One Family’s Boat Business
Three generations steer Naples Mart to a silver anniversary
For three generations of the Osborne family, it’s all hands on deck when it comes to steering Naples Boat Mart, a full-service marine dealership established in 1989. While the business is celebrating its silver anniversary this year, the Osborne family actually brings 40 years of experience to the boat business. The family credits their longevity in the business to a “customer-first” philosophy.
“My grandfather had a small boat dealership in Pennsylvania, and he and my father worked together to grow the business to five dealerships in Maryland and Pennsylvania,” says Philip Osborne, who is now the third generation of his family to take the helm at Naples Boat Mart. Philip says his grandfather decided to retire to Southwest Florida, but soon after approached the owners of a newly established boat business in Naples with an offer to buy. Ultimately, the Osbornes sold their operations up north and the entire family relocated to Naples.
For Philip, his family’s longevity in the boat business means he grew up in the business. “I remember being up north and playing in the showroom, pretending to steer and playing with the GPS [devices] like they were video games.”
Childhood fun soon translated to a serious career interest. He first went to work in the family business in high school as part of a work-study program. “I started out doing the forklift, and then moved on to service, and then into sales.” says Philip.
Along the way, he learned that working in a family business can have challenges. “Anytime you have a family working together it can be difficult to separate work life from home life,” he says. “Around the dinner table we would try not to bring up work issues.”
The perks outweigh any challenges, however. “Working with family also has advantages,” says Philip, “the most important being the trust factor. And of course, it is an amazing opportunity to spend a lot of time with your parents and grandparents.”
Today, with Osborne translating a lifetime of experience into a leadership role in the business, Naples Boat Mart is a multigenerational family affair. “My mom, Lisa, handles finance and banking, and my Dad, Phil, manages day-to-day operations, while my younger brother, Kyle, works in sales,” says Philip. “My grandfather, Noel, works as a consultant now, teaching other dealers and training them in customer service.”
According to Philip, his grandfather’s expertise in customer service comes from his decades-held philosophy, which continues to guide the family business. “We’ve relied on a focused strategy of driving our business through customer satisfaction,” he says. “We’ve always had a philosophy that if you take great care of customers, profits will take care of themselves.”
As evidence of their customer-service-first mindset, Philip points to the fact that out of a total of 30 employees, only three are in sales; most are in customer service. He also notes that clients’ children are now coming in as customers. “We have generations returning, saying, ‘My dad bought a boat from you guys, and now I’m back,’” he says.
Naples Boat Mart also prides itself on curating the best-ofthe-best products, which are hand selected for the Southwest
WORKING WITH FAMILY ALSO HAS ADVANTAGES, THE MOST IMPORTANT BEING THE TRUST FACTOR.”
—PHILIP OSBORNE
Florida market. Featured brands are Grady-White, Hurricane Sun Deck and Key West, covering a range of prices from the teens to the hundreds of thousands.
Greg Idol, a factory representative for Grady-White, says Naples Boat Mart is “among Grady-White’s top dealers consistently throughout our entire dealer network. I’ve worked with Philip’s father and grandfather for decades. We are fortunate to do business with them. We enjoy it and they have tremendous potential for the business’s future.”
Philip predicts smooth sailing as Naples Boat Mart moves forward. “We will continue to grow at a healthy pace and do our best for our customers, staying true to who we are,” he says.
In addition to the 25th anniversary for the business, the family has just had another major milestone. “I am fortunate to have recently had a daughter,” says Philip. “Her very first photograph was taken outside with our Naples Boat Mart sign. Perhaps she will be the future of the business.”