Spending his career inside both the corporate and public service environment, Richard Godfrey had a somewhat life changing moment pre-pandemic which shifted his mindset. He now finds himself running a small part-time PADI Dive Resort on the beautiful Scottish island of Arran, alongside his other local roles.
His journey began with a Discover Scuba Diving session in a swimming pool in Gloucestershire some 10 years ago but now as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer his focus is on growing a base of new and returning divers from the UK and beyond in this remote corner of the country.
Learn how Richard Helped Make the Isle of Arran a Dive Destination as a PADI Pro and Business Owner!
Q: What business challenge did you face?
A: Marketing a new dive resort in a remote location
We were looking to do something that hadn’t been done before on the Isle of Arran; offer a recreational scuba diving training option for locals and visitors alike outside of a traditional club environment.
The island itself once had a thriving dive club scene in the 80’s but many local divers moved away, overfishing damaged the sea beds and those experienced divers sought other places to explore. As such, new divers entering this sport ceased. Despite our island having some of the best coastal waters you’ll find in the UK (our opinion clearly) alongside a No Take Zone and Marine Protected Area we still faced the challenge of making diving accessible to future scuba divers.
In essence we were completely starting from scratch – breathing life into a recreational scuba diving scene that we believed would work, but we knew we couldn’t just do it alone!
Having ‘grown up’ inside the PADI environment as student divers our first port of call was the regional office in Bristol. There’s no doubt that globally more divers recognise the brand and accessibility that PADI has to offer; that’s why we see so many divers coming to get ‘their PADI’ certification rather than ‘Open Water’ certification.
Q: Did you have any concerns in working with PADI?
A: Our only concern was knowing where to begin!
Whilst we had no concerns about opting for the PADI System, we didn’t know where to begin; especially as our operation is somewhat niche in terms of size and location by UK standards. We also knew that other agencies were ‘cheaper’ on paper; our go to conversation for some time was “were we making the right decision?”! After a chat with our (now) Regional Manager from PADI we found ourselves with all the questions answered and a clear route of support made available to us. Suddenly this dream was a reality, and we knew we had made the right choice.
Q: How did PADI help you solve the problem?
A: The game changer for us came in the form of our status as a PADI Dive Resort; more specifically being listed on PADI website and Dive Shop Locator.
Starting from scratch in a location where the only way to come is by ferry poses a whole raft of issues. How do we get found, how to people even know that you can now learn to dive on the Isle of Arran, would this idea even be a success, or had we simply wasted loads of money!? The questions kept on coming, however the game changer for us came in the form of our status as a PADI Dive Resort. More specifically being listed on PADI website and Dive Shop Locator.
This honestly changed everything – we had operated for a season as a trial prior to become a PADI Dive Resort but once we went live the result was immediately apparent! Enquiries started to come in from all over the world … not just the UK! We’ve had students from America, Australia and Europe come to dive with us either on courses or guided dives. It’s honestly been overwhelming! The results spoke for themselves as did the website analytics … people were arriving via PADI.com, looking at what we had and either deciding it didn’t tick their box – or did! We saw a near 300% increase on the year post going live as a Dive Resort … it was beyond our expectations to be honest.
Q: How is it working now?
A: Annual growth remains positive into our 3rd season.
Of course, the 300% year on year wasn’t going to continue … however annual growth remains positive into our 3rd season. More importantly for our business, however, are the returning customers who started diving with us in season 1. They’ve nearly all come back to do another course, a guided dive or even tailored workshops to improve their own abilities.
We’ve also been able to diversify our offer to include the UK First Aid at Work courses through the EFR structure; something that’s only really been possible as a Resort. As we’re very season dependant it’s enabled us to keep going and offer even more to our local community.
In the end it’s been entirely overwhelming emotionally; we’re now seeing our Open Water Students going Pro – exactly why we started up! The diving here must go beyond our small collective group and find a way to be sustained for the long run so that it doesn’t just disappear like it did before.
We’re also proud to work with a local community charity that focuses its efforts to protect our coastal waters and other local businesses who directly support what we do as a Dive Resort. With out them, the PADI System and our amazing volunteer team there would be no diving instruction here on Arran!
Q: What’s your advice to others facing a similar challenge?
A: Speak to your regional PADI team, as well as other PADI Dive Centres and Resorts in your area.
If you’re thinking of starting out as a new dive centre get in touch with your regional PADI office sooner rather than later. The support, advice and guidance we got early on was invaluable. Now the relationship we have with our Regional Manager and Training Consultant means I have the advice and support I need exactly when I want it. I don’t ever feel stupid firing off an email, asking questions or working to find new ways to develop our offer. I’m not sure how many other agencies offer that immediate and full-time support – for me it’s worth its weight in gold.
Finally, I’d also encourage you to pick up the phone or visit other PADI Dive Centres or Resorts in your location to talk it through and work out if it’s right for you. I was lucky to have amazing PADI Instructors in the UK from day one who have done nothing less than inspire me to teach others to the highest standard we can. I’m still thankful to this day for each and every one of them – it’s all part of being inside the ‘PADI family’.
Are you ready to learn more about all of the benefits of PADI membership?
Contact your PADI Regional Office and get started on a custom solution to drive growth in your business.
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