"Don’t overthink it" with Heather Thomas

Photo by Lori Saczynski

In 2008, Heather Thomas and her husband started a small boat rental company on Florida’s Gulf Coast. A former nurse, Heather had no marketing experience, no network, and no funds. Turning to the internet for cheap advertising, she discovered the power of content marketing and went on to turn their small business into a multimillion-dollar rental powerhouse. Having won multiple awards, co-hosted several television shows, and written for national travel magazines, Heather then used her platform to spin-off and create two other businesses: a tour boat company and, most recently,  a restaurant. She has a passion for creating new experiences and enjoys helping others step outside of their regular routines to live richer, fuller lives.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I started a boat rental company with my husband in 2008. Previously, my only work experience was as a waitress in college and then as a registered nurse. We had no business or marketing experience, only 3 boats, and really no idea what we were doing. 

At that time, most of our larger competitors had old, outdated websites and had not caught on to internet marketing yet. We knew if we were going to be able to compete with them that we would have to do it online. I started Googling things like “How to Rank #1 on Google” and learning everything I could. With fresh eyes, I could see what our competitors were lacking. Most of them didn’t even have prices listed on their websites! 

As I learned more about the industry and talked to customers, I started to figure out what kinds of questions they had, and I started answering all of their questions on our website. Soon, those answers started generating traffic and customers started coming to us because we were the only ones answering their questions.

Fast forward to today, and our website is ranked #1 for hundreds of search terms and our small business has grown into a multimillion-dollar company offering over 100 boats for rent in the Destin, Florida area.  We also created a second company offering boat tours for those who aren't comfortable renting their own boat.  

What inspired you to start your business?

The economy wasn’t doing well at the time and my husband was facing a possible layoff. He had been job searching but there were thousands of other people doing the same thing and he wasn’t having much success. We started wondering what we would do if the layoff came and he couldn’t find other work. We came up with the idea to move back to our hometown and start a boat rental business. We spent months doing online research and planning and preparing “just in case”. But the layoffs came and went and my husband didn’t get picked. We found that we were actually disappointed! So when another round of layoffs was announced and the company offered a voluntary buyout, we decided to take it. We used that money to buy our first few boats, sold our house-just narrowly avoiding the housing crash-and moved across the state back to our small hometown.

Where is your business based?

We are on the northern gulf coast in the Florida panhandle in Destin, Florida. 

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

We bought our boats, hired someone to do our website, leased what was basically a small shack on the waterfront, and started trying to figure out how to get customers. From there we just tried to figure it out as we went! 

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

We’ve worked really hard to position ourselves as experts in our field. Whether it’s a blog post, co-hosting a tv show, or writing articles for travel magazines, I’m always looking for new ways to show off our expertise. 

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Growth has been a challenge, mainly because waterfront property has become so limited in supply. Six years ago we actually made the decision to partner with some of our competitors and book their boats as well, in exchange for a booking fee. So, now in addition to our own boats, we also book other companies’ boats, which has allowed us to expand our revenue without adding additional cost or turning away as many customers. 

How do you stay focused?

I am very goal-oriented, so I’m constantly resetting my goals, which helps give me something to work toward. But, I’m also a big believer in taking time for yourself. It’s impossible to stay focused when everyone is pulling you in a hundred different directions. I wake up early, and that’s my alone time. I write, exercise, and just enjoy the silence for a little while. Then I can tackle the day and focus on the tasks at hand. 

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

We are the go-to source of information for anyone who wants to spend time on the water during their vacation to our area. Because of that, we’ve established a lot of trust and credibility with our customers. Plus, now that we list our competitors’ boats, we can present the largest selection of inventory in one place. We make vacation planning easy! 

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Definitely content marketing! I can say with 100% certainty that we would not be where we are today without our internet presence. Our website receives over 2 million unique visitors a year now, which is huge for any small, locally-owned business. 

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Don’t overthink it! I’m a big fan of jumping in with both feet and figuring it out later. I’ve had to figure out all aspects of each business we’ve created along the way, and believe that there is no better teacher than experience!

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

Favorite app: Grasshopper. This is our virtual phone system. Calls come in and get routed to the reservationist who’s scheduled at that time. The reservationist can be anywhere-most of ours are stay-at-home moms working from home! If we’re closed, customers can leave a message, and it gets transcribed and emailed to me. We can also check voicemails, see missed calls and view answered calls all through the app. 

Favorite Blog: I don’t know that I can narrow it down to one favorite. I read a lot of blogs and have been inspired by many bloggers throughout my journey as an entrepreneur. Some that have helped me the most along the way are Copyblogger for copywriting, Mike Blumenthal’s blog for all things pertaining to local search, and Backlinko for SEO. 

Favorite Book: I’m a voracious reader, so I also don’t have just one favorite book. I’m most inspired by stories of other successful entrepreneurs. Some of my favorite business books to read have been Richard Branson’s Losing My Virginity, Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog, and Tim Ferris’s The 4-Hour Work Week. I also really enjoyed Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life. 

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

I think I would die without my booking software, Booking Central. This allows us to manage all of our reservations, in all of their different locations, in one place. It also helps us communicate with our customers, send them confirmations and reminders and text them directions for checking in. We had over 16,000 reservations in 2021. There’s no way I could manage them without Booking Central.  

Who is your business role model? Why?

I’ve looked up to many business owners along the way. Marcus Sheridan was a role model for me for a while. He was a pool guy whose business was on the brink of bankruptcy when he started blogging. He used content marketing to not only save his business but to grow it into a massive brand. He was hugely inspirational to me when I was building our business. 

Josh Oakes has been inspirational as well, as the former owner of a tourism business who now coaches others in the industry on how to build amazing tours and experiences. 

Jesse Itzler would be another favorite. I’m inspired by him because he’s managed to create, build and sell multiple businesses in completely different fields, starting with little to no experience, by jumping in and figuring it out. He also has an amazing zest for life that is contagious. 

How do you balance work and life? I work with my husband and, now that our 3 kids have become teenagers and young adults, they work for us too. So we spend a lot of time together as a family. It’s fun because we are all working toward a common goal. That being said, we do make a point to take time away from work as well. We vacation a few times a year and take time to recharge and to try new experiences whenever we can. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress? Being on the water is my happy place; I take any chance I can get to go out on our boat. If that’s not possible, I love to curl up with a good book. 

What do you have planned for the next six months? We are in the process of opening our third business: a restaurant! We plan to open by late Spring 2022. 

How can our readers connect with you? My business websites are destinvacationboatrentals.com, crabislandcompany.com , and- coming soon!- edgeseafood.com.