More Fun More Money... and more crap than I can fit in this box.

Every day is an adventure in the outdoor retail world, and today was no different. In the 10 years since we opened the doors at SouthEast Expeditions we have expanded into 4 new sports, dropped 3 of them, opened a huge new store, doubled it in size, closed the big shop, and are now moving all that merchandise into our outpost at the Sunset Beach Resort.
The logic for the move was pretty simple. We were spending too much time managing a break-even retail operation, and not getting to spend enough time on the water. With the advent of on-line retail, and the lack of extra cash in the wallets of our customers, we realized that this was a perfect time to focus on our strengths and have more fun at work. Our motto for the last few years has been "More Fun, More Money". And it's working. By cutting overhead and focusing our energy on marketing opportunities, we're actually figuring out how to make a living doing what we love, and we're expanding our trip catalog all the time to include exciting new adventures all over the Eastern Shore.
Today however, was not a play day. While the wind whipped up the Bay with a steady 25+ kts, I wrestled with shelving units, grid-wall panels, and boxes of inventory that should have either been better organized when we packed them, or left on the street for Goodwill. By the end of the day the shop started to look a little more like a place you might actually want to enter, but we're not at the "Wow! Let me empty my wallet here." stage yet. Give me a couple more days and we'll have the stage set.
Of course this is not the only major project we have going on right now. In addition to renovating the Sunset Beach shop, we're launching a new magazine in 3 weeks, preparing a new trip and mini-retail location in Quinby, building out a trailer for our beach concession in Cape Charles, booking our Kids Kayak Camp, and of course leading kayak tours and teaching kiteboarding classes. Never a dull moment.
So keep you eyes out for exciting things from the crew at SouthEast Expeditions. We're kicking off our season with a HUGE 10 Year Anniversary Party on May 24th, and will keep on rockin' all summer long.