New Shop

[Dive2Deco]

Hi all,

A friend of mine is wanting to startup a dive shop somewhere in the world, the question is... where!?

Anybody here care to share an opinion on where would be a great place to start up and why? Ive dove in quite a few places but honestly none of which would be suitable for investing.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to seeing what you have to say.

 

[CptTightPants21]

No experience in the matter, but you should do a lot of research. From what I have read, owning a dive shop isn't as glamorous as it sounds.

What kind of experience does your friend have? Is he only going to be the money man?

I would probably look to buy an existing dive shop, that way you have an existing client base and revenue stream.

 

[RJP]

Thanks in advance and I look forward to seeing what you have to say.

I say he should hire a professional who can actually conduct the research necessary to inform such a decision. (I know a guy...)

Business advice from strangers on an internet forum? Probably worth less that what you pay for it.

---------- Post added July 7th, 2015 at 07:08 PM ----------

I would probably look to buy an existing dive shop, that way you have an existing client base and revenue stream.

Did you ever notice that when a Chinese restaurant goes out of business... it's almost always replaced by another Chinese restaurant? (Which usually also goes out of business.)

 

[CptTightPants21]

I say he should hire a professional who can actually conduct the research necessary to inform such a decision. (I know a guy...)

Business advice from strangers on an internet forum? Probably worth less that what you pay for it.

---------- Post added July 7th, 2015 at 07:08 PM ----------



Did you ever notice that when a Chinese restaurant goes out of business... it's almost always replaced by another Chinese restaurant? (Which usually also goes out of business.)

You can find dive shops where the owners are getting old and looking to retire. In fact, most of the dive shops around me are run by people in their 50's and late 60's. But I second your point about doing research into the market.

 

[Dive2Deco]

I say he should hire a professional who can actually conduct the research necessary to inform such a decision. (I know a guy...)

Business advice from strangers on an internet forum? Probably worth less that what you pay for it.

---------- Post added July 7th, 2015 at 07:08 PM ----------
Thank you both for your replies.

RJP, if you could PM me details of your man I will pass them on. Thanks



CptTightPants.. The gentlemen in question is the money man, I am going to be running it for him.

I have a few years under me as an instructor and shop manager so I feel confident I will be able to keep track of finances, staff, advertising, maintenance etc.. I have only worked and dove and worked in the Caribbean (Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas), South Africa and some places in Greece (only dove here) so looking for opinions further a field with regards to opportunities other may have spotted and are willing to share.


buying a pre-setup dive shop to me is scary, i like the Chinese shop example.

 

[Z Gear]

I say he should hire a professional who can actually conduct the research necessary to inform such a decision. (I know a guy...)

Business advice from strangers on an internet forum? Probably worth less that what you pay for it.

---------- Post added July 7th, 2015 at 07:08 PM ----------
Thank you both for your replies.

RJP, if you could PM me details of your man I will pass them on. Thanks



CptTightPants.. The gentlemen in question is the money man, I am going to be running it for him.

I have a few years under me as an instructor and shop manager so I feel confident I will be able to keep track of finances, staff, advertising, maintenance etc.. I have only worked and dove and worked in the Caribbean (Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas), South Africa and some places in Greece (only dove here) so looking for opinions further a field with regards to opportunities other may have spotted and are willing to share.


buying a pre-setup dive shop to me is scary, i like the Chinese shop example.

This is interesting to me because it amazes me how some of these LDS owners continue to suffer from flat line growth yet don't really make a switch and actually MOVE to a more visible location. You wouldn't believe how many shops I know are in some very poor locations. I know that it is an expense but there is the obvious advantage of being visible.There is something to be said about "location, location, location". It is worth doing your best to be physically visible to new and potential customers especially if they can easily come in and be get to know your shop or scuba diving in general. It would be good if you can go the extra mile an put some thought into how you can attract near by customers and help introduce them to Scuba. This is IMO and I am not a shop owner but I feel some have become so used to having very poor walk in customers, that they forgot how to actually get new customers in the door. This is what can happen when you are used to doing the same thing the same way for so long it just becomes ingrained and change becomes difficult to them.

"You can't really expect to get any radical result unless you are prepared to take some radical moves yourself".

I agree that a good solid market research analysis on your location and objectives on shop size as well as what is your vision of what you would like the shop to be an essential first step. I would think that these two items would be vital, in order to have a good evaluation of your options for opening a new shop.

Best wishes,
Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear

 

[Dive2Deco]

Frank G, Z Gear..

Thanks for your response. an interesting point you raise and I will take it into business with me. It is something I have thought about before when first being introduced to diving in PE,South Africa. there are 2 shops there Ocean Divers International & Pro Dive... ODI is out of the way, where as Pro Dive is on a main street. No guessing required to know which of the 2 is more successful. that being said I still got my training through ODI as it was the school my father did his training in 1988. nothing like a bit of nostalgia to keeping your business afloat.

The place we are looking at is somewhere off St. Martin, any ideas on the quality of the diving in this area?

 

[RJP]

The place we are looking at is somewhere off St. Martin, any ideas on the quality of the diving in this area?

Sounds like you're giving in to what we call "the street lamp effect" in market research...

In the instructive parable a cop comes upon a man frantically searching for something. He asks what's going on and the man says "I'm looking for my keys."

Cop: "Where'd you have them last?"
Man: "Over there, across the street."
Cop: "Why are you looking for them here?"
Man: "The lighting is much better."


If you want to open a dive op on/near St. Martin... it doesn't really matter much what the quality of the diving is like compared to other locations.
If you want to open a dive op where there's good diving... the list of possible locations on the planet is extensive.

The research you'll need to do is very different depending on which of those two things is your objective.

 

[Dive2Deco]

I guess what im looking for is opinions on where you guys.. "the diving community", would like to see a dive shop where there isnt one or where you would like to see one that would meet your expectations on a professional (recreational) level. I have been lucky enough to work for many successful shops but I have found that these places are normally heavily saturated and opening a new shop would be met with such heavy competition the likelihood of going bang is better than not. I am going to have a look at your Aquis site and see what you got going on. Any further advise or analogies are always welcome. Thanks again.

 

[RJP]

If the answer were as easy as asking on a web forum, there'd already be a dive shop somewhere that lots of people wanted one where there wasn't one previously.

I'm not suggesting that you should go where the market is saturated, but there is a reason why there's a Burger King across the street from most McDonald's locations.

Further, while few markets need a marginally superior business, there's always room for an innovative business that offers a DIFFERENT product or service. Check out "Blue Ocean Strategy" for an interesting way to look at a market space. http://info.psu.edu.sa/psu/fnm/ymelhem/blue ocean str.v2.pdf

I am going to have a look at your Aquis site and see what you got going on. Any further advise or analogies are always welcome. Thanks again.

The website is a bit crap. Cobbler's children go barefoot and all that...

:d