daniel f aleman
Contributor
Great writing - keep it going...
Sarting a Dive Op... a candid discussion.
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Fantastic story! And what a great opportunity for you, I think you'll do well.
Yeah the accounting stuff is important, but it sort of assumes that you'll have money to count. How do you make sure that you do? In my first marketing job the guy I used to work for had asign said on the wall that said "Nothing happens until somebody sells something!"
I have a few business articles that I will send you on marketing. The main one is about "experience marketing" - understanding that what you are selling is not a product or a service but rather an experience. (Think Disney and Starbucks.)
Will also shoot you a PM with some other related information.
Ray
Yeah the accounting stuff is important, but it sort of assumes that you'll have money to count. How do you make sure that you do? In my first marketing job the guy I used to work for had asign said on the wall that said "Nothing happens until somebody sells something!"
I have a few business articles that I will send you on marketing. The main one is about "experience marketing" - understanding that what you are selling is not a product or a service but rather an experience. (Think Disney and Starbucks.)
Will also shoot you a PM with some other related information.
Ray
jasondcrawford
Contributor
When I was in Hawaii, me and my wife dove with 2 different ops. One of them would send a DM into the water with your dive group (you could follow him or not, up to you) to point out the interesting things unique to that site, the other didn't. Guess which one we saw more eels, reef sharks (which were always hiding), and even a few frogfish with? Yea, and guess which one we'll be using again next time we go.
Another thing, hate (can't emphasize this enough) when I get on a boat and feel like I'm being nickle and dimed for everything. I was on a night-dive and my tank-lite had apparently run out of batteries while on deck. The boat gave me a glow-stick at no charge. Could they have charged me $5 for this like many other ops? Absolutely. But when they told me not to worry about it, I felt like "It's not all about the money for them.... they want us to have a good time". That was a glow-stick well spent for them, as I've recommended them to several.
Another thing, hate (can't emphasize this enough) when I get on a boat and feel like I'm being nickle and dimed for everything. I was on a night-dive and my tank-lite had apparently run out of batteries while on deck. The boat gave me a glow-stick at no charge. Could they have charged me $5 for this like many other ops? Absolutely. But when they told me not to worry about it, I felt like "It's not all about the money for them.... they want us to have a good time". That was a glow-stick well spent for them, as I've recommended them to several.
OP
Okay, so I'm back. It's preety windy and its Monday to boot, so no trip for me. The second point I outlined is experience. I guess, what I think that people who are condidering opening a charter should know is that I think it's a very, very good thing to have. It has been my experience that no matter how safety minded you are, how careful, and how well you plan for emergencies, that if you spend enough time around diving, you're going to see stuff go wrong. Experience with things going wrong, in my opinion is beneficial for a number of reasons.
1. It helps to recognize things that are going wrong, are about to go wrong, or that could possibly go wrong if you've seen them go wrong before.
2. I think that when you have had experience to reacting to things going wrong the process of correcting the problem, or at least taking action to ensure a safe condition is easier, smoother and generally a calmer and more effective process if you've had some experience with it.
3. There is alot that goes on on a dive boat that is probably not apparrent to the casual observer, the order that things happen in, certain points in a dive briefing, and just the way that the charter is operated that someone who has experience, say another operator or instructor or DM from across the country pick up on very easily, especially if they are from a good one. If you are not very experienced it will show in these areas, at least to these people, and these are the people who if they like your op will come back with a group and fill your boat for a whole weekend. What's more if they think you suck, their whole area will probably find out about you that way.
3. Experience with running a charter allows you to anticipate. Not just things about to go wrong, but the needs of the divers. This is one of the marks of a good op. Before you even look up to find the DM, he/she's standing there with what you were about to ask for.
4. I don't know how it is in other parts of the country, or even world, but around here the new guy on the dock always has a hard time. If you've never done anything like this before, the other captains will tear you up. Having some kind of track record, in my opinion can temper this. If you are known as a great DM, and you're in it for the long haul, I think that people kinda expect that one day you're gonna take over or start a new dive op, and its not quite as bad for you. It is, after all, the next logical step.
