The answer:

Save your PowerPoint presentation as a show!

If you want to really impress people with your PowerPoint, simply save the file as a .pps. This is a PowerPoint Show as opposed to the default .pps which is called a PowerPoint Presentation.

Most people save their presentaions as this defult PowerPoint Presentation (PPT). A PPT shows all the slides and all the background work that can be done on the presentation.

By saving as a PPS (PowerPoint Show), when you double-click it, it will auto launch into the show mode. It makes it look so much more professional. I’ve always seen presentations where people open the PPT, then go to Slide Show > View Show. This cuts off all that step.

These self-running presentations are a great way to make a presentation without having to have someone available to run a slide show presentation. For example, you might want to set up a presentation to run unattended in a booth or kiosk at a trade show (such as the FHTA Dive Fiji EXPO!), or send a CD or USB stick with a self-running slide show to a customer.

You can make most of the controls unavailable so that no one can make any changes to the presentation. A self-running presentation also restarts itself when it’s finished and also when it has been idle on a manually advanced slide for longer than five minutes.

Saving your presentation as a slide show

Saving your PowerPoint presentation as a slide show ensures that when the file is opened, it automatically opens as a slide show (in full screen mode).

1. On the File menu, click Save As.
2. In the Save as type box, select PowerPoint Show (*.pps), and then click Save.

Some of the Options for a Self-running Presentation

When you build a self-running presentation, you’ll want to keep the style of where it’ll be shown in mind — for example, whether it is for an unmanned booth at a trade show or whether there will be any supervision present. This’ll help you determine what parts you add to your presentation, how much control you give users (if any!), and what steps you need to take to prevent hiccups and people screwing with it.

Things you might want to consider when designing a self-running presentation include:

• Automatic or manual?
  You can set it up to run by itself with auto-timings, or you can set it so that users can move through it at their own pace by using the mouse to click action buttons for navigation. If you set up a slide show to be browsed at a kiosk, mouse clicks are ignored unless they’re on objects with hyperlinks or action buttons.
• Hyperlinks & other buttons
  You can use hyperlinks to move through the presentation or to jump to other slides and programs. Action buttons (PowerPoint’s predefined navigation buttons) can give your presentation the look and familiarity of a Web page, with buttons for Home, Help, Back, Next, and so on.
• Voice over
  You can add recorded narration that plays with your presentation.
• Capture input
  You can use the ActiveX controls that come with PowerPoint to create a response slide in your presentation. For example, you can add a text box in which people can enter their names and addresses to receive further information.

Here’s a great wee video to show how to do this step by step:

Simply put, performing due diligence means taking an extremely good scrutinizing look at the business to see if it holds muster and actually IS what it claimed to be before you made the offer. The basic translation is:

“Has the Seller told the truth in regards to how big the business is and how much money they make, or have they told porkie-pies in the MoS or Financial Highlights”

Now the next thing is that the Seller will only give you what you ask for… indeed there’s the rub, you really do need to know what to ask for at this stage and once you’ve got it, know what you’re looking at.

They are not going to willingly give you things you haven’t asked for. They have an offer on the table that they have accepted and they want to get this done as fast as humanly possible

For 90% of us this means employing an Accountant to look at (yes a real one, not just your mum who does your dad’s small business books..)

The things you need to look at during this stage when you have made the offer. I’d break it down into things that you can do and things that you really want your Accountant to do

Your Accountant

For a good feeling of the financial situation of the scuba diving company ask for the last three years worth of:

• Contracts for sale of the business (prob fairly bog-standard)
• Financial records
• financial performance
• P&L
• Bank statements (all bank accounts!)
• Tax returns
• Proof of past sales
• Proof of past purchasing
• Current balance sheet
• Payroll and remuneration amounts for all staff

Your Work in all This

Now chances are that you will be better qualified and in a better position than any accountant to asses these items. (Not to say that you shouldn’t be giving these items and info to your Accountant also)

• Employment contracts and remuneration amounts for all staff
• Property Leases or titles
• Lease and rental agreements for any equipment and assets
• Stock levels (as recent as possible)
• Asset register (check what is claimed is actually there)
• Customer contracts (talking travel agents, dive wholesalers)
• Supplier contracts
• Joint venture and partnership agreements (hotel concessions?)
• Trademark registration (see if that lovely logo is secure…)
• Insurance policies
• Pending quotations
• Customer database
• Any advance payments received
• how the business actually operates,
• who their customers are (hotel guests or walk in from street)
• how they get their customers (advance bookings or walk in point-of-sale?)
• supplier relationships
• competition information

Wow! Now there’s a PILE of work huh? Yeah no sh#t! This is sure to take the shine out of that lovely Honeymoon feeling, lol!

