Guess what? The world of the outdoors, its brands, its communications, its products, and personalities are all part of a multi-billion-dollar business. I know this might be hard to believe but it’s true, and the companies are as varied as anything you see in the rest of your life. But let’s talk about two I have encountered in the last few months.

The first is Xplor Boatworks over in Columbia, S.C., which is owned by Frankie and Preston Marion. Frankie and I have been in the same circles for a long time. Tons of mutual friends and business partners. However, until last year we had never met. Believe it or not I ran into Frankie at a gas station off I-95 and he gave me a tour of his Andros 24 boat right there! Well, in September I took my dad and we went over to tour the Xplor factory in Columbia. 

This was an experience! 

I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen a boat being made until then. It’s fascinating and incredibly detailed. Really to me the untrained person it looked more like magic than anything. But one thing stood out. The workers. We talked and walked the factory for 3 hours that day. Everyone I encountered was polite, professional, and focused. This is in my opinion a reflection of the values, the training, the care given by the Marion’s on the business. Frankie has a whole philosophy over there that in reality needs a book to deconstruct and understand not a 600-word column by a long-haired country boy. 

I learned more about running a business that day than about boats. I’ve spent 30 years touring factories of all kinds and listening to all kinds of drivel from Fortune 500 advisors, but I have yet to see a group of people working so well together than in that boat shop in Columbia.

Next was my recent visit to The Florida Cracker Kitchen and meeting the owner, Blair Hinsley. Blair just opened a new restaurant in Tampa, Fla. and he was telling me about his hiring process and the way he looks at his people. Turnover for Blair exists just like everyone else, but he goes out of his way to treat people with love, concern and respect. He values hard work and rewards it. So, he has servers and kitchen staff that have been with him since the beginning and through all the pandemic, economic struggles, and hardship that is the restaurant business. 

Think about this. Blair had several hundred show for a hiring event in Tampa. They thought they should hire 65 to get the 50 to 55 they needed to show up. They hired 65. Sixty-five showed up for training. Sixty-five made it through training. Sixty-five showed up for work the first night. Now with all we are being told about the workplace today and the social climate how did he do this? Oh and Blair has stores, venues for concerts and outdoor events and sponsors to of my favorite outdoor personalities Flip Pallot and Capt. C.A. Richardson. That’s exactly how he fits here.

Now, I am not an economist. I’m not a politician (God save us from the politicians). I’m just someone who has always been self-employed. I’m a simple outdoorsman who spends a lot of time talking and trying to listen to people. However, it seems to me that as of right now these companies unlocked a secret. Value your people. Care for them, love them, be interested in them and their success. Give them ways to succeed and they more than often will! Therefore to me this industry has become such a refreshing place to be. I don’t see this in my normal life. So please go support these companies if you can. We need people like this.

—Outdoors columnist James Pressley can be reached at pressleyoutdoors@gmail.com .