Troy Denson

SUCCESS STORY

Featuring: Troy Denson

GREETINGS TROY

Troy Denson is a successful business owner of Mount This Fish Company, where they make fish replicas right here in the 321! His replicas can be found not just in homes of fish enthusiasts but also in local businesses, Bass Pro Shops and Molly’s Seafood on Merritt Island, and even national clients such as National Geographic, Disney, Costa Del Mar, Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville, and Universal Studios to name a few.

Troy was born in Orlando, Florida. Growing up in Central Florida, he frequently visited the coast of 321 enjoying the beaches, the port, and fishing. He had become an entrepreneur in his teen years, but after finding himself in trouble, he knew he could do better. Lucky for him, he had this realization while still young and has since turned his life into a more positive one. He and his wife, Jen, moved to the 321 in the year 2000.

Troy’s first job in the 321 was a server at Schoolies out at the Port and he also worked for a friend in his graphic design studio. In 2001, he became co-owner of BoldWater, a marketing service focused on the marine industry. He and his friend also started a tournament trail called HOT Fishing Circuit. While anglers would compete in existing tournaments, they could also accrue points and the winners would be those who did well throughout the year in the Florida Sports Fishing Association tournaments.

While working with one of the tournaments, they bought fish mounts from a local taxidermist in Port Canaveral to give away as prizes and raffles. The tournament unfortunately was cancelled, which left them stuck with a bunch of fish mounts. Through their entrepreneurship thinking, they decided to sell the mounts on eBay. Troy soon realized there was a great profit margin and no one, at the time, was selling mounts on eBay! Before eBay, your only option of getting a mount was to go through your local taxidermist. He knew he was on to something with this unique market.

Before he knew it, he was running the HOT Circuit, working at BoldWater, as well as consistently selling mounts on eBay. He would work all day and then at night come home and pack mounts to ship out. With the growing momentum of selling mounts, Troy and his friend decided to start yet another business and Mount This Fish Company came to life!

They outgrew Troy’s garage fast, and it didn’t help the bigger mounts required semis to drive through the neighborhood for shipping! They finally rented a unit next to BoldWater out at the Port. At this time, they were not making the mounts themselves, they were still selling the mounts they bought from the local taxidermist.

With Mount This taking off at a fast pace, Troy and his friend decided to split the businesses, his friend keeping BoldWater and Troy keeping HOT Fishing Circuit and Mount This.

In 2009, Mount This moved to a bigger building in Merritt Island. The demand for mounts outweighed what the taxidermist wanted to produce each week. Not to be brought down by high demand and lack of supply, Troy bought a paint booth and taught himself how to paint! He admits he had no artistic skill at all, he was always into sports and fishing, so this was completely new for him.

While working with BoldWater, he learned Photoshop, and this taught him how to work in layers and build something up. He applied this to painting fish mounts. Understanding the different color schemes while working in Photoshop made this a somewhat easy transition for him. The biggest challenge was getting his hand-eye coordination with the paint gun and airbrush. Once all the pieces fell into place, the company grew and grew fast!

In 2015, they moved Mount This to its current location off US1 in Rockledge. They have a shop where they manufacture fiberglass fish and marine life replicas, paint booths, build crates to safely ship them out, and a showroom which displays all kinds of unique mounts. They have successfully grown Mount This from just a third-party shipper out of their garage to a well-known fish mounting company both locally and nationally, and we are lucky enough to have it located right here in the 321!

ENJOY TROY’S RESPONSES

TOP 3 BUSINESS TIPS

Do what you love and follow your gut
Marry someone who will support you 100 percent because you can’t give it your all if you’re being pulled to not give it your all.

Don’t be scared of failure or embarrassed about failing
If there’s something you want to do, make a plan and start by taking the first step. Some people have to have everything perfect before they start, this doesn’t have to be the case. Revise as you go, just get started and go for it! I’m self-taught and had to figure most of this out. I don’t have a great educational background. But I’ve learned to keep grinding, grow, and grind some more.

Hire fast, fire faster, and promote fastest
Get people working for you. If someone isn’t getting the job done, it’s ok to let them go and do it sooner rather than later. And for those doing exceptional work, promote them and keep them happy. Great employees are key to business.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

I did have a weakness that I have recently overcome. I tended to indulge in drinking. When you are a business owner and drink, and you know a lot of people within the bar and/or restaurants, it’s easy to get trapped in dining out and having meet and greets all the time and allowing yourself to drink during business hours, when you should be productive. I’m happy to report, in the past 12 months, I turned away from that lifestyle, and I have become more productive! In doing so, employees have more respect, and everyone can keep up with the grind of the business.

INSPIRATION BEHIND THE JOURNEY

My dad was a super hard worker, he worked in the post office, so for me hard work seems to come naturally. I enjoy working hard and having fished my entire life, I have the benefit of working in an industry I truly love. The cool thing about my business is it always feels good to help someone commemorate a special moment in their life of catching a trophy fish and providing them with something they will have for their lifetime to remember their special moment.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Most companies can only provide two of the following three things…but if you can figure out how to provide all three, you can dominate your industry: Price, Service, & Quality!