Hotel and Resort Contracts

One of the things to remember in looking at all the current contracts of the company is that many of the customer contracts , talking concessions to hotels and resorts, normally have a clause in there that says something like this:

“…if the concessionary changes ownership, then this contract ends…”

What this means is that your new company will have to re-contract with all these customers. This is normally not a major issue, as all it normally takes is a visit to the General Manager of the hotels hand-in-hand with the previous owner to ‘resign’ the contracts.

Suva, Fiji— 16 March 2011– Resort Support, a provider of online marketing and support to the tourism industry in Fiji, has received the 2011 All Star Award from Constant Contact®, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT), the trusted marketing advisor to more than half a million small organisations worldwide.

Each year, a select group of Constant Contact customers are honoured with the All Star Award for their exemplary marketing results. Resort Support’s results for its clients ranked among the top 10% of Constant Contact’s customer base. 

The team at Resort Support have been operating many different tourism products throughout the the Fiji Islands and the South Pacific, from dive shops to cruise ships, from hotels to resorts and environmental management.

The two principals of Resort Support are Stuart Gow and Helen Sykes have over 25 years of tourism experience between them operating small-medium tourism products throughout the Caribbean, Central America and the Fiji Islands.

Stuart Gow, Director of Resort Support, said ‘We’re very proud and happy to be recognised by Constant Contact for achieving strong marketing results for our clients here in Fiji. Constant Contact’s tools have helped all our clients in the following specific ways to better manage customer/ constituent relationships and engagement.”

He continued, “In the coming year this will become even more important as more and more of the global community are wired through mobile devices as well as their desktops. A consistent customer engagement is important to all of our client’s businesses, and we are planning to leverage Constant Contact as a key component of our marketing plans to develop these relationships in the year ahead.”

All of Constant Contact global customers using any combination of the company’s Email Marketing, Event Marketing and Online Survey tools are eligible for this award. Constant Contact looked at the following criteria to select 2011′s All Stars:

Frequency of campaigns, events and surveys

• Open, bounce and click-through rates
• Event registration rates
• Survey completion rates
• Use of social features
• Use of mailing list sign-up tools

“There is nothing we like more than to see our customers finding success. It’s the reason Constant Contact was founded and it’s a thrill to see the fantastic results that our All Stars are achieving,” said Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact.

“This group is really leading the charge when it comes to delivering relevant, engaging content that drives real business results. We salute this year’s All Stars for their success, and are honoured to have played a part in their achievements.”

About Resort Support

We help small-medium size tourism businesses during their development and growth, and have a range of services to assist them in times of change. Our approach enables just the right level of support to suit the cleints own particular circumstances, so that they can achieve a higher level of consistency in product, service and profitability!

We provide individually tailored, practical and effective solutions suitable for small-medium size businesses, and have developed a range of packages to suit our clients specific marketing needs

About Constant Contact, Inc.

Constant Contact is revolutionising the success formula for small organisations through affordable, easy-to-use Engagement MarketingTM tools that help create and grow customer relationships. More than half a million small businesses, nonprofits, and associations worldwide rely on Constant Contact to drive ongoing customer dialogues through email marketing, social media marketing, event marketing and online surveys. All Constant Contact products come with unrivalled KnowHow, education and free coaching with a personal touch, including award-winning customer support.

Constant Contact and the Constant Contact Logo are registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All Constant Contact product names and other brand names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Constant Contact makes it easy and affordable to build strong relationships with your customers. Try our FREE 60-Day Trial.

Media Contact:

Mr Stuart Gow

Resort Support

t: (679) 997 5416

e: Stu…@ResortSupportFiji.com

###

In my experience, the decision to buy a scuba diving business happens, not over a conference table or in an office, or even in the dive centre itself. It’s an emotional decision done over a cup of coffee in the morning at home, or maybe on the porch of the hotel room at night actually in the destination.

You have all the MoS, and now a lot more info by spending a few days with the Owners and looking at the business. Probably been for a few dives on the dive boat, seen the staff doing what they do. Maybe sat round the pool and watched one of the OWSI’s do a DSD with some students.

You sit and try to analytically look at the MoS, and try to get a feel for the limited financial info you have been given. But in the end, you just decide:

“YES. This is the life i want to lead at this stage of my life, so lets work out how I can get it…”

Right, you feel a LOT better already! You feel like you’ve MADE the decision and now you’ve just got to get the paperwork and that out the way. LOL if it was only that easy.

