I didn’t realise it at the time – but, back in 2004, when I was working as a diving instructor and underwater videographer on the idyllic island of Koh Phi Phi in Thailand, I was a self-starting entrepreneur. Learning how to do what I regard as the best job in the world taught me key things about how to run a business in the “real world”.
It’s all about customer service
Every day the Krabi ferry would bring in the new tourists from the mainland. On the dive boat in the bay each day, I would wave at the ferry as it sailed past. My friends laughed at me and thought I was just being silly, until the tourists started showing up at the dive centre. Each time they said they chose our dive school, over the twenty or so others, as they “saw a girl waving at us and thought you looked like the most friendly and inviting dive school”.
Being friendly counts for a lot. You have to stand out from your competitors in a crowded marketplace. The way to do it? Think: it’s not about you, it’s about your customers and what they need and how they want to feel. Put yourself in their shoes.
The Boat briefing
Learning how to conduct a proper boat briefing before a dive has been integral to my business. Here’s why. You get on the boat with your clients, they help themselves to tea and coffee and then you sit down with them and tell them all about the dive; what we’ll see, what we are going to do, how we are going to do it and what to do if they don’t feel comfortable. It enables everyone to feel in control and at ease. They can ask a number of questions and you can see the problems you might have ahead of time.
It’s a business essential and I do a similar process with my PR clients: Here’s what we are going to do, here’s what I need from you, here’s what to do if you feel something isn’t right.
Take clients out of their comfort zone
I once had young female customer say to me “Just don’t take me near any sharks. I’m terrified of them.” I explained to her that the reef sharks only eat crabs and small fish and said to her “I’m going to take you to place where twenty of them will be swimming around you and you’ll love it.” She was indeed terrified – until we got to the shark spot. She had a school of sharks circling her... and she was beaming the whole time. When we got to the surface she said it was the most incredible experience of her life. Shark phobia sorted.
It’s similar to a client saying “I don’t want to be interviewed by the media.” You guide them through the process of a radio or TV interview at a pace they are comfortable with. Once they’ve had their first successful interview they have a renewed confidence and are beaming with relief, and often, pride.
Listen to your clients’ needs
Again, it’s not about you, it’s about them. I’d ask my clients what they wanted to see in the under the waves. Some people want to see the big things, such turtles, pelagic fish or sharks. Others (often, surprisingly, large macho men) wanted to see the micro stuff – the colourful nudibranchs (sea slugs – yawn). I may have seen them a hundred times that day already, but if that’s what they wanted, that’s what they got.
Get buy-in from everyone from the very beginning
I was a terrible, terrible underwater videographer. A friend taught me all the shots, but nearly every dive resulted in shaky footage of out-of-focus fish. My job was to film everyone on that dive – beginners on their first dive making nervous “OK” signs to the camera. It was toe-curlingly embarrassing sitting in the bar afterwards, everyone glued to the TV as they watched my unedited, grainy and blurred footage. Amazingly, each time I sold a number of DVDs at $20. The reason? I swam as fast as I could around that large dive site to ensure I captured each diver, and had them do fun things in front of the camera. They had bought into the process and so they wanted that DVD.
Build allegiances and collaborate
Diving up to five times a day means you spend a lot of time on the boat. Unlike many of my western dive colleagues, I made firm friends with the Thai boat captains and crew. I learned rudimentary Thai and helped them in their job too. It meant they always showed me things my colleagues missed, such as jumping sailfins or dolphins. They looked after me and even shared their delicious lunches with me, freshly caught barracuda. *Sighs nostalgically*.
Back in the UK, I genuinely love working in a collaborative way with other PR freelancers (my competitors), design agencies and digital marketers. We call on each other, share clients and expertise and it works. When you’re a sole-trader, it’s wonderful to feel you have a supportive team of experts around you.
Do what you love
I thrived working for myself, teaching through a dive school where it was my responsibility to bring in customers. It’s the same with JellyRock. Working in PR may be a little different than SCUBA diving (although landing a big fish, like coverage in the Times, Buzzfeed or on Radio 4 gives me the same buzz), but it’s all about doing what you love. I’m passionate about getting results for clients, the same way I wanted my diving clients to have the best experience. I have the same get-up-and-go to go to work on a Monday morning as I did back in Thailand. It must mean I’m doing something right.
Jo continued to teach diving in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines (and picked up a diving instructor boyfriend on the way). When the money finally ran out, Jo and her now-husband, moved to Bournemouth to live by the sea and carry on diving and kite-surfing while working in PR. She now runs the successful JellyRock PR and enjoys the perks of running her own consultancy, being a mum and living on the coast.