1. It helps to recognize things that are going wrong, are about to go wrong, or that could possibly go wrong if you've seen them go wrong before.
2. I think that when you have had experience to reacting to things going wrong the process of correcting the problem, or at least taking action to ensure a safe condition is easier, smoother and generally a calmer and more effective process if you've had some experience with it.
3. There is alot that goes on on a dive boat that is probably not apparrent to the casual observer, the order that things happen in, certain points in a dive briefing, and just the way that the charter is operated that someone who has experience, say another operator or instructor or DM from across the country pick up on very easily, especially if they are from a good one. If you are not very experienced it will show in these areas, at least to these people, and these are the people who if they like your op will come back with a group and fill your boat for a whole weekend. What's more if they think you suck, their whole area will probably find out about you that way.
3. Experience with running a charter allows you to anticipate. Not just things about to go wrong, but the needs of the divers. This is one of the marks of a good op. Before you even look up to find the DM, he/she's standing there with what you were about to ask for.
4. I don't know how it is in other parts of the country, or even world, but around here the new guy on the dock always has a hard time. If you've never done anything like this before, the other captains will tear you up. Having some kind of track record, in my opinion can temper this. If you are known as a great DM, and you're in it for the long haul, I think that people kinda expect that one day you're gonna take over or start a new dive op, and its not quite as bad for you. It is, after all, the next logical step.
georoc01
Contributor
Great Narrative..
From my perspective, having never dove in your area, is for you to show me as the local expert, the best locations and things to see. Every place I go to dive has local differences and show me why you feel its thE best place to dive!
From my perspective, having never dove in your area, is for you to show me as the local expert, the best locations and things to see. Every place I go to dive has local differences and show me why you feel its thE best place to dive!
almitywife
Vegemite Mod
i will be happy if Kev starts using the return key for new paragraphs as at my age his posts are getting pretty tough on my eyes 
my thoughts as a out of towner... when looking for a dive op, i like to find accomodation links on their website, especially if they can recomend diver friendly accomodation and maybe even offer stay & dive packages
kev - you know i wish you the BEST OF LUCK!!!
my thoughts as a out of towner... when looking for a dive op, i like to find accomodation links on their website, especially if they can recomend diver friendly accomodation and maybe even offer stay & dive packages
kev - you know i wish you the BEST OF LUCK!!!
robint
Contributor
hotel links - I agree with that. We love to see recommendations on the website for hotels in the area which are "diver friendly" and also a note like "just mention you are diving with ....... for a special package price" is good. Some hotels will do this with no problem if they appreciate divers.
robint
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Kev,
Great writeup....Its not easy gettin into the biz, we have been at it for 8 months already....its alot of work and hard work at that.....We are in the midwest so I dont have to worry about boats or anything, but feel free to call me or PM me with any questions you may have and I would be more than happy to help you out.....ALso, sent me an email, fax, or normal mail, something aobut your OP and rates....Being in the midwest we love to do dive trips and stay active
The best thing I can offer you is to have great customer service. Our Business theory is " Give enough People What They Want and eventually, You Will Get What You Want"
Give great Service, help people, take a loss sometimes if you have to for that better service(hard to do when your scraping for money) make people talk about you and want to hang out with you....
At any given night I have 3-4 Dive Groupies that just hang out at the shop because its their getaway....I love it....They are having fun, they are bringin more fun to customers that walk in the door .....Its all about having fun! Dont lose sight of that
As for the internet, its hard to get an awesome website:
1. Expensive to pay someone
2. Well, if your new, its hard to pay someone to update it and make all the changes so now you have to find the time
3. Others that have been doing this a looong time....ARE doing it better because they have more money to throw at it
What does this mean? Do the best you Can!!! This is a stressfull business.....It will all fall in place if you are having fun and promote a fun business. Trust me...word spreads and other loyal shops customers will start coming to you because you will be doing it better.....