Piece of advice here, keep your business head on for a few more days… You will be starting to feel VERY near to the prize and the tropical lifestyle at this point. Don’t lose your head and go all ga-ga on me at this point. The proverbial honeymoon feeling of having made the big decision to DO IT here in the tropics! (but do feel free to have a few glasses of wine!)

How do you decide on The Offer?

Now you have to work out what Offer you are going to give. Not a simple task. Not just a good ratio or ROI worked out by an accountant in a wee grey office somewhere looking at a spreadsheet. You’ve not really got ALL the inside info yet either.

This is the business risk part that a lot of people are completely incredulous about, and many get stroppy.

“How do you expect me to make a real offer when i’ve not seen the real financials or books or the real asset register” goes the cry!”

There is also probably the Price Guide, or the Asking Price which the Seller has given you. I say probably, because some won’t, preferring to gauge the market price and leave it completely open.

The Offer you’re about to make is going to be based on all these factors and, lets get down to it, your assessment of what the Seller will accept.

Ah yes, that is the nature of buying business and the business risk involved. The bottom line of this is that the risk isn’t as big as most people think it is. Once you make an Offer base don the information given, you get to do what’s known as your “Due Diligence”.

Make the Offer

Offers are normally received in writing in the form of a letter of intent and include the following:

• Name of the buyer and the date
• Purchase Offer
• Time frame for the settlement
• Required owners assistance during the changeover, time and nature of their involvement (see this article)
• Competing trading restrictions for the owners (non competition clauses)
• Exclusion from purchase (things they don’t want, maybe one of the cars, maybe all the office eqt)
• Conditions the offer is subject to

If the Buyer doesn’t know how to do this, normally accountants and lawyers or business advisers can assist. Or if the Seller wants, this can be a “preferred info in an offer” sheet as a guidance.

If the offer is acceptable to the Seller  then all is well. All shake hands and have a drink. However in reality, it seems that everyone wants to feel a bit “special” and wants to exercise their egos in this particular business (I am waiting for the day to be proved wrong and will have a great party with both Buyer and Seller and I’ll bloody pay, lol!)

At this point the buyer gets to do full and true due diligence. They get access to the World! (but we’ll cover that in another article)

If as we discussed above, the 2 parties decide to flex their egos (yes I want to say it as it is), and the seller makes an offer aimed to be ‘flexible’, the next step is negotiations.

Negotiation

In a way it is fortunate for all involved in buying and selling a scuba diving business, businesses by nature are very complex and flexible which creates room for negotiation.

The best way to do this is not to manipulate other parties or use tricks and techniques but to enter into a communicative and creative process.

We are all in the same very small niche business, so chances are the seller actually really understands the buyer’s situation. Probably better than the buyer in reality. Many of the buyers are first time scuba dive business owners (or to be more precise want-to-be-owners) whereas the current owner has been in scuba industry for years.

It stands to reason, and historically, that the Seller knows an awful lot more about the business than the Buyer. The advantage in this is definitely in the Sellers favour.

Present clearly your situation to the seller and reasons why this is your offer. Then work hard to attempt to create the deal and agreement which can satisfy both parties needs and circumstances.

Having your entry and exit point and knowing your limits will be of great assistance at this point. This will help you negotiate with certainty, control, confidence and without (too much) stress.

Accepting the buyers offer does not mean that the business is sold. The business should stay on the market and introductions and negotiations with other buyers should continue all the way until a contract of sale is entered into with one of the buyers.

Many of them have spent the past 10 plus years in the tropics, living the good life. After a while working as a Divemaster, they progress onto instructor and spend a few years working for a selection of dive centres and liveaboards around the world.

At some point an opportunity pops up that one of these dive centres is looking for investors, or indeed looking for an all out Buyer…

Next thing that pops up is “Right, this sounds good, what do we do now and what information do we ask for now to make sure we’re not buying a White elephant?” (or words to these effects, to be honest, this is normal uttered after a few beers and has a bit more of a fruity flavour to it, lol. We are still scuba divers after all…)

This article is going to look at the All Out Purchase of a Tropical Destination Dive Centre.

Stage 1: First things first…

Have you been there, dived there?

Okay, lets say something right here. If you have not been to the dive centre, or even been to the country in which it is, FORGET IT!

You really DO want to have been to the dive centre, dived with the operators, seen the operation and indeed stayed in the village/resort where it is situated. The info ‘on paper’ is NOT the business!

