Business View Magazine | June 2022

80 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6 N orth America has no shortage of great boating locations, whether it’s off the Florida coast or on the tranquil waters of one of the Great Lakes. But in order to enjoy this scenic outdoor pursuit, it helps if you know a business that can not only sell you a boat, but can tell you everything you need to know about its maintenance and operation. That’s what Hall’s Sports Center can offer in abundance. “I started the company in 1972, a year after I finished high school,” recounts Harold Hall, owner of Hall’s Sport Center. “I started out with a pickup truck, $5,000, and a two-stall garage, and things progressed from there. I think with every business, you need a bit of help somewhere along the line. My father gave me lots of free labor and then a Chrysler representative started offering the company boats and motors from around the Midwest. And all of a sudden Hall’s Sports Center had some inventory.” In the early 1980s, inventory was a key priority for Harold – capital could come later. He walked into a dealership and confidently declared he was going to buy one of everything in the catalog. Having little more than a $125,000 credit line and with a typical boat costing between $7,000 and $10,000 on average, it may have been a bold declaration. But it’s one that has paid off. AT A GLANCE HALL’S SPORT CENTER WHAT: A long-time supplier specializing in new, used, and brokered boats WHERE: Headquarters in Muskegon, Michigan WEBSITE: www.hallssportcenter.com enter They’ve come a long way