Bad Business Practices…

The custom rod building craft is comparatively small compared to other facets in the sport fishing world. So it’s a fairly close knit group of suppliers, manufacturers, dealers and, of course, rod builders. For that reason, what ails one will eventually ail all. And right now, one of those ails is having a very detrimental effect on the craft as a whole.

The failure of a few companies in this industry to pay their bills on time is having a detrimental effect on everyone else. When any entity in the rod building craft becomes “no-pay” or even “slow pay,” it causes the entire chain to slowly grind to a halt. When those who owe you don’t pay, you can’t pay those you owe. Eventually it comes full circle and really bad things start to happen – companies can’t supply product, so dealers can’t get product and rod builders are then confronted with back order delays that keep them from fulfilling their customers’ orders. It’s a vicious circle and some haven’t, and others won’t, survive it.

Part of the issue is a business model that believes you should keep your money as long as you can – stretching out payment terms far beyond those that you contracted for. The idea being that the longer you can hold owed money in your account the more interest you draw and the more money you have on hand to use. But that business model affects everyone down the line and does so in a very negative way. It hurts the entire industry and the entire craft. As I mentioned earlier, this is a small industry. It only takes two or three companies to bring down all the rest.

The only answer is for everyone involved to get back to more ethical business practices. Until that happens the rod building craft will continue headlong into bad waters. It shouldn’t be this way. Whatever your business model is, you need to think about the next guy in the chain and how your practices affect him, and how his then affects the next guy. This industry needs to do better, and fast.