How to Start a Marine Construction Business

Part 1 - How to start a Marine Construction business - Background

A marine construction business focuses on creating structures which will remain submerged, partially submerged, or adjacent to water.

Our guide is in 3 parts:

• Part 1 - How to start a Marine Construction business - Background
• Part 2 - Our planner tool to see if this idea is the right fit for you
• Part 3 - Action plan to get started

What are the costs involved in opening a Marine Construction Business?

Marine construction requires much of the same startup costs of traditional construction but has more specific needs because of the nature of the construction. Costs typically consists of the following:

• Business LLC and Contractor licensing are usually first. You’ll need a certified marine contractor’s license and will likely have to attend some training courses to receive certification for performing this type of work. Waterways can be environmentally sensitive and have more rules and precautions than inland construction. Check locally to see about other specific licensing and paperwork filings.

• Heavy machinery operation certification and licensing. More than likely, you’ll need to know how to operate heavy machinery for this career. Proper certification ensures you operate safely and follow OSHA standards.

• Building equipment, tools, and vehicles. You may be building retention walls or buttresses at a shoreline, but you may also be setting pilings and building a dock. Building in water requires you to have a floating surface to work from, such as a small barge. You will also likely need to purchase a boat.

• A warehouse or building for meeting with clients and storing tools, equipment, and materials.

• Salaries for your crew and office staff. You may start relatively small, but you’ll need some team members from the very start.

• Marketing and advertising. It’s last on this list but will be one of your first big investments. People need to know about your business. Plan on marketing heavily in the first few months, even years, to garner customer attention and jobs.

What are the ongoing expenses for a Marine Construction Business?

Most ongoing expenses will be the rent or mortgage on your shop and warehouse, employee salaries, business insurance, equipment maintenance, and marine contractor licensing. Additionally, you’ll need a budget for advertising and maintaining communication services, like cell phones and the internet. Most building supplies will be ordered as jobs are scheduled, but you may keep some stock of nails, bolts, and fasteners, or other items you regularly use for jobs.

Who is the target market?

Your target market is businesses and homeowners on or near water. Whether fresh, salt, or brackish, you’ll want to focus on showing how you can keep the elements from destroying customer structures and property.

How does a Marine Construction Business make money?

A marine construction business makes money through the sale and completion of customer jobs.

How much can you charge customers?

A marine construction company performs a specific set of tasks. Rates will vary based on your location and cliente, and your rates can be priced higher for custom projects. Large, niche projects will cost more in time and resources than standard projects like dock construction and installation. 

How much profit can a Marine Construction Business make?

Marine construction businesses do have considerable overhead for maintenance of tools and machines, as well as fluctuating materials costs. But, the potential to make substantial profits definitely exists. A successful, established company can see profits anywhere from $300,000 to a million annually.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Offer maintenance plans for your customers. A regularly scheduled maintenance plan can detect damaged hardware and replace these pieces for a fraction of the cost of replacing an entire dock section. Plus, properly maintained marine builds will better withstand storms.

Day-to-Day and Growth

What happens during a typical day at a Marine Construction Business?

Marine construction businesses focus on estimating and building out customer jobs. Much of your daily activities will focus on these aspects:

• Meeting with clients and estimating their required work. You will often be traveling to a customer’s location to see what their property will require, both materially and financially.

• Ordering materials and scheduling job site deliveries. Once you and the customers agree on what you’re building, you’ll most likely want the materials delivered directly to the jobsite.

• Monitoring crew/job progress. A marine construction build can be affected by natural conditions, sometimes out of your control, such as tides or storms. Informing your customers of varying timelines is critical for customer satisfaction.

• Managing paperwork, marketing and advertising, and communicating with material supply vendors are also necessary tasks needed for maintaining a balanced budget and promoting company growth.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful Marine Construction Business?

Marine construction is a specialized field of construction because of the constant forces of nature acting on the structures you build. Water, oxidation, rust, and shifting sands all contribute to the difficulties in building a longstanding structure in or near water. Key skills include:

• Prior experience in construction, especially in foundational planning. This knowledge will help greatly in priming your understanding and implementation of the techniques and materials necessary for success in this line of construction.

• Experience driving and operating heavy machinery, such as cranes, backhoes, excavators, tractors, and boats with barges will also be necessary. If you don’t have experience in these areas, you’ll probably want to take some training courses.

• Customer service and communication is important. Customers want to ask questions. You need to be able to explain, often in layman’s terms, what will happen and how long it will take. Following up with customers is also necessary for company growth.

• Experience and education in business management is also important for structuring and implementing your business model.

What is the growth potential for a Marine Construction Business?

Marine construction businesses can be profitable and grow in size and scope, depending on your location and competition. Areas with rivers, lakes, bays, and oceans nearby may be great for you to create a lucrative career. You’ll also need to see what kind of competition is present, and make sure you’ll have enough clients asking for your services. Your business can encompass residential and commercial marine construction or just focus on a specific customer base.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a Marine Construction Business?

Market and promote near the places you’ll be doing most of your work. You’ll need customers to know you’re available right away. If you are performing commercial applications, ask your clients to share their experience with their industry groups. Word-of-mouth recommendations go a long way towards jump starting a career.

Use the internet to share pictures and videos of your work. Social media and a company website are relatively inexpensive methods for broadcasting your business.

How and when to build a team

Marine construction is hard work. It is also precise work with big machines. You’ll need a qualified construction crew of three to four people to get started. As you grow, you can create multiple teams. You’ll also need an office staff to take care of the financials, paperwork, and day-to-day office activities, such as ordering supplies for customer jobs.

Part 2 - Is a Marine Construction business the right fit for you?

Part 3 - Action plan to launch your Marine Construction business in 90 days