Inside SOTW Mag: Women Of Substance—Kim Sweers

Kim Sweers is a woman of many hats—from mother and wife to cancer survivor and managing partner of FB Marine Group in South Florida—and yet none of them define her. A broader definition, say, force of nature gets closer but even that falls short. She came to the marine industry from the technology world, data network sales to put a fine point on it, when she invested in her husband, Randy’s, existing business in 1999 and went to work there a couple of years later.

Industry powerhouse, wife and mother—FB Marine Group’s Kim Sweers answers to those descriptions and more.

A little more than 15 years ago, Kim and Randy Sweers had a son, Chase, who has become as passionate about life on the water as his parents are. A little more than a year ago, Kim started a compelling podcast called Boat Boss. And that’s just one of many projects she has going at the moment.

YOU’RE HARD TO DEFINE. WHO ARE YOU?

(Laughs) That changes as my life changes. Surviving cancer, for example, added “warrior” to the list of adjectives I would use to describe myself, but there’s not one word that defines me. Every year, I chose a word for myself, which becomes a goal. This year, the word is “transitional.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT FB MARINE GROUP?

We have gone from five locations to two, and our sales numbers are strong. We had a goal— work smarter—and that is where we’re at with FB Marine Group. When the pandemic hit we were able to execute the work-from- home model immediately and efficiently because we had all the technology required already in place. We were able to switch over when other companies were struggling with it. You need to have plan that you can execute, but you also need to be able to pivot and be able to execute. I also have a redundancy plan—we always try to have redundancy plans.

A lot of people questioned why we’ve been so focused on technology and now they get it. I was operating a medium-size business as, from the standpoint of technology, as a large corporation, meaning that our technology was pretty advanced and that made it a lot easier to thrive during the pandemic. One year, the word I chose for myself was “visionary.” I drive the company not looking just 100 feet out, but 100 miles ahead.

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