As an independent you are mostly doing 1or 2 students at a time. Correct?
Makes more sense to have students do eLearning. Saves about 5 hours of classroom time and I find they are better prepared. Time is money. DO NOT make the mistake of lowering the value of your classes by selling it cheap. You will only attract cheap people who take a class get certified and never dive again, never invest in gear. I call them Groupon divers, always looking for a cheap experience and then complain anyway. Once they complete eLearning come to you, you might want to do a short review on eRDPml or RDP before administrating quick review test . I use both only as an intro to what most divers use which is a computer which can be less expensive than a watch and depth gauge. Go over any wrong responses on quick review in a prescriptive manner. Completion form student prints out from Online eLearning has a code for you to use to process a certification card at no cost to you. Done right you may find you actually can make some money and not complain about cost of PADI membership dues and insurance. Should work out to at least about $40 to $100 per hour to you for academic and confined water training in a private / semi private ow class. That upper amount money is what I get teaching private/ semi private with a flexible schedule for students ( 4 students at a time) for a LDS...lower amount ($40. ) for 1 student. Training dives not included. Anything less you are giving the class away and you may find cost of insurance,member fees, gas, gear, etc too expensive.
