The Industry Is What You Make It
by Gene Muchanski
Editor, The Dive Industry Professional 

We launched a new marketing campaign with our June Editorial, The Diving Industry Has Potential.  For the past four months we have been busy writing down our collective opinions of what the diving industry is to us and how we can capitalize on the enormous opportunities that present themselves to us on an almost daily basis.  I realize that every Industry Professional in our community is individually unique, but they are many common threads  that run through our Diving Industry DNA.  I have been finding out that my fellow industry professionals enjoy reading about what other diving businesses are doing to be successful in the marketplace.  I am also learning that my peers are willing to share what they are doing to gain a competitive edge over their competitors.  I am delighted to see this new environment of curiosity and trust in our industry.   I think we are on to something.

I can’t speak for everyone in the diving business community, but for us, writing down our version of the diving industry and what it is to us was the first step to experiencing this new age of sharing.  The Dive Industry Association created a white paper for the industry and called it Unifying the Diving Industry.  It’s a step-by-step process that gives you 12 things you can do (in order) to get on the same page as your fellow industry professionals and work to unify the diving industry.  Albeit, it started out as our vision of what the diving industry needs, but it is starting to becoming a basic foundation for what others are adding to.  In fact, writing the white paper was only the beginning for us.  I’ve come to realize that as I wrote each step, I saw things that needed improvement, expansion and even deletion from our original vision.  Starting in January, we will feature one step per month in our Monthly Newsletter, The Dive Industry Professional, to expand upon and update our vision.  I can tell you already that our white paper will lead to more and better ideas on how to successfully navigate a business through our industry.

Unifying the Diving Industry is more than just a simple white paper.  It started out as Chapter 10 in a white paper we wrote for a marketing campaign called DIVE LOCAL.  The white paper, DIVE LOCAL – A Dive Community Cooperative Effort, explorers the concept of local diving and its significance for the entire industry.  DIVE LOCAL is based on the fact that our front line Ambassadors; the Dive Retailers, Dive Boats, Dive Clubs and Dive Instructors are the Pillars of each local dive community who work in the diving industry on a daily basis.  They are the ones responsible for getting the general public to;  1) Learn to Dive, 2) Buy their Gear, 3) Go Diving and 4) Stay Active.  Without them, there would be no diving industry and no sales of Diving Equipment, Training and Travel.  That’s why it is so important for Diving Equipment Manufacturers, Training Agencies and Travel Companies to promote and support these local pillars of the local diving communities.

We are not finished writing the DIVE LOCAL white paper and have a long way to go to complete the World Directory of Diving Businesses on https://divelocal.wordpress.com  In fact, Step 5 to Unifying the Diving Industry is to Participate in the International Diving Cooperative Program, DIVE LOCAL.  

The success of our last two projects has lead us to start two more.  The first new white paper the Dive Industry Association has nearly completed is its Dive Industry Association Membership Manual and Guide Book.  It was about time to put in writing everything we are, do and provide for our Members.  The Association has grown to a point where its Members are receiving significant member benefits that other trade associations are not offering.  The new white paper is also helping us define and refine, Who we are, What we do and Why.  The publication of our Membership Manual may well be the thing that gives us significant exposure and growth in the very near future.

The second white paper we are working on is one that records the start, progress and current state of development of the diving industry.  It looks at our humble beginnings as a military tool that turned into a recreation, a hobby, a profession and a lifestyle for many.  It will cover how the industry began, how it grew and what it has become.  It will tell our story of the diving industry pioneers who made the industry what it is today and about our future leaders and ambassadors who will shape the industry in the next 70 years.  Think of this new white paper as a store map at your local mall that starts with – YOU ARE HERE!   Now tell us where you want to go and we’ll have something to work on.  The future industry is what we will make it.

We’ll see you at the DEMA Show.  I’ll be in Booth 2620.  Where will you be?