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Profiles in leadership: Sam Nehme, owner of Broward Motorsports

Powersports Business shines the spotlight on a highly successful retail entrepreneur whose grit and vision have paid off in spades for Broward Motorsports and its 300 South Florida employees. From his first job sweeping floors at a dealership to his current role operating six busy retail operations in Miami, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Treasure Coast, and Tequesta, Sam Nehme has built a bona fide powerhouse, earning scores of impressive awards and accolades.

Sam Nehme is pictured with his wife, Ashley. Photos courtesy of Broward Motorsports

In our Q&A with Nehme, he addresses everything from his passion for motorsports to his unwavering focus and approach to business, to insights into the most daunting challenges facing the industry, and more. He is also the recipient of PSB’s Best-In-Class Leadership Award that will be given to him at our Accelerate Conference this month in Charlotte, North Carolina.

PSB: Can you share a bit about your background and the products and services offered by Broward Motorsports?

Sam Nehme: I’ve worked in the powersports industry since I was 12 … I came across a local PWC dealership and was hooked ever since. I worked my way through the ranks to become a GM by the time I was 20 years old. From there, I had my mind set on one day owning my own dealership. At the age of 29 I started Broward Motorsports.

We carry almost every powersports brand including Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, BRP SeaDoo and CanAm, Yamaha, Polaris, Scarab, Slingshot, KTM, Husqvarna, Indian Motorcycle, Ducati, BMW, Triumph, CFMoto, Benilli, Segway and more.

We are a full-service dealership with new and used vehicles, a full parts and accessories department, E-commerce department and service department. Approximately four years ago, we started a bicycles division which sells mountain, road and gravel bikes including Specialized, Giant, Pivot, Evil, Cannondale, Santa Cruz, along with other brands.

Broward Motorsports Christmas party
The Broward Motorsports team gather for Christmas!

PSB: What are your management responsibilities and areas of focus?

SN: I have an operations manager whom I work with closely, along with general managers of each location. I focus on being their resource to guide and push forward; they, in turn, work with their respective teams to accomplish the set monthly goals I put in place.

My specific area of focus involves growing my dealerships. I’ve learned that to take the business to the next level, I need to work on it and not in it. I focus a lot on the back end of the business, trying to think of ways to evolve and grow. I always try to put BMS on the leading edge of technology; I like to think outside of the box and not follow others. Being original and a disrupter is what makes me different from most operators.

You will hear from our employees and customers that we still have the mom-and-pop shop feel. As much as we have become a large and professional operation, it’s still important to stay grounded with your team and customers. This is something I work hard to maintain.

PSB: I understand you and your company have earned multiple awards over the years. Can you share the highlights?

SN: We have been #1 for KTM, Yamaha, Kawasaki, BRP, Suzuki, along with other brands, time and time again. I’ve been a professional jet ski racer most of my life and I have won multiple national and world championships and titles.

I also started BMS Choppers in 2002, building custom metric motorcycles which have won tons of awards and have made it to over a dozen magazine covers. Two very exciting wins were the Metric Revolution Biker Buildoff on ESPN, and first place at The Rats Hole.

Sam Nehme is a professional jet ski racer and has won multiple national and world championships and titles.

PSB: What other industry initiatives have you been involved in?

SN: BRP and Yamaha have invited me onto their dealer councils. I’ve been part of the ProWatercross and P1 Aqua X Professional Watercraft Racing Committee and have owned a Yamaha Factory Race Team. I was a co-host four years of the History Channel and Discovery Channel TV show, ‘It’s How You Get There’ which was shot all over the country and was about different types of motorized vehicles. I’ve consulted with many OEM manufacturers, aftermarket manufacturers along with investment firms.

PSB: As you consider your career, what’s been your biggest challenge?

SN: Great question! Being a business owner brings challenges daily; it’s all about how you react to those situations. I’ve learned not to be fazed by anything, and to immediately jump into solution mode. The biggest challenge in my career was getting through the recession in 2008. I’d owned my company six years and had just taken over my second location. I’d never been through a recession in my lifetime, nor did I know what to expect. How long will it last? How do I handle staffing? Do I have enough in reserves to get us through it? Do I use this time to try and buy some of the competition, or hold onto what we have and make sure to get through it safely? It was a tough time for all dealers in our space and it was surely a learning experience. I did take the gamble and purchased my third store (biggest competitor in the local market at the time)… and it paid off greatly!

PSB: After 22 years at Broward Motorsports, what has been your greatest achievement?

SN: I could answer that question by talking about a bunch of awards and things that sound great, but that’s truly not it. I feel my greatest personal achievement in the industry has been building such an amazing team within Broward Motorsports! We have the best of the best members on our team that our industry has to offer. Early on, I recognized that I would not be able to accomplish my goals alone and would need the help of a team to do it. Today I call this team my family!

We continue to raise the bar on how we operate our dealerships, and I feel we push our competitors to follow, which has made the industry even stronger than ever before. It’s not by accident that we are seeing multiple auto dealer owners looking at the powersports industry as their next venture. There once was a big separation in the two industries, but today they are very similar.

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