Shop owner's love of great outdoors makes good business
The Business Review (Albany) - by Mike Hendricks The Business Review
Behind the counter of his Adirondack Paddle 'n' Pole store, Rich Macha seems like a low-key salesman.
But not even the most determined salesmen will go the lengths Macha will to make a sale.
To whet the interest of a potential customer, Macha will haul his kayaks and canoes out to Collins Lake or the Hudson River.
"I am not a salesman. I don't force anybody into a sale. I try to educate. Hopefully, the better-educated customer will see my product is better."
And when it comes to product testing, Macha will go to the most remote stretches of navigable water in northern New York. Before the winter ice is completely off the lakes, Macha is out there paddling. Rain will not keep him from putting a new canoe or kayak into the water.
Macha, a well-known figure with outdoor enthusiasts, has combined his love for canoeing and kayaking with business by running his Adirondack Paddle 'n' Pole store at 2123 Central Ave. in Colonie the past five years.
"I wanted to do something I really enjoyed and something I really enjoyed talking about, and I don't have much trouble talking about canoeing and kayaking."
Macha devotes a lot of his energy and time to educate potential customers, not only about the joys of kayaking and canoeing, but also the adventures waiting for them on the lakes, rivers and streams of upstate New York.
He gives regular demonstrations and paddling lessons, teaching would-be customers such basics as how to safely get in and out of a kayak.
"I figure if I show them, the more they will be interested in taking lessons.
"I can't just watch someone getting into a kayak and look like they will tip over. I teach them so they can better select one kayak over another and see what they can grow into."
In addition to free demonstrations, Macha teaches kayaking lessons and leads trips. He sponsors evening tours, taking his canoes and kayaks on the Hudson and Mohawk rivers and Round Lake in May and June.
Besides showing people how to get in and out of a kayak, he offers classes that teach more advanced skills.
Macha says the more people learn about kayaking, the more apt they are to buy the right kayak for their needs.
When he is not paddling, he is hiking or cycling. In the winter he is cross-country skiing. He also sells cross-country skis and snowshoes.
But his first love is paddling.
"I'd rather be on the water in the summer. The view from the water is, to me, as good as from any mountaintop. I like to go to less traveled areas of Adirondacks."
He has a Web site (http://pages.prodigy.net/apnp/index.html) with extensive descriptions of his adventures. His Web site includes the warning that if you are spending more time on the Internet than on the water, log off immediately!
On his Web site, visitors will meet his alter-ego, Ne-ha-sa-ne. It is an Algonquin phrase that he says best translates to "beaver crossing river on a log."
As Ne-ha-sa-ne, Macha is often found canoing the isolated waters deep in the Adirondack wilderness where he savors the beauty of a full moon silhouetting pine trees, as turkey vultures circle overhead.
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