Jun 6, 5:58 PM Flaherty is on a one-woman crusade to ensure her
two-and-a-half-year-old water taxi eco-tour boat company becomes a
fixture in the area.
She often can be seen at community events and committee meetings
sporting her company's signature colors, bright yellow and aqua, and
driving around town in her yellow X-Terra adorned with her company logo.
"To run a successful eco-tour company, you've got to get your name out
there as much as possible. We've always called ourselves a local
word-of-mouth phenomenon," she said.
Her marketing efforts are time-consuming, especially when added to her
other duties as a business owner. Plus, Flaherty has taken on the
renovation of a 270-passenger paddle-wheel boat, the M/V Indian River
Queen.
"I've learned to live with a little clutter at home, because I just
don't have time to keep things perfect," she said.
To save time, she brushes her teeth in the shower, uses tinted
sunscreen instead of makeup, files her nails at red lights, cleans the
kitchen while making coffee and has taught her children, Philip, 17,
Peter, 14, and Marina, 11, to cook, clean and do laundry.
Her husband, John, a physician, pitches in and her mother, Joyce
Sheridan, offers her help when Flaherty needs assistance with
baby-sitting, running errands and the like.
Flaherty's sister-in-law, Debbie Sheridan, serves as her office
assistant.
"My family is supportive, which is lucky because I don't know how I
would do it all otherwise," she said.
It was her son, Peter, who motivated her to start Island Boat Lines.
Flaherty had owned several companies as a young woman, but decided to
sell her business and retire when she had children. Then, when her sons
decided to start a tour-boat business for fun, she bought them a small
fixer-upper boat to restore.
"But Peter chided me that I needed to quit spending Dad's money,"
Flaherty said. "It made me realize that my children didn't realize that
I had contributed to what he and I have accumulated over the years."
The comment served as a challenge for Flaherty to show her children her
entrepreneurial skills. She decided to take the eco-tour boat concept
and apply it on a larger scale.
"My children thought I was crazy when I first started talking about it,
but now they're really proud of me," she said.
Busy boat owner cruises with help from family
BY KATHY HAGOOD
FOR FLORIDA TODAY
Penny Flaherty goes to as many networking meetings as she can fit into
her busy schedule as a wife, mother of three and owner of Island Boat
Lines.