Success Is When A Plan Comes Together
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

Before I begin, I would like to wish the Dive Industry Association a Happy 23rd Year Anniversary.  It’s been a great journey so far, and I am honored to have had the privilege to work alongside so many outstanding Dive Industry Professionals in so many different shareholder groups and industries.  Thank you.  I am looking forward to continuing to serve the Global Diving Community and the Global Diving Business Network for many more years to come, in whatever capacity I am blessed to work in.

In our February 2024 Edition of The Dive Industry Professional, I wrote an article for our Dive Industry Network Series, entitled Create Your Own Circle of Influence.  That article prompted more responses and conversations from my fellow diving peers and colleagues in the diving industry than I have experienced in a very long time.  The article seemed to hit a hot button with Dive Industry Professionals who agreed that creating a strong circle of influence is one of the keys, if not the most important key, to unlocking your success potential in the diving industry.  I couldn’t agree more.

One of my esteemed colleagues in the industry suggested that I should expand the topic into a full-length book.  He must have been reading my mind.  That is exactly what we have been planning to do for some time now.  If you have been reading our Newsletter, which is now a Magazine, for the past 23 years, you’ll know that most of our articles are actually chapters or sections of a bigger issue. Creating Your Own Circle of Influence is part of an expanded version of the original twelve chapters first published in the series, The Dive Industry Network.  The series focused on how Dive Industry Professionals could learn, participate, lead, and mentor important principles in the diving industry.  Maybe we will call the next series of articles, Section II.  In addition to creating a circle of influence, we’ll be showing Dive Industry Professionals how to work with Dive Travel Wholesalers, qualify for FAM Trips, and learn how to set up group travel dive trips, among other things.  There are so many things a Dive Professional can do to launch their career and give them a competitive edge; we could write a book about it.  Dah!

I am currently working on another major series of articles that will most definitely end up as a text for developing a blueprint for growth and success in the recreational diving industry.  Perhaps you have already read the first twelve chapters in our monthly series, DIVE LOCAL – A Community Effort.  Section I focused on Building a Local Diving Community.  We showed the industry what the DIVE LOCAL concept was all about and the importance of local diving.  We explained the major components of the program and the levels of participation industry members could partake in.  We laid out geographically the foundation of the Global Diving Community and broke it down into Local Diving Communities.  We even discussed the problems, potential solutions, and actionable items industry members could take to grow the recreational diving industry.  And finally, we introduced the Regional Summit Conferences that could oversee the program.

Section II covered The Four Pillars of a Local Diving Community:  Dive Stores, Dive Boat Operators, Dive Clubs, and Dive Instructors.  We went into detail to describe what these local ambassadors do to build, maintain, and grow our industry.   Section III will cover our four-part message to the general public to create and retain more divers for the Global Diving Community.  Our four steps will explain how prospective divers can Learn to Dive, Buy Their Gear, Go Diving, and Stay Active.  It may seem like you’ve been reading a long list of unrelated articles, but I assure you that it is a well thought out, intricate, and integrated business plan that builds the stage, introduces the trade, and implements programs, products, and services for the buying public.

Two years ago, I worked on a nine-part Starting your Own Business series for the diving industry.  We covered everything we could think of, from start-up to exit strategy, to give a clear picture of the challenges and opportunities entrepreneurs typically face when starting, growing, and succeeding in their own business.   My research was based on over 40 years of experience working with small businesses in countless industries, to start, develop, grow, succeed, and eventually exit their own small business.  Working as a Small Business Development Specialist for Small Business Development Centers, Colleges and Universities, the SBA (Small Business Administration), and educational organizations in the diving industry, I got to observe and work with hundreds of small businesses owners to achieve their dream of starting their own business.  For every entrepreneur that was undertaking their quest for the first time, it must have been very intimidating, trying something new and venturing into unknown territory.   Like riding a bicycle for the first time, it’s scarry.  As a Small Business Consultant for many years, I had seen this scenario play out hundreds of times, from start to finish. It wasn’t my first rodeo.  I appreciate the power of a good plan and how it can increase the chances of succeeding.

Seeing a start-up go through the process of business planning from start to finish is a rewarding experience.  It is like witnessing a product go through the transformation from conception to consumption.  It’s exciting.  From my own experience, the most dramatic example of seeing a vision come to life through a successful planning process happened when we had a swimming pool built.  Having never built a pool before, we hired a professional pool builder to do the job.  Based on his many years of experience in the pool building trade, he helped us design the pool we needed, wanted, and could afford.  The builder returned to us a few days later and presented us with a drawing of our pool, explained how and when it was going to be built, and told us what it would cost.  From the day we broke ground until the day we added water to our pool, I photographed and videotaped the entire process and shared the progress with our diving friends and colleagues on social media.  I have to admit, there were days when I wondered if we were ever going to get the pool we wanted, on time, and on budget.  You might say that I had my doubts at times.  But through the entire process, the pool builder reassured us that according to his plan, everything was going like clockwork.  You have to understand that the builder could see the finished product in his mind’s eye, from the very first day he broke ground.  It wasn’t his first rodeo!  The pool was indeed finished on time, on budget, and functioned just like the builder said it would.

Our vision for the recreational diving industry is to bring buyers and sellers together in an integrated marketing approach that meets the needs of both buyers and sellers.  Our articles and promotional content will be focused on how business partners in the supply and demand chains relate to each other for their mutual benefit.  We are looking to praise symbiotic relationships in the Global Diving Business Network where both sides of a promotion are equally compensated.  Not where one group is charged so that another group can benefit.  I want to work in an industry where there are two, three, or four links in a supply or demand chain that can participate in a united promotional campaign for the benefit of their entire channel of distribution.   We have the data to support our concept.  We understand and can relate to the various components of our system and pieces to our industry puzzle.   Now is the time to work within our circle of influence while we work to increase its size and influence.

This is an exciting time to become part of the Global Diving Business Network.  For more information about global marketing opportunities, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net

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