Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2019 15:14:24 GMT -8
For years I have had a hankering to own and run a dive shop. Cost to startup was my main hold up.....in 1970 I was told 100k......each 10 years after it only doubled. And I am hitting 70 end of next month, so that dream will probably always remain a dream.......unless I won the lottery.
Anyway, I always envisioned it in the Fort Worth area as we have bunches of lakes in North Texas, but in the past 25 years, they have grown dirty and low viz due to increased population.
Then my youngest son moved to Galveston and I lost my dive partner, and even tho I dive alone many times, mi esposa rather I not, so.......anyway we have fancied moving to Galveston as my wife is from Lima Peru (right on the coastline) and misses the sea. The thought of establishing a dive shop/air station there runs past my mind occasionally.
That being said, the last two shops there folded in the past two years......I imagine due to folks not able to spend the bucks for boat trips to the rigs or wrecks in the gulf. The island itself has quite a few harbors, bays and inlets, but the silt from the Trinity River that empties into Galveston Bay keeps things again to low viz.
However, with the upturn in the economy, I suppose divers will be back to the boats.
My thoughts (presuming the funds were there) would be to open an Air Station, with gear, both commercial and sport offered in limited quantity. (Commercial not as in hard hat or deepsea diving, but the kind where divers clean boats hulls, search and recovery, dock repairs for the homeowners with boat slips behind their homes, etc......(there are about 15 or so operations on the island for that)....these folks will need replacement items, suit repair stuff, compressor parts, etc, even compressor rentals while their own units are out for repair.
Plus divers coming down from Houston and surrounding cities and even other states to go on a boat for the day, weekend or .....well, last I checked they traveled 3 days out only. Some would bring their own tanks and some would prefer to rent and some will probably need to have theirs filled. So there is that.....plus some will have forgotten some piece of gear and to save their outing, buy a new replacement. The store would have a limited supply of gear but a BIG ASS Compressor and many rental tanks.
I would not even call it a dive shop. Instead, my idea of a name would be "Air Station Galveston; Commercial and Sport Diving Air, Rentals and Gear. At my age, I would have that youngest son running it, and maybe the oldest managing the business end (maybe if he is interested. He can't dive due to a ruptured eardrum 25 years ago while diving.)
So the reason for this expose is my asking, what am I forgetting? Bear in mind, this is just a dream.
Anyway, I always envisioned it in the Fort Worth area as we have bunches of lakes in North Texas, but in the past 25 years, they have grown dirty and low viz due to increased population.
Then my youngest son moved to Galveston and I lost my dive partner, and even tho I dive alone many times, mi esposa rather I not, so.......anyway we have fancied moving to Galveston as my wife is from Lima Peru (right on the coastline) and misses the sea. The thought of establishing a dive shop/air station there runs past my mind occasionally.
That being said, the last two shops there folded in the past two years......I imagine due to folks not able to spend the bucks for boat trips to the rigs or wrecks in the gulf. The island itself has quite a few harbors, bays and inlets, but the silt from the Trinity River that empties into Galveston Bay keeps things again to low viz.
However, with the upturn in the economy, I suppose divers will be back to the boats.
My thoughts (presuming the funds were there) would be to open an Air Station, with gear, both commercial and sport offered in limited quantity. (Commercial not as in hard hat or deepsea diving, but the kind where divers clean boats hulls, search and recovery, dock repairs for the homeowners with boat slips behind their homes, etc......(there are about 15 or so operations on the island for that)....these folks will need replacement items, suit repair stuff, compressor parts, etc, even compressor rentals while their own units are out for repair.
Plus divers coming down from Houston and surrounding cities and even other states to go on a boat for the day, weekend or .....well, last I checked they traveled 3 days out only. Some would bring their own tanks and some would prefer to rent and some will probably need to have theirs filled. So there is that.....plus some will have forgotten some piece of gear and to save their outing, buy a new replacement. The store would have a limited supply of gear but a BIG ASS Compressor and many rental tanks.
I would not even call it a dive shop. Instead, my idea of a name would be "Air Station Galveston; Commercial and Sport Diving Air, Rentals and Gear. At my age, I would have that youngest son running it, and maybe the oldest managing the business end (maybe if he is interested. He can't dive due to a ruptured eardrum 25 years ago while diving.)
So the reason for this expose is my asking, what am I forgetting? Bear in mind, this is just a dream.