Meet the bestselling author-entrepreneur who failed high-school English | Grammar Factory Publishing

Meet the bestselling author-entrepreneur who failed high-school English

So often we get fixated on trying to do it all – the flash website, hitting 1,000 likes, running the networking circuit… it can be a struggle to find the one thing that could make a tangible difference.

Enter Darren Finkelstein, who found something that did.


Darren has been messing about in boats for most of his life. His father introduced him to fishing and his first boating experience was learning to water ski in Melbourne. He bought his first boat at age 18 in partnership with a friend and eventually followed his father-in-law’s advice and bought a small half-cabin to go fishing and cruising with his young family.

In fact he felt so strongly about boating that decided never to return to a ‘real job’ with corporate Australia and made boating his profession. Today he is the co-owner of the industry accredited boat dealer/broker St Kilda Boat Sales and Service Centre. Located right on the water’s edge at St Kilda Marina they buy, sell, service, repair, fuel and wash boats for their discerning owners and have sold hundreds of new and used power boats of all shapes and sizes.


In 2012 Darren took to a computer keyboard with the aim of demystifying the process of buying and owning a boat. The result is Honey, let’s buy a BOAT! a straightforward guide through the maze of power boat purchasing.

In the interview below, Darren, who candidly admits to not being a writer, shares his experience of writing and self-publishing his book, and how becoming a bestselling author transformed his business.