Jenilee Wirtz of Carefree Boating in Connecticut has fond memories of boating with her family as a child. She recalls spending entire summer days out in the boat with her father, enjoying beautiful weather and creating lasting memories. Although her father has since passed away (may he continue to rest in peace) Jenilee still carries with her those precious memories.
Now Jenilee wants to help create more memories, but not for her. She wants to help families everywhere build precious moments that will create lasting memories.
And she wants to do it with the one thing she is very passionate about- boating.
“Just that time that we spend out on the water, when it’s quiet and you’re out there and you’ve got a line in the water, that’s where the good stuff is. We’re constantly getting families out,” Jenilee said.
Jenilee combined her passion of boating and her ambition to succeed as a professional woman and entrepreneur and created Carefree Boating. The membership-based boat club provides its members a boat to use without all the hassle and commitment that is involved with owning a boat; washing, cleaning, refueling, etc. It’s a model Jenilee calls ‘boating without owning.’
Her dual goals of helping families build memories and building a business around boating he been very successful overall- but it wasn’t an easy venture.
Boating has always been a male-dominated industry, but that didn’t shy Jenilee away from pursuing her dreams. In fact, not only has she pursued her dreams of running a successful boating business, but she developed a passion along the way that wants more women to become empowered.
“It’s been such a thing, ‘the captain is the man, the woman is the first mate.’ We are making women captains, and I couldn’t be more proud of that. We have some women that have no boating experience. … we bring that for them,” Jenilee said.
Her training isn’t limited to her guests and members; she also empowers her female staff members.
“When we are able to train a female captain and get her through our training process, and get her comfortable at the helm, that is one of the most empowering feelings ever,” Jenilee said.
Jenilee’s success as an entrepreneur and as a leader resonates with women everywhere. She is a model example to women that if you believe in something and you have the passion and drive, you can overcome any obstacle no matter what industry you are in.
Her final message to future female entrepreneurs everywhere is, “I would just say go for it… We get an idea that we’re scared to jump into it, you’ve got to take the first step and you’ve got to go for it. It’s ok if you fail, just go for it.”
You can learn more about Jenilee Wirtz and Carefree Boating by visiting Carefreeboats.com and call 1 (866) U-BOATING.
Who is Trudy Jacobson?
Trudy is an entrepreneur and leader. Her path to success and entrepreneurialism started in the trucking industry decades ago. She encountered numerous obstacles in the male-dominated industry- like discrimination. She was even conned out of a lot of money in a fraudulent scheme. Despite all that, Trudy always fought hard and pushed forward. Once she realized she was capable of anything, she went on to start her own company and excelled. Now she empowers other women to do the same and to learn from her experience. Trudy now highlights their stories for the world to see in the Great American Women Series. Trudy wants women everywhere to know they can achieve their goals.
