Learning About Business Success from Harold Schrock

May 14, 2012 Jillian Koeneman entrepreneur, social media blog

Harold Schrock, founder of Starcraft Marine and beloved Philanthropist, passed away at the age of 97 over the weekend. And while I have never personally met Harold, I feel blessed to have learned a lot about business success from this great man through his company and his family.

I recently began working with Starcraft and Smoker Craft by helping them to leverage the power of social media in order to better connect with their customers.

While working with their marketing team, which includes members of the Schrock and Smoker families, I quickly realized that this was not your typical manufacturing company. The culture of the company was so rich with history, passion and enthusiasm.

Their success wasn’t luck or good timing, but because of an intentional understanding of what makes successful businesses thrive. Built upon a platform of superior quality and innovation, the inner workings and great leadership of Starcraft / Smoker Craft is what has helped these companies be some of the most well-respected brands in the boating industry.

Here are the top three things I learned about business success through Harold and his team at Starcraft / Smoker Craft:

1. Business Is All About Relationships: Each team member at Starcraft / Smoker Craft goes out of their way to build relationships. They believe that mutually-beneficial relationships are the lifeblood of their business. They understand you can’t put a price tag on a strong relationship – whether that be between a manager and an employee, a customer and a dealer, or marketing team and a subcontractor – they all matter.
2. Passion Is Everything: In order for a business to be as successful as long as Starcraft / Smoker Craft has, there must be a high-level of passion for what you do. The company eats, breaths and sleeps boats. Most of the team members have boats and enjoy life on the water with their families on the weekend. It’s not enough to simply enjoy what you do, you must have an unquenchable thirst for it.
3. Give, Give, Give: Successful entrepreneurs like Harold Schrock understand the currency of “thank you”. They give back to those in need and to worthy organizations who are doing great things.

Schrock once said “The most important aspect in any business is to have the right people. You have to have good people because that’s all a company is. The buildings, the inventory, none of that matters. It can all be thrown out and replaced. But you can’t replace talented people.”

Harold will be greatly missed in the Goshen community and by his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schrock family.