We recently connected with Jason Watters and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jason thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I had worked around and seen large dive shops early on in my Divemaster and Scuba Instructor career. Some people like the group environment, the comradery, and the hustle and bustle of it, others wished they had a different experience as they trained for certifications. Not that all large shops are bad by any means, but “certification factories” as we call them can limit an individual’s training quality, increase confusion and hesitation, and feel overwhelming. I knew there could be another option in terms of service, structure, and overall student experience. Drawing on my education in business and finance, I looked to solve a problem and create a new type of scuba business that focuses on the few, not the many. From that point, UnderWatters Co. became a prevalent idea (pun on the company name and my last name).

UnderWatters Co. was officially created sometime after that, focusing solely on private, intimate certifications with a five star service model. Though we can’t put up the numbers that large dive shops can, we pride ourselves on our quality training and stress free training environment. With us, students have the opportunity to train 1-1 with our instructors, use our own quiet pool, create a custom training schedule that fits their work/life balance, and have all the perks of what a five star service model may offer.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Jason Watters and I am the owner/founder of UnderWatters Co. I am also a PADI certified IDC Staff Instructor. I’ve always had a love of the ocean growing up, and became basic level scuba certified over 10 years ago. The path to instructor for me was a natural one, eager to learn more types of diving, diving in new environments, dive travel, and just being immersed in the ocean as much as possible. As an instructor, one of my greatest joys is training students well and enabling them to grow that love of the ocean within themselves, wherever their adventures may take them.

UnderWatters Co. is a boutique dive operation located in San Diego, CA. We are one of the only shops locally to only offer private, one-on-one scuba certifications all the way from basic level up through Divemaster. We specialize in working with individuals who have difficult schedules and cannot join the fixed schedules of a large dive shop, individuals that prefer private experiences, those on a tight travel deadline for a trip, or those who may need additional training and attention as they learn (many times minors). As we train one-on-one with students, we provide a quality training foundation at their speed while also offering unparalleled customization options and service.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

A business is only profitable if you have willing customers come through the door regularly. I’ve learned that you can perfect your onboarding, client management, finance, and logistics platforms/processes, but none of that matters if you don’t have clients to put through it. It will just bleed expenses and collect dust.

One of our goals has always been to never rely on one source of leads or clients from one place. Through brainstorming, taking chances, and looking for gaps in segments other dive shops aren’t hitting, we continuously adjust our marketing focus. We’ve received clients from referrals, prior clients, social media, even to hotel agreements, child TV shows we’ve appeared on, and even just wearing our company apparel most places we go.

At the end of the day, we focus on consistency. If we say we operate a certain way or provide a certain level of service, then we will do it that way regardless of what channel it is we’re pushing. We’re now to the point where competitor dive shops have student that cannot complete their certification on their timeline or schedules, or need some type of specialty training, and they will refer them to us. It is so important to us that they trust us in that way, and part of where we’ve gotten so far is living up to that promise and quality.

Lastly, the easiest clients are existing clients. It’s much more efficient to bring back a former student for more training than to go find a new one. We’ve launched promos and referral perks for those coming back to us, or having someone they know sign up with us.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

“If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients.”- a Richards Branson quote that has always stuck with me. If your team doesn’t want to do their job, or doesn’t have the tools to do their job efficiently, they’re not going to give 100% to their service to clients.

With me, I allow my team a lot of freedom and am very hands off. As instructors, they have the freedom to organize and teach the way they want, at what beaches they prefer, and when it works for them and the clients’ schedule. My job as an owner is to give them business and give them the tools they need to do their job. We provide and maintain our own gear for our students, as well as utilizing a lot of business and instructor materials and gear for various classes as well. It is my job to ensure everything is working, and that my team has everything they need to do their jobs well. They should never be doing their job unhappily because I did not give them the right tools or solutions to begin with.

Team morale is also important; I will plan fun dives (non teaching dives) for the team to do what they love but not in a stressful instructor role. We’ll plan fun outings and team meetings where I’m open to their ideas and suggestions, and how to best operate as a group. At UnderWatters Co, it’s not a top down dictatorship, but rather an inclusive partnership.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.underwatters.com
• Instagram: underwatters_co
• Facebook: UnderWatters Co.

Image Credits

UnderWatters Staff