I’m a fan of Ed Mylett’s book The Power of One More. Every day when you’re ready to be done, just do one more little thing!

THANK YOU TROY

Thanks Troy for giving my readers an insight into your journey on being a self-made fish mount dude! To my readers, I hope you learned from Troy that just because you might not be knowledgeable in something, if you find something that interests you and you enjoy doing it…learn it! Don’t be afraid of failure. I think this leads perfectly into the new year! I encourage you to try that thing you’ve been wanting to learn or do, just go for it!

If you have any fish loving family or friends, then stop by Mount This where you’ll find a surplus of in-stock fish mounts! These make for great last-minute gifts, and 321 locals get a discount!!! Be sure to tell them Florida’s 321 sent you in! I can personally say, the fish mounts on display are so vibrantly colored and life-like, the craftsmanship that goes into each one of them is hands down AWESOME!

You can also visit Mount This Fish Company online, as well as on their social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Subscribe to their newsletter to be informed of all the cool mounts and any upcoming specials!

TOP 10

Gift Ideas This Holiday Season

According to BestProducts.com:

1. VGCUB Carry-On Back Pack

2. HP Sprocket Portable Photo Printer Starter Bundle

3. Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug 2

4. Bird Buddy Original Smart Feeder with Camera

5. Carhartt Deluxe Insulated Lunch Bag

6. TheraICE Rx Migraine and Headache Relief Cap

7. Intoval 3-in-1 Wireless Charger

8. Bronax Cloud Slides

9. Golfguru Golf Practice Net

10. Cocybercoc Custom Photo Pillow

ATHLETES

Holiday Exercise

Keep MOVING! Most athletes have at least the 2 weeks off between Christmas and the first of the year, if you’re one of those athletes, be sure to KEEP MOVING! Don’t get yourself in a rut of not doing anything but packing on the pounds. Everyone needs a break, but for athletes, that just means to tone it down! Don’t be so rigorous in your training, but still train. Nothing like taking to the court or the pitch or the course in the New Year and being totally off your game because you didn’t move for the last 14 days! With the New Year coming up, perfect time to reflect on your performance this past year and set new goals for yourself in 2024!

PARENTS

TOO MUCH STUFF

As a parent you may often think, my kid(s) have too much stuff!! And then almost dread the upcoming holidays because you know only more stuff will be added to the already too much stuff they have and most of it will just be needless stuff that will take up space! My advice, prepare ahead of time! While our kids were young, we did a toy (stuff) clean out twice a year…once before the holidays came and once before their birthdays! We taught them everything needs a home and for them to enjoy new things, they need to make room for them. PLUS, there are so many kids in need that if they outgrew something and or haven’t played with it in quite some time, that another child might really enjoy the toy (stuff), so they learned to give away and donate. I feel it’s important to include them in the process. We all know when you’re cleaning out someone else’s stuff, it can lead to arguments! You may think they won’t notice that thing way back in the closet underneath a ton of other stuff, but by golly they will notice it’s gone! Teach them early how to part with things they no longer need and how someone else may benefit from it. Teach them how to organize their stuff. Teach them everything needs a home and should have a place. Teach them to bring more stuff in, you must make room. It’s inevitable at this time of year, more people than not will be gifting your kids’ stuff, some of use and some not. Whatever the case may be, it does not mean your child’s room needs to be filled to the rim with stuff and letting them live in disarray. You now have about 10 days until the big day, pick a day with your kids to go through their STUFF!

LIFE

Be Kind

Tis the Holiday Season…but sometimes they’re not always jolly for everyone. Especially the ones who may be celebrating their first Christmas without a loved one, or for those who can’t be with their families to celebrate, or for those who may be feeling the financial pressures of the season. I’m saying this to be mindful when you’re out and about, remember Be Kind. While you’re driving, plan for extra time…you already know there’s going to be traffic out there, so no need for road rage, everybody has somewhere they want to be. When you’re shopping the retail stores, have patience with the employees as well as the other shoppers. Everyone’s trying to find the perfect gift and the stores are going to be crowded. Plan, not just strategically but mentally as well. When you patron a restaurant, most of them are short-staffed and the ones working are most likely overworked, tip well! When you’re at the grocery store, again plan for the crowd…OR go about 30 minutes before closing or first thing in the morning if you totally want to avoid the rush. You have 10 days, start picking up stuff now. If you’re feeling the financial strain, keep it simple…invite family over for hot chocolate and a holiday movie or games, doesn’t have to revolve around presents. In the end, enjoy the holiday season and don’t forget to be thankful that you have people to feed and shop for, some don’t even have that. Keep a SMILE on your face, you never know who might need it! In the end…JUST BE KIND!