The vision of one man:
The potential of an entire industry!

Visionaries are a rare breed; often possessing an unusual competence and intellect that projects a mental image of how certain things should be in certain situations.

This issue is filled with stories about such a visionary, a man named Don Wallace and a place called Lazydays.

The RV industry stands on the threshold of unprecedented growth and prosperity if -- make that a big IF -- they can figure out how to deliver a quality RV experience that will make RVers our customers for life.

Now we have no excuse for not fulfilling this dream if we really want to do it because one man and one company have proven that it can be done.

Don Wallace has the vision and potential to do for the RV industry what Walt Disney did for family entertainment; what Sam Walton did for retailing; what Mary Kay did for cosmetics; what Henry Ford did for mass transportation; what Jack Daniel did for bourbon; and what Howard Schultz did for a cup of coffee.

They created the ultimate customer experience and developed a following that will outlast the person who first had the vision.

We have that same potential in the RV industry. The question we must ask now: Are we willing to do what is required to make it happen?

If we build quality products that do everything they are suppose to do when they roll off the assembly line, we can do it.

If we reimburse the dealers fairly for warranty service requirements, we can do it.

If we have a sufficient supply of spare parts and can identify and ship the right part, we can do it.

If we provide quality campgrounds and resorts that create an exceptional RVing experience, we can do it.

If we service every customer as our only customer, no matter where they purchased their RV, we can do it.

If we invest in our sales people so that they are knowledgeable and professional, and if they will take the time to understand their customers, we can do it.

If we invest in training and educational programs that will allow us to have a sufficient number of trained RV technicians in our industry, we can do it.

If we educate the consumer and make sure that they understand the complexities of an RV and how to use it properly, we can do it.

What is the potential of the RV industry? The fact is we don't know. We don't know because there are still a lot of potential roadblocks to achieving the kind of success we think is possible by introducing everyone to the RV lifestyle.

Don Wallace has proven that you can have a very successful RV dealership. If Don Wallace can do it, so can a lot of other people in the RV industry. He'll be the first to agree with that statement and encourage others to adopt his vision when dealing with prospects and customers.

If more people do what Don Wallace has done, the RV industry gets real big, real quick.

If manufacturers build the RV we know must be built, Don Wallace will sell it.

If other dealers build modern, comfortable and educational facilities, they will sell it.

If we have more Lazydays type facilities all around the country, RV enthusiasts will buy it.

The model has been proven. You can sell one billion dollars of RV products, supplies and services out of one world-class facility. They are not at the billion-dollar level yet, but I don't think you are going to find too many people in this industry that are willing to bet against them.

So maybe you can't be a billion-dollar dealership. Could you be two, five or ten times better than you are right now? You know you can.

Can an RV manufacturer that is currently making 2,000 motorhomes a year, make two, five or ten times that many? You know they can, if they build them right.

The sea of opportunity created by the Lazydays experience can raise the entire industry. It will follow a simple rule of success -- when one leader expands and grows, their customers, suppliers and competition will grow right along with them. This happens because the leader sets the standards that others will strive to achieve.

Here's a company that gets one-third of their business from existing customers upgrading their current RV, and another one-third from referrals from those happy customers. Before they get out of bed in the morning, they know that if they keep doing things right, those numbers will only increase.

That means more people entering into the RV lifestyle and more people continuing to invest in the RV lifestyle. They have developed a blueprint for success.

Can it really make the RV industry explode and generate mainstream acceptance of the RV lifestyle throughout the country and the world? Yes it can.

Prove it, you say.

Ok.

Let's start with Walt Disney. Everyone thought that once Disney World was built, there would never be another major theme park because this one was so overwhelming, so much bigger than anything the world had ever seen, and so threatening to the entertainment industry.

Guess what, have you been to Orlando lately? There's plenty of competition and they are all doing quite well. The market was there all along, it just had to be developed and recognized.

Then there was Sam Walton. His mega-stores were going to destroy retailing. Last time I looked Sears and K-Mart were still around and Target and others continue to build new stores. The market was bigger than anyone imagined, and there was plenty of room for more competition.

Half the world doesn't even use cosmetics, but that didn't stop Mary Kay. Despite her success, what's the first thing you see when you go into a major department store? The cosmetic counters, and none of them sell Mary Kay -- just the competition.

When those Model-T's came down the assembly line, in black, black and black -- who could have imagined how many automobiles would be manufactured in the years ahead. There are plenty of colors now and plenty of competition, and we buy a lot of automobiles each year.

Jack Daniel was only 16 years old when he had the vision for a bourbon distillery. Old Jack would have been 250 years old in 2000. They still make Jack Daniel's the same way he did when he built the distillery in Lynchburg, TN. It's not the only bourbon out there. It's not the only liquor.

There was plenty of room for other brands and competitors.

And then there was Howard Schultz, who had a vision that you could do with coffee, what the Europeans had done with wine. He had a vision of coffeehouses that would become gathering places in the community. He took a 10¢ cup of coffee and turned it into a $2.50 cup of coffee that we gladly stand in line for and do it several times a day. Starbuck's is a classic success story, but it didn't happen overnight. There were enough obstacles thrown in his way that a lesser person would have given up and we would still be buying a 10¢ cup coffee and never realized the Starbuck's experience. Oh yes, he's got competition now, but how many of them are opening one or two new stores every day. The entire industry is growing as Starbucks continues to grow.

See, it can be done. And it can be done with RVs if we really believe in what we are doing and do it right.

We are not a perfect industry. We have flaws. We can be a lot better than we are.

Are we willing to make the same kind of commitment that Don Wallace made?

Are we willing to put the time, money and resources into correcting the areas of our business that will allow us to grow beyond our wildest dreams?

The vision of this one man can be the road to success for an entire industry -- the RV industry.

Are we ready to accept the challenge?

Don't wait too long, or these guys will be working on their second billion