Today we’d like to introduce you to Seth Ritter.
Hi Seth, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My brother Zac and I grew up sailing in the Midwest on our families boat. After college we left on a 6 month adventure sailing through Mexico and Central America. After our travels we decided that we wanted to start careers in the marine industry. We started small just detailing and doing minor repairs. Quickly, people started to ask us for bigger repairs and not knowing how to say “no”, we took the projects on.
We started out with a 6×12’ enclosed trailer doing primarily mobile work. In 2020 we decided to bite the bullet and purchase 5 acres and built a shop. This allowed us to work year round and not have to fight cold and rainy days.
In early 2020 (the weekend before the first Covid cases popped up in the US) I raced in my first big regatta. That started a domino effect of opportunities for me to race and meet some of the best sailors in the world. Since then I have raced in over 50 in shore regattas, 6 off shore races totaling 2000 miles, and got my fair share of time on the podium.
We now have a strong reputation for being a go to shop for large projects that usually would require multiple businesses accomplish.
We try to stick to larger jobs rather than small quick repairs. We take great pride in working with the boat owner to provide a better than expected finished product. Working with the client every step of the way is one of our favorite parts of this job.
As a good friend once told us, we don’t fix boats, we build dreams.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No small business has a smooth road. It’s been a constant struggle battling the highs and lows of a small business. Especially one that is such a niche market in landlocked kc. But every year we see more and more growth, and our clients coming from further and further away. One of our biggest struggles was prior to building the shop we were losing close to half the year to bad weather. I am not the type who can sit around and not be productive. Those early years were very hard on me. Of course, building the shop just shifted the stress from that to “we have lots of overhead now!!” But that’s just business. We learned from our mistakes and the realities of business, and became better businessmen.
We’ve been impressed with Brothers Ritter Marine , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Brothers Ritter Marine is marine repair shop specializing in sailboats and restorations. We take a dream and turn it into reality. Many of the boats we work on are family heirlooms. The client grew up on the boat and he now wants to see his grandchildren enjoy the same boat he did as a kid.
Many shops don’t want to tackle the jobs we embrace. They are either too big or they know the client wants things their way and to a certain standard. Those are the clients we want.
Aside from having a reputation for great work, we take pride in working with the client every step of the way. We enjoy giving updates and sneak peek photos. Nothing is better than the excitement in someone’s voice when they get their restored boat back on the water and they call you to say thanks for making a dream come true.
We work with a large team of artists, machinists, mechanics, engineers, and craftsman to accomplish any job that comes our way.
How do you define success?
My mother asked me this after my 10 year class reunion. I made a comment about a good friend being the most successful from high school.
I was stuck on the definition of money equals success.
There’s more to success than that. Building a business doesn’t make you rich overnight. It may never make you lots of money. If it brings you happiness, friends, and a sense of belonging that to me is a bigger success than any amount of money. Being able to stay motivated and look forward to going to work each day is a bigger success story than the person giving their life to a business that they are not passionate about.
Building a business that clients care about and want to do business with again and again rather than forget about and move on is a far bigger success story in my mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: Brothersritter.com
- Instagram: Brothersrittermarine
- Facebook: Brothers Ritter Marine
- Youtube: Midwest Mariners