I am going to make the assumption that we are looking a potential Buyer who is indeed a diver and is looking to set up life in the tropics owning a dive business. If the potential Buyer is looking for a paper investment to make a good financial ROI, then they should read my article The REAL worth of a scuba dive business… for a more realistic view of the dive industry.

You want to have been on the ground, or plan on being on the ground, WAY before you even think about laying out any money or making any offer.

Nuff said, I personally think there is NO exception to this!

What information can realistically get up front?

A “Sales Memorandum” or a “Memorandum of Sale”  should be available almost immediately you have stated an Expression of interest.

This document (or nowadays more likely a webpage) outlines everything needed to assess the scuba dive business. The following information is normally included (but there is no rule or law governing this):

• Brief description of the business and its history
• Description of customers and markets (demographics)
• Description of products, services and pricing (a basic run down of courses, dive trips and retail)
• How the business generates new business (Sales and Marketing)
• Description of premises and lease terms
• Financial highlights for at least 3 years (see below for more on financial info)
• Number of Employees and basic wages info
• Asset list owned by the business that are for sale with the business (however not an Asset Register)
• Basic Explanation of contracts with customers and suppliers
• Strengths of business
• Potential for future expansion
• Reasons for sale
• Terms for sale
• Price guide

You’ve done all your due diligence, and you (and maybe your partner) have decided that “THIS is the place we want to live“, and “this dive business is the answer to how we can enjoy this lifestyle“.

You’re settled in and finding a new house, all the business, immigration and tax stuff is sorting itself out. And now you are ready to have fun with your new scuba diving business and get on with life here.

So why hire the past owners?

So why hire the past owners when buying a dive business in tropics? You want to put YOUR stamp on it with some new ideas etc, and this past owner will just get in the way? Lets ask for a couple of weeks ‘help’ to show us the ropes and then we’ll get on with it that’ll work out just fine.

Sit down with a cup of coffee and really think about it though. This will not be a standard business in any sense. I hvve now lived and worked in the scuba dive busniess on tropical islands for 20 years, and have yet to see 2 that are the same. The guy/girl who knows exactly how THIS one works is the old-owner. It makes sense to have them assist the hand over.

You certainly want it to be amicable! I have yet to meet anyone who moves to the tropics looking for agro or a fight. Just not why ANY of us are here.

Old Owner Still Living Next door

There is a 50/50 chance that the people you just bought the business off are hanging around. Maybe you’ll be in the same Rotary Club, maybe your kids will go to the same school, maybe the same Tourism Association. You don’t want to start your new life in paradise with a falling out/Barney over something that can be sorted out in advance.

You don’t want the past owner just wandering in when and however he wants. Remember this member of staff (which is what they become) is used to walking about as God/Emperor (use which ever one you want, but believ me, as a business owner myself i see some of my/our weaknesses, lol!). He/she comes and goes whenever they want at whatever time they want. Certainly NOT used to having to do work in someone else’s business, and certainly not in “their own shop”.

HIRE the Old Owner

This is possibly the most important part of this, pay the past-owner a salary and give him/her a job title…

Seems silly, but I advise putting him/her on a fixed time contract (how long? see below), with a set salary (with all benefits of other staff in regards to Superannuation, health etc, you would normally give a short term employee).

Have them sign a standard employment contract that all the other staff have. Include all normal contract clauses for salary, daily start times and finishing times, days of week worked, time off, sick leave, superannuation, all the way down to discipline and conduct. This immediately sets the relationship in everyone’s mind. Have them into the office and have a sit down “hiring discussion”. Don’t just wing a contract at them over a wet dive centre counter and have them quickly sign. Set the relationship properly and you will reap the benefits for the next few weeks.

Now if everything goes rosy and well of course, this newest staff member becomes the New Owner’s pet employee, and ends up having cups of coffees in the afternoon. However this has to be on YOUR terms and invitation under your scuba diving business. YOU are the boss here as soon as the deal is done!

The rest of the staff will of course defer to them for weeks, probably months. Another eason to have a fixed term contract.

To have this all done in black and white and laid down for you and the old-owner makes it cleaner and simpler for everyone. It helps you plan a specific calendar for the hand over and future plans you have for the business without interference from a past owner.

Follow-up consultations

Follow-up consultations can be very useful to write into an agreement. Not too many, and certainly not “give me your cell number and I’ll call (whenever!) I have a question/problem.

As a follow-up thought, I also recommend that if the old-owner is still going to be around in the country/region, see if you can adhoc hire them to come in and trouble shoot equipment. Making this on a formal basis of “we will pay you for your work” takes away the risk of overstepping a possible friendship in asking too much of their time without recompense.

