount you get for the relatively reasonable price of a franchise, joining Boatshed wasn't a difficult decision.

I am not a tech person but would estimate that it would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to set up the systems (including the multi-language contracts) that Boatshed brokers have access to. I know that Boatshed has invested over £3 million on Boatshed.com over the years and you can see the benefit of that investment when you do your due diligence into the business, what it offers and how it compares with the competition. Holding the business card of an organisation that has been successfully selling boats for 17 years, and sells more boats than anybody else, is a powerful story to sell.

One of the main benefits you get as a Boatshed broker is head office support. As with any new business, getting going is not easy. Getting listings takes time and once you have the listings, uploading them to the site can be tricky until you are completely used to the system. Boatshed provides new brokers with in-depth training, which I found very useful. Anytime you call Support for help or guidance (which, for a new broker, will be very often at the start) you meet a culture of kindness, solid business ethics, patience and genuine helpfulness. Everyone at Boatshed wants you to succeed as quickly as possible.

Almost a year after jumping in, Boatshed Riviera is going from strength to strength and I am very happy to be a part of Boatshed.com.

Edward Kay, Broker, Boatshed Riviera