Take Robbie Naish, arguably the world's greatest wave sailor and now a manufacturer of windsurfing and kitesurfing equipment.

FORBES: Wing and a Prayer

As Naish and others mastered the beast, the skeptical started to become converts.

FORBES: Wing and a Prayer

Naish estimates there will be 30, 000 kites sold this year and triple the number next year, with his company dominant in the market.

FORBES: Wing and a Prayer

Naish and his windsurfing buddies started playing around with kites three years ago and instantly realized they could usher in a new age of sailboarding.

FORBES: Wing and a Prayer

"It took a while to convince people it was as much fun as we said it was, because we looked like a bunch of dorks out there, " Naish admits.

FORBES: Wing and a Prayer

"It was pretty much a one-way trip, " Naish says.

FORBES: Wing and a Prayer

Naish won't go so far as to say kitesurfing is superior to windsurfing--"on the right day, with the right conditions, windsurfing is still the best sport on earth, " he says--but he's cleaning up on the craze.

FORBES: Wing and a Prayer

"If a store is only marginally profitable, any further costs like this might mean either they won't build new stores where they're doubtful about profitability, or they might close stores that might become unprofitable in the future, " Mr Naish said.

BBC: Scotland independence uncertainty 'risk to investment'

Speaking on the Business Scotland programme on BBC Radio Scotland, Mr Naish - who is also a head of real estate at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership in Edinburgh - stressed that the SPF was not against or for independence, but that political and economic uncertainty increases investment risk, and that equates to cost.

BBC: Scotland independence uncertainty 'risk to investment'