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28 March | April 2019 // Features Yacht A Fun With Alex Rooker How to make your houseboat a successful business H ave you ever thought about turning your houseboat into a business? How about a floating restaurant or boutique? A hotel or reception hall? The possibilities really are endless when it comes to the many things a person can accomplish on a houseboat. However, which ideas are actually feasible and which ones will leave you with a giant hole in your pocket? According to boating enthusiast and writer Alex Rooker, a houseboater should have a firm plan before jumping into a business. Although having your business on a houseboat adds that extra unique factor which is sure to draw the attention of many, Rooker offers strategic steps to ensure your ventures are a success. But why should you listen to Rooker? A b o u t A l e x R o o k e r Rooker is a man of many talents—a former realtor, past Commodore of the Peninsula Yacht Club of Lake Norman, N.C., and a successful writer. His ventures in writing have taken him from writing children's books about Zoey the Pomeranian to Your Boat as a Business to his own growing business, Yacht A Fun, proving he doesn't just dabble in many things: he truly knows his stuff. Though Rooker himself has never lived on a house- boat, he was drawn to houseboating when his wife's closest friend downsized from a house to boat—a 37- foot Harbor Master. Their friend lives full-time at the New Bern Grand Marina in North Carolina and Alex and his wife have enjoyed many dinners on board. Since the owner is in her 70s and not adept with dock lines, Rooker has tended the lines during hurricane season since 2016. "My wife and I now cruise on a 34-foot Gemini catamaran," Rooker shared. "It is a good business platform for us, but really small for continuous liv- ing. Stepping up to a houseboat is under consideration for our return to New Bern." G e t t i n g D o w n T o B u s i n e s s Rooker recommends that one of the first successful ways to start a thriving business is by looking at the past successes and failures of others. Businesses such as Tiny Houseboat Adventures in DeLand, Fla., and Yachta Yachta Yachta on Lake Norman near Charlotte, N.C., demonstrated the many ways that houseboats can function well as businesses. Having a houseboat as a business base should offer many opportunities. A relatively easy path, which could be incorporated with others, is an approach that Tiny Houseboat Adventures takes. The owner of the business offers their houseboats as a destination for AirBnB, making any other forms of advertising unnecessary. Rooker excitedly detailed ways he has found suc- cess on his own as well: "My experience in promoting my own boat business has been to have a sign board at the marina location in a strategic place for foot traffic By EMILY FITZPATRICK