Seems obvious doesn’t it? I have seen this go really well, but unfortunately I’ve also seen it go sour.  recommend folowing this simple advice and stay friends with old owners and staff alike.

(if you haven’t read my article “The REAL worth of a scuba dive business…” I recommend you do now to see where I am coming from )

I am writing this because it seems to be a recurring theme throughout discussions with new investors/entrepreneurs and business buyers into the Destination Scuba Diving Business. Many of these people have long diving history, thousands of dives, and are VERY successful business people in their “real lives’

It’s a mistake to base ANY company on only its tangible assets, scuba diving businesses especially. The size and success of a scuba business and the real profit comes in the high quality and ease of the lifestyle of its owners.

That is why 99% of all scuba business owners in tropical destinations are there.

They want to live the lifestyle on the island and dive whenever they want to.

I don’t know ANY liveaboard or dive resort or dive centre owner in any tropical destination who decided to start the business (or buy it) because it would give them the best ROI financially on their investment. (none of them have been THAT stupid, to put it bluntly). The the diving business is not filled with MBA’s and business degrees, the people who are driven to those courses and degrees have other things that make them happy (I hope!).

Now that’s not to say scuba businesses don’t make good money. That would also be erroneous. Just that a high financial ROI of other businesses is not the deciding factor in choosing to join the scuba dive business.

The REAL profit from owning a scuba dive centre in a tropical destination (I can’t believe that I have had to persuade people of this!), is the life in the tropical destination itself. The second factor is the freedom to dive everyday if you want. (that last bit is VERY important!).

Location, location, location!

Most dive businesses consist of little more than a couple of compressors, a few boats, and few sets of scuba gear in the Asset Register. Maybe a building (that has been substantially adapted to the specialist business, and would require significant investment to convert to anything else!), maybe a vehicle or 2, maybe a wharf or dock on the ocean. Point being, if you add all these up on paper, it doesn’t add up to much at all in dollar amounts.

I see dive centres for sale listing all their “equipment” all the time on forums and websites, right down from having “2 dive boats” to having “16 pink snorkels”. Really? Does anyone really actually think that this kind of list in anyway values the dive business? Anyone in the dive industry just laughs at listing o-rings, snorkels, masks etc. We know how much we buy rental gear for, especially disposable items like masks and snorkels…

The value of the business is the BUSINESS itself and the lifestyle it will give the owners, and not a sum of its tangible assets. Or indeed of its financial balance Sheet or P&L. Now, to ignore the financials would be folly of course, but they cannot be the PRIMARY reason to buy any Small/Medium Scuba Business on a tropical island.

I also hear a lot about ‘growth potential’ in these discussions and sales negotiations. This has its pros, but also some major cons. To re-iterate why we all come to live in Paradise, we did not come hear to work like a work-mad entrepeneur, 7 days for years… We come to live “the life”. Therefore expanding the company to have 5 dive centres, may indeed not be a worthwhile goal, especially if requires more work from you (and lets face it, it WILL!).

You do not move to live in Fiji to work 7am-6pm, 7 days, 365 days a year in a job!

The dive centre will have many contracts and relationships with the resorts and hotels around it that will have taken years to establish. This is not do-able in a short period.

The real strength of the company comes in intangible assets that really cannot be bought any other way. Seriously REGARDLESS how much money you think you can throw at it…

The bottom line of the tropical dive business is the high quality and ease of life of the owners to live, work, dive and enjoy themselves on a tropical island.

The best dive businesses have long-term staff that do all the heavy lifting and grunt work, and leave the owners to manage as and when they choose. You do not want to need to be in ‘the office’ daily, regardless of how much fun it is the first few months. It is YOUR business, to supply YOUR lifestyle, Not a job you got in the tropics.

(side note if you do just want a job in the tropics, that’s doable of course. Head over to the PADI Employment Boards and see lots of jobs on offer. Again lifestyle being the driving factor, not earnings!)

Most of the tropical dive business unfortunately don’t ever achieve this level. The owners have effectively bought themselves or built themselves from scratch a “JOB”. And not an easy job by any reckoning. They are up at 6am in the morning, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Days off? Ah yes they remember them in the “real world” they came from.

Even some of the ‘so called’ tangible assets such as the online assets and customer database are in reality a time-earned asset. You really can’t just throw a lot of money at a struggling or brand new dive business and VOILA there you go! These things take years to build up momentum, followers, trusted status.

