We know the industry is pretty tuckered out from the holidays and all those meals and chocolates (no wait, that’s us), but we’re still networking on the first Wednesday in January.

It’s a new year and you owe it to yourself to invest time in developing a network of people who know about you and the work you do. Whether you are looking for a job or not, networking in a social, stress-free setting can be powerful for your career.

This month, our sponsors are Stacy and Mark Geddis from Crew4Crew.net,
the online crew placement service. Don’t assume it’s just another agency. Find out more with this short question-and-answer session with business owner Stacey Geddis, then come meet her and her husband and former yacht engineer Mark Geddis on Jan. 2. We’re meeting at Waxy’s on 17th St.

Q: You and Mark are former crew, aren’t you? What made you decide to leave yachts to start a business?

Mark is former crew, but I am not. He was in the Royal Navy for about nine years and then worked as an engineer on motoryachts for another nine years. I was the assistant to the owner of Luke Brown & Associates Yacht Brokerage. Mark left yachts when we got married so he could be land-based. He now works for Patton Marine as a marine surveyor and I run Crew4Crew.net, although we make company decisions as a team.

Q: Tell us about Crew4Crew.net. What do you do?

We offer the yachting industry direct access to available yacht crew worldwide via our online database of crew profiles and CVs. The primary goal is to give crew the opportunity to present themselves directly to potential employers and vice versa.

It is free for crew to register and upload all of their employment files. Crew maintain their own profiles and check-in online. We assist them if they need help uploading files or resizing files to make them easier to access, and we offer to review their profile to see how they can get the most out of our service. 

Employers are offered two options: either search the database themselves to find crew or request a managed crew search where we act as their personal assistant. We search the database for candidates that match their criteria and contact crew to ensure they are available and interested in the position, then we e-mail the crew profiles and CVs to the employer for review. The employer then contacts potential candidates directly to discuss the position. 

With both services, employers can post their jobs while keeping their personal information confidential. Crew must request consideration via the Web site. The employer then receives an e-mail with the crew member’s message and a link to the crew member’s profile. 

Q: There are so many crew placement businesses out there. How are you different?

Honestly, I think what makes our company different is that our primary goal is to remove the politics and the expense from the crew hiring process by remaining objective and providing the employer and employee a Web-based platform to connect directly with each other.

Although there are a few totally web-based crew placement services around, I believe ours is the only one that is free to crew, does not charge a commission/ placement fee and offers a database of only professional yacht crew. 

As a crew member, Mark was dissatisfied with crew agencies because he felt like he was never put forward for desirable positions. He always found a job through word-of-mouth. Crew network at the pub to help each other find jobs. Also, many agencies charge crew to register with them. For a crew member who wants to be registered with all the agencies, the amount adds up and especially for a service that crew felt did little for them. 

From the brokerage perspective, crew always came into our offices at Luke Brown to network with the brokers who might have clients needing crew. Most of the brokers’ clients did not want to use agencies either because they felt the commissions were not commensurate with the services they received.

We aren’t criticizing traditional crew agencies. They serve a useful purpose and have many satisfied customers. We just realized there was a need for a service like the one we created.

Q: How does it work, your online listings? Don’t other agencies offer online listings?

The information in the crew profile is basically the data that the employer uses to locate them in our database. Their uploaded employment files (CV/resume, photo, references, certificates, etc.) are what the employer uses to determine their suitability for available positions.

The majority of our employers still do not post their available positions, probably because they think crew will be e-mailing or calling them directly. We designed the system to allow crew to request consideration via the Web site for a specific position and then the Web site e-mails the employer to notify him/her of the request. The employer has the option to contact that crew person or not.

Q: At the end of the day, you still have to make money to stay in business. How do you make money?

When we launched the site in October 2004, we offered access for free because we wanted crew to find desirable positions and give employers an opportunity to experience a different approach to locating qualified crew. When we developed the membership plans we wanted to keep the cost reasonable for the employer and free for crew. We charge the employer to access the database based on a specific period of time (35 days, 65 days or a year). During that membership period they can hire as many crew as they need without any additional fee. The minimum membership is for 35 days for $195.

With a membership, the employer can request a managed crew search for an additional $150 per position.

Q: How long have you been running your business?

It was three years in October.

Q: So how’s it going?

Business is great. We have more than 11,000 crew registered worldwide and our database keeps growing. Our employer database is also growing very well. Ninety percent of new members use us again when they need crew and we receive many new clients through industry referrals. We receive great feedback from both employers and crew, thanking us for our service and for the jobs they have received.

Initially it was just me running the company as Mark was busy on marine surveys. We have now added reps in Brisbane, Palma, Antibes and Ft. Lauderdale, as well as Newport and the Caribbean during their seasons. The reps network and walk the docks to let captains and crew know about our service, as well as to inform other companies that serve the yachting community. 

We also have three part-time employees: one who works directly with crew to answer their questions and assist them with their profiles and employment files, one who performs all of our managed crew searches, and one that edits the crew files to resize or reformat them. We also have a full-time programmer (based in Russia) that makes all the needed changes and improvements to our Web site. 

Q: OK, I have to ask. What’s so special about Waxy’s? Your anniversary party was there during the boat show and now you are sponsoring our networking event there. Why do you like Waxy’s so much?

Waxy’s is like Cheers to us. With the industry being so transient, it’s the one place where most crew go when they are in Ft. Lauderdale to catch up with their friends working on other yachts. Mark is constantly running into friends he hasn’t seen in years and I think it’s like that for most crew. It’s like home away from home. 

For more information about Crew4Crew.net , visit www.crew4crew.net or call +1-954-764-8995.