Hope this helps somewhat.....Wow...didnt mean to rant that long....SORRY
Great writeup....Its not easy gettin into the biz, we have been at it for 8 months already....its alot of work and hard work at that.....We are in the midwest so I dont have to worry about boats or anything, but feel free to call me or PM me with any questions you may have and I would be more than happy to help you out.....ALso, sent me an email, fax, or normal mail, something aobut your OP and rates....Being in the midwest we love to do dive trips and stay active
The best thing I can offer you is to have great customer service. Our Business theory is " Give enough People What They Want and eventually, You Will Get What You Want"
Give great Service, help people, take a loss sometimes if you have to for that better service(hard to do when your scraping for money) make people talk about you and want to hang out with you....
At any given night I have 3-4 Dive Groupies that just hang out at the shop because its their getaway....I love it....They are having fun, they are bringin more fun to customers that walk in the door .....Its all about having fun! Dont lose sight of that
As for the internet, its hard to get an awesome website:
1. Expensive to pay someone
2. Well, if your new, its hard to pay someone to update it and make all the changes so now you have to find the time
3. Others that have been doing this a looong time....ARE doing it better because they have more money to throw at it
What does this mean? Do the best you Can!!! This is a stressfull business.....It will all fall in place if you are having fun and promote a fun business. Trust me...word spreads and other loyal shops customers will start coming to you because you will be doing it better.....
Hope this helps somewhat.....Wow...didnt mean to rant that long....SORRY
blueeyes_austin
Contributor
Some thoughts (not exhaustive, so I retain the ability to revise and extend my remarks) about how I've chosen dive operators in the past:
1) Word of mouth, word of mouth, word of mouth. This obviously takes time to develop, but there is nothing like coming onto Scubaboard and seeing a history of detailed trip reports that talk positively about your business.
2) For want of a better word, "philosophy." This ties in with something you said earlier about defining your "mission." Communicate this clearly and consistently and try really hard NOT to be all things to all people...if you are mostly interested in running dive courses and getting people up through their first couple of dozen dives, for instance, don't also talk in your website about underwater photography and tech diving. Some camera guy or gal or tech diver will sure enough show up, get agitated about depth limits or dives being called after 25-30 minutes, and potentially deliver a ding to point one. And if you try to shoehorn them into a dive with folks from a cruise...well, the result won't be pretty at all!
3) A corallary to point 2: the more advanced the divers you deal with, the more segmented the market your are likely to be targeting. I firmly believe that divers who stick with the sport tend to gravitate towards specific interests. My wife, for example, is a great oceanlife spotter and I like photography. As a result, we're happy as clams "going for a dive" with a local who will help us look into nooks and crannies and point out TRULY interesting things (e.g., NOT a juvenile spotted drum, for instance!) If you can credibly demonstrate this in your marketing materials (e.g., fish pictures that are labelled with proper names and behavior notes as opposed to "Huge Grouper!"), that definitely tweaks MY interest.
4) A tie into accommodation that somehow reflects the philosophy of your dive operation. I'm going out on a limb here, but I suspect that there is a positive relationship between experience of diver and lack of desire for extreme creature comforts/topside diversions.
5) I'd like to disagree somewhat with the comment that websites are tough and expensive. This is true FOR SOME MARKETS. But for others, you could easily get by with a very simple webpage that gets updated every month or so but still communicates your philosophy effectively...in fact, I tend to worry about fancy websites that are full of flash animations and corporate marketing lingo!
1) Word of mouth, word of mouth, word of mouth. This obviously takes time to develop, but there is nothing like coming onto Scubaboard and seeing a history of detailed trip reports that talk positively about your business.