To set up a new dive business from scratch is relatively easy if you have a wee pile of cash… Walk into BAUER or COLTRI, buy a compressor, find a boat owner, get a contract to use the boat for scuba diving, buy 20 or 30 scuba cylinders from Cramer Decker, and a few sets of gear from Scubapro. Et voila, instant dive centre? Not really huh? Now you have got yourself a small business with no history, no customer base, no hotel contracts. Then you have to work out all the places to source better (or more cost-effective) gear, work out the best way to maintain/repair the compressors when they need it (oh yes and where to get cylinders fixed in the meantime…)

SO for the next 5-10 years you will be working DAMNED hard to establish it, with all the struggles and set-backs of any SME except with the added risk and dangers of doing it in a foreign country. EEEK!. Mostly not what people are looking for in their “dream life on an island”. All too common though…

Now this “dive centre from scratch” sounds fun to some. And in Sydney or San Diego, I would probably have a blast at it myself. However we’re talking about a tropical island here, a foreign country, not our own country. Do you speak the language of this island? Do you understand the law (ALWAYS different from your own, believe me). Have you ever done business in, lets face it more than likely, a 3rd world country.

Face Facts

So the analytical way to look at this is to face facts.

You will be buying a dive centre in a tropical destination for 2 real reasons:

1. to live a high quality and relatively easy lifestyle in the tropics
2. to dive everyday, or indeed as often as wanted

Other reasons, that support the 2 primary ones above are:

1. to have a higher standard of living with the lower cost of living
2. to have more quality time with kids
3. do less housework and laundry
4. live the life, take some risks, and live free in the tropics!

Summary

So what IS the REAL worth of a scuba dive business… Same with every product, effectively it’s worth whatever the market is willing to pay for it.

But do not be fooled by thinking that any Seller is going to be shanghai’d with analysis of their Asset Register, Balance Sheet or P&L for the last year into making the business worth only a couple of thousand dollars for the “2 dive boats” and “16 pink snorkels”.

That analysis works when buying a run of mill business in the real world, but just doesn’t add up to the life on offer in the tropics.

Location, location, location!

Bottom line: the Buyer and Seller need to sit down over a bottle of wine or a cup of coffee outside the dive center (on location) and have an honest face-to-face discussion about the LIFESTYLE that is being sold. Without being on site, it is IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to judge the value of this.

(then you can do an analysis iof the finances to see if the business can indeed support that lifestyle… another story all together)

And then negotiation on the price can begin…

The #1 thing to remember when talking about owning a Scuba Dive Business in the tropics is the PRIMARY reason we all do it:

To live a tropical lifestyle on an island and dive whenever we want to

The success of a scuba business and the real profit comes in the high quality and ease of the lifestyle of its owners.

That is why 99% of all scuba business owners in tropical destinations are there. They want to live the lifestyle on the island and dive whenever they want to. If we all keep this in mind, it makes things a lot easier in selling/buying these businesses.

Let me list through the reasons why I, and my friends, have made the decision to live and own a scuba dive business in the islands.

Here are the PRO’S

Lifestyle

Hours working

Owning your own business, managing it properly and having the right staff is fully achievable to let you work on your own terms. I have friends who can actually afford to close all their dive operations on every Sunday and spend it kite surfing, or at the local cafe drinking coffee and wine with friends. Business is that good, and this is the way they run it.

BIG boss

Being your own boss; yes something we all relish. This has many advantages in the day to day, but even more than that, psychologically it makes us all feel great. Being a master of our own destiny and success (and possible failure of course) is a fabulous place to be for those willing to take the responsibility.

Responsibility? Yes indeed, this can be a big weight on some people. If the business thrives or if it dwindles, this lands firmly on our own shoulders.

You can try to blame anyone or anything else (the Global Financial Crisis has been the favorite to blame in the past few years…), but in reality, it’s our ship to steer. Either into clear waters and blue skies, or onto the rocks. Weather will come and go, but YOU are still the Captain. You command where and how the ship sails.

Good Friends

The friends we have made out here in the tropics are one of the major benefits of the lifestyle. They have a great open frame of mind , just by being among the group of people willing to “Throw off bowlines” and live somewhere very new.

High Standard of living

This section, in my opinion, is a MAJOR high point of owning a scuba diving business in the tropics. Don’t belittle it until you’ve tried it!

Housekeepers

With living in mostly a developing nation the cost of labour is lower. A housekeeper is no longer as luxury, but a normal part of life. I can’t remember the last time I touched a vacuum cleaner or washed dishes!

Laundry

Same goes for laundry as housekeeping. I drop them in the basket and “as if by magic” they are clean, ironed, and folded back in my wardrobe! Even friends with 3 kids don;t ever touch the washing machine or fold clothes and put them away. That’s a huge recapture of hours of your life…

Nanny

Now I have no kids (disclosure) but ALL my friends do, and one of the primary reasons they are living a life here is that they can have a full-time nanny for the kids. Once more this frees up life immensely.

