Why A $30k Failure Was My Best Investment
THINGS WERE GOOD
I used to run a SCUBA Diving company.
I LOVED it. There’s no better feeling than taking someone below the surface for the very first time. You catch that moment when their eyes light up in amazement. A whole new world was just brought to life for them. I tell people to imagine going to outer space….except you have stuff to see.
The company was growing. We were building momentum. I was taking groups of divers around the world to explore the depths in incredible locations.
Then I decided to end it.
WHY STOP?
The only way to really make money in that industry is to sell gear. If I wanted to succeed I needed a retail store. I almost pulled the trigger too. I had a business plan, location, almost bought a compressor and was in negotiations with dealers on inventory.
I realized, sitting at my parent’s house over Christmas, that it would be a huge mistake. That shop would own my life. I’d be another $300k in the hole. No trips that weren’t dive related. No days off. No way I’d be able to come home for Christmas anymore…..at least for the foreseeable future.
It didn’t align with how I wanted to live my life. Unfortunately, I had bought over $30k worth of gear and supplies already. None of which was easy to liquidate. I was in the hole.
WHY IT WAS MY BEST INVESTMENT
The People - The best people in my life to this day, including my co-founder in BBM Jason, are from running that business. I made the type of friends who would drop everything and come to my aid. It was also the most diverse group of people you could imagine. I’d easily cut a check for $30k right now to make sure I had those people in my life.
The Experiences - Cumulatively I’ve spent weeks of my life under the sea. Diving through ship wrecks, over coral reefs, building habitats for octopi and being in and out of cages with sharks. All shared with incredible people in amazing locations. It’s hard to put a price tag on those experiences, the memories they created and the character they built in me.
The Education - I made a million mistakes. I should have hired earlier. I should have raised prices. Should have negotiated better deals with vendors. I also learned about commercial leases. I learned about marketing and running promotions. I learned about community building. There were so many lessons in business that you can’t learn from books.
The Sunk Cost Fallacy - I learned that just because you put a bunch of time and money into the business, doesn’t mean you have to keep going. If you know in your gut that what you’re doing no longer aligns with where you want to be, you have to make the hard decision to change.
Turning Your Hobbies Into Your Career Can Kill Your Joy - I’ve learned this twice. Once with music and once with diving. That thing you LOVE like nothing else, is sometimes best kept as a hobby. Once you need to make money from it, you spend more time behind the curtain dealing with the things that don’t contain the magic.
I Found My Identity - I was the guy who ran LA Dive and Ride. My world was SCUBA. When that went away, I felt like I lost a part of myself and I felt like a failure. It took some time but making the decision to shut down was the best way for me to find my true identity as a human. I’m not my job. I do lots of things, but they’re all just part of me, not my entire being.
No Matter What I’ll Be Ok - At the time that $30k debt was soul-crushing. It took me years to dig out of that hole. But I did it. None of those pressures or obstacles were life-threatening. I did what I could, took it step-by-step and kept going. ALWAYS KEEP GOING
It’s Worth The Risk - I’m so thankful I decided to give running a dive company a try. Even though the risk didn’t pay out the way I thought it would, it paid off in the long run. I don’t have to look back now and wonder “What if?” I did it, I gave it a shot and I learned something.
WHAT ARE YOU SCARED TO FAIL AT?
Let’s talk about it. I bet it’s far less scary in real life than you’re making it out to be in your head. Book a call now and let’s make it happen!