2) For want of a better word, "philosophy." This ties in with something you said earlier about defining your "mission." Communicate this clearly and consistently and try really hard NOT to be all things to all people...if you are mostly interested in running dive courses and getting people up through their first couple of dozen dives, for instance, don't also talk in your website about underwater photography and tech diving. Some camera guy or gal or tech diver will sure enough show up, get agitated about depth limits or dives being called after 25-30 minutes, and potentially deliver a ding to point one. And if you try to shoehorn them into a dive with folks from a cruise...well, the result won't be pretty at all!
3) A corallary to point 2: the more advanced the divers you deal with, the more segmented the market your are likely to be targeting. I firmly believe that divers who stick with the sport tend to gravitate towards specific interests. My wife, for example, is a great oceanlife spotter and I like photography. As a result, we're happy as clams "going for a dive" with a local who will help us look into nooks and crannies and point out TRULY interesting things (e.g., NOT a juvenile spotted drum, for instance!) If you can credibly demonstrate this in your marketing materials (e.g., fish pictures that are labelled with proper names and behavior notes as opposed to "Huge Grouper!"), that definitely tweaks MY interest.
4) A tie into accommodation that somehow reflects the philosophy of your dive operation. I'm going out on a limb here, but I suspect that there is a positive relationship between experience of diver and lack of desire for extreme creature comforts/topside diversions.
5) I'd like to disagree somewhat with the comment that websites are tough and expensive. This is true FOR SOME MARKETS. But for others, you could easily get by with a very simple webpage that gets updated every month or so but still communicates your philosophy effectively...in fact, I tend to worry about fancy websites that are full of flash animations and corporate marketing lingo!
OP
Hey thanks again everyone! Those are excellent points which I am definitely going to try to incorporate into my dive op, and I'm sure anyone else who may be reading this while considering opening a dive op of their own will be just as well served by the information.
I really do believe that no matter what a dive op says or advertises, their philosophy and motivations are very clear to the customers through their operation of the business, which brings me to a point that is pretty dear to me.
The absolute most important quality to me when I'm out diving with another dive op (and I do go diving with other boats) is very basic, very simple and very fundamental. I ask the question, "First and foremost, Does this operator love diving?" If the answer is yes, then good service, a genuine interest in providing you with the best quality trip that they can inevitably seems to follow. The two seem to be inter meshed.
If, however, the dive operator cares first and foremost about about taking my money, it seems like often I get the feeling from them that I'm putting them out for making them go out and perform whatever minimum service is required for them to justify keeping my money. I have been out with a number of dive ops who I believe didn't love diving, and some who left me with the impression that they didn't even care too much for divers!
Alot of the great posts that folks have made in this thread talk about the operator's philosophy being very important to them and I couldn't agree more. If you care about your customer having a great dive its only natural to toss them a 75 cent lightstick, or loan them rental or even personal gear so that they can have a great dive. If you really love diving, and you want to share it, that stuff is a given.
If you're after money, in my opinion, opening a charter is a big big big mistake.
I really do believe that no matter what a dive op says or advertises, their philosophy and motivations are very clear to the customers through their operation of the business, which brings me to a point that is pretty dear to me.
The absolute most important quality to me when I'm out diving with another dive op (and I do go diving with other boats) is very basic, very simple and very fundamental. I ask the question, "First and foremost, Does this operator love diving?" If the answer is yes, then good service, a genuine interest in providing you with the best quality trip that they can inevitably seems to follow. The two seem to be inter meshed.
If, however, the dive operator cares first and foremost about about taking my money, it seems like often I get the feeling from them that I'm putting them out for making them go out and perform whatever minimum service is required for them to justify keeping my money. I have been out with a number of dive ops who I believe didn't love diving, and some who left me with the impression that they didn't even care too much for divers!
Alot of the great posts that folks have made in this thread talk about the operator's philosophy being very important to them and I couldn't agree more. If you care about your customer having a great dive its only natural to toss them a 75 cent lightstick, or loan them rental or even personal gear so that they can have a great dive. If you really love diving, and you want to share it, that stuff is a given.
If you're after money, in my opinion, opening a charter is a big big big mistake.
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