Now not to say they don’t see their kids, quite the opposite. e.g. we’d all take an afternoon off to go to the beach, Alice would call her nanny at home and have her get all 3 kids ready for the beach, by the time WE get to the house 15mins later, all kids, beach-ready’! All we do is pick ‘em up, go play at the beach!

Do NOT underestimate how much fun/play time you can have with your kids when you have Nanny-support! And all at a cost that we can all afford here…

Private Schools

All the kids I know here in the tropics are going to the best international school in the country. This is affordable in the developing nations. Add to this the international nature of the school attendance and the education is wonderful.

And don’t worry about the academic levels,  2 kids from one of the schools here in Fiji just went to Oxford University in UK this year!

Car washing

I know it sounds silly, but having a weekly fully washed and detailed car is something I love here. My car is always sparkling, even with all the scuba gear i lurch into and out of the back of it!

Gardening

I love gardening, let, me start with that point. However the requirement to cut grass every 10-14 days (this is the tropics and everything DOES grow bloody fast!) does wear you down. So ALL of us have gardeners who do all the boring grunt and hard work in the garden (unless I get an urge). This frees me to play with the gardening I want to do.

Cheap Cost of Living

Cost of Living

The overall cost of living in the island nations is ultimately affordable.

Fresh fruit and veg and local delicacies are available and cheap to say the least on many islands. And the fruit tastes real because it hasn’t spent 2 weeks in a polystyrene box in a refrigerate ship! Nothing like fruit from the market, and pawpaws off the tree in the garden, where we just can’t stop them growing, lol!

Local restaurants are good (choose your country wisely… I once knew someone who bought a dive center in Mexico but who hated Mexican food; destined to fail!) and totally affordable. We eat out half the time!

Strong AU$/US$

Most of the diving destinations worldwide are in developing nations. The developed nations dollars (and Euros, GBP, etc etc) are very strong compared to any developing nation local currency. This gives us a lot more buying power locally…

Buying a House

Buying a house locally is very doable for most business owners. And I’m not talking about a small flat or apartment on 3rd floor. Most of us after a few years have nice size houses.

And don’t rule out spacious decks, and swimming pools. All remarkably affordable as a scuba business owner in the tropics. Remember the costs in the developing nations tend to be a lot more manageable than in developed nations.

Diving

Dive whenever

Ah yes, normally the first thing that got us into this business in the first place. And yes, we all still do this. The ones who don’t? Well they won’t be in the business much longer. You have to maintain the magic and love of diving to make this lifestyle worthwhile!

Teach PADI when you want

Maybe you’ve just started to teach and are still REALLY eager to get into the pool every day with DSD’s. Hell I still love to jump in the pool with DSD’s and introduce the ‘magic’; of breathing underwater to whole new set of wanna-be divers.

However on a cold rainy grey morning… well…. not so much. This is the boss’s privilege of course!

Teach your own thing

So you love the techie side and wanna get more people into it? Great, then ALL rebreather courses are taught by you!

How about photo/video? Now here is a great multiple benefit deal for you…

#1 you get to hang out with some GREAT photographers who want to come to YOUR dive centre to take pics, so you get some great tips and pointer all the time.

#2 at the dive shows etc, you’ll get to meet all these names you know from the magazines, well you’ll be drinking in the bar with them at night…

#3 good deals on gear is inevitable with all the dive shows and friends you make with the toy makers (oops, sorry I mean the equipment manufacturers)

Dive with other operators

After you’ve been in a country for a while, you’ll find you meet the other operators at shows, association meetings and tourism meetings. Great perk is that we are (mostly, lol!) friends. We all go to each others operations for time off, and dive on their dives. Sometime FOC, but I can say hands down ALWAYS at a great discount rate.

Travel to other destinations

After a year or so of attending the Dive Shows and Trade Shows, you’ll pick up friends from all over the world in the dive industry. We are a tight-knit lot let me tell you. Before long you’ll be thinking of a vacation somewhere else, Galapagos, Indonesia, where-ever. remember that guy you met at the show last year, where IS his business card.

Just like your local dive operator friends, we do give each other great deals!

Professional life

Trade & Dive Shows

Most of us travel 8-10 times a year internationally for work to go to dive shows and the likes. These are major marketing events, but into the bargain they are also social highlights of the year for professional divers.

