RETAILING
The Power of Being a New Retailer by Michael and Rachael Connors , Owners, American Dive Zone, MI In 2024, we bought a dive shop in Grand Rapids, MI. Not inherited. Not franchised. Bought it. This is our story.
A S A NEW BUSINESS OWNER, being thrown into the trenches and having to figure everything out yourself can be daunting. At times, “being new” feels like a dis- advantage. The previous owner had loyal customers you now have to win over, you’re spending your evenings learning new processes, you’re introducing yourself to vendors who already knew someone else, and you’re starting at square one when it comes to building credibility. For us, it felt like we were spending more time building trust than developing strategy,
markable rate in our first year of ownership. In our case, being new owners opened the door to three major partnerships - each an opportunity the previous owner had declined. These opportunities came from customers who wanted to open their networks to us and connect us with local organizations, gyms, and schools that could benefit from our services. Opportunity #1: A National Youth Organization: On our very first day shadowing a pool class before the acquisition,
and that imbalance was frus- trating. But here’s what we learned: being new, which can feel like a weakness, is actually one of your greatest strengths. As a new owner, you have an opportunity to use that “new- ness” to your advantage. If the
a diver approached us with the chance to connect with a large national youth organi- zation. He didn’t know us well, but because we were new, he was excited to see whether we might be interested. The previous owner had
Dive Club Meeting
previous owner turned down an idea or partnership, there’s a good chance that opportunity will circle back to you. Maybe they declined because it wasn’t an area they wanted to prioritize, or they didn’t have the bandwidth to dedicate the necessary time or energy. In some cases, the opportunity came to them just as they were planning their exit strategy, so starting something new wasn’t at