Some of the shows are ONLY for professionals (DEMA/WTM)

Professional Associations PADI/SSI/etc

By owning a dive centre affiliated to one of the large teaching agencies, you get an inside line to the news and info from the business.

National Associations

Normally tropical destinations are developing and quite small. You will find quite quickly that the national associations are constantly starving for new blood. Where-as at “home” these are always dominated by MBA/business types, young driven scuba professionals are given a chance to shine.

Travel

Air Travel

By definition of living on an island, probably miles from anywhere, mean that travel is inevitable. Most of us get a very good deal on Business Club membership and enjoy the luxuries of traveling through the lounges and the likes every time we travel.

Airmiles

We clock a LOT of these up with living so far from the “real world”, meaning we end up with many ‘free’ flights within a year. Not to mention the complimentary business class upgrades!

Summary

I have lived and worked in the scuba diving industry now for 20 years, starting as a Divemaster employee in St Maarten in Caribbean in 1992. I have seen many successes, and failures, in the scuba diving industry in my time.

I live my life well, and believe I have found a good balance in the tropics.

You too could join us if you’re willing to JUMP and you never know, you could be living this life running a scuba dive business of some kind, be it liveaboard, dive centre or dive resort.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore.

Dream.

Discover.

– Mark Twain

Timeline will become the most effective online tool for brand building whenever Facebook releases the feature for brand pages.

Whether or not Facebook announces a beta test of timeline for pages at the first ever marketing conference in New York, here are four things that brands can do to anticipate the changes.

Prepare Your Business Chronology

Think about adding fun dates like the day you opened your company. Here are some more points you might want to add:

• When did you launch your first big partnership?
• When did you make your first sale?
• When did you open a second location?
• When did you form a new division of your company?

All of these dates in a businesses history give you an opportunity to craft the story your brand is made of. This will enable you to connect at a richer level with your brand advocates.

Start Thinking About New Ways To Engage

With the release of timelines on both personal profiles and fan pages, you’re going to want to start thinking about how your company can leverage Facebook’s open graph.

In short, the open graph allows your brand to auto-post to users personal timelines when they are engaging with your brand. Examples include: “Listening on Spotify” or “Watching on Hulu.”

Think about how you can leverage action verbs into your Facebook engagement strategy.

Create A Cover Image

One feature sure to be present when timelines come to fan pages is the cover image. Use this space to heighten the brand experience on your page. Take the time now to design a 850 pixel by 315 pixel fan page timeline cover image.

Try and get creative. This space will be the first chance you have to impact the minds of new viewers.

We’re hoping that, because fan pages are commonly used for commercial purposes, Facebook allows brands to feature products and offerings in this timeline photo.

Because of the large size, this image has potential to work as an effective call to action for brands leveraging the new layout.

Plan A First Update

To get a leg up when timeline is released, think through what your first update will be.

The goal with current status updates is always to get engagement. At this time, we’re not sure if timeline on pages will have an effect on EdgeRank and how status updates appear in people’s news feed.

However, leaked documents relating to Facebook ads suggest that engagement will still be a predominant factor.

Think through an update that has a historical twist that will invite engagement. For instance, ask: “Can you guess what year our company was created?”

Readers, what differences and similarities do you expect to see between timeline for pages versus profiles?

Guest writer Nathan Latka is the chief community builder for fan page builder Lujure.

Screenshot courtesy of MariSmith.

I’ve been asked quite a few times at speaking engagements, and by clients, “Will Facebook be adding the Timeline for Business Pages”?. Well, if you haven’t heard, the rumors started leaking last week, and apparentlythe Timeline will be coming to business pages as early as the end of this month. It sounds as if they will begin rolling it out in beta with some larger brands. If you remember, it’s been nearly a year since the last major overhaul to the business pages.

When the Timeline was rolled out for personal profiles, there was an early opt-in process where you could choose whether or not you wanted, and some still haven’t chosen it, waiting for Facebook to force them. That will probably happen very soon. Now, with the impending roll-out of the business Timeline, there is no word as to whether or not we’ll be able to opt-in early.

And while many say they dislike the personal Timeline (I happen to love it!), I think that’s just the typical, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality that many of us have, just because we don’t like change. When things change, we have to adjust and learn something new.

Well, get ready for change. And while we don’t know what features the Timeline for Business Pages will have, here are a few things we can do to prepare ourselves for the inevitable

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE…

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Ken Mueller is the proprietor of Inkling Media, with 30 years of experience in the media industry. Ken is an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, after graduating from Inbound Marketing University with honors. He is also a certified Inbound Marketing Educator. He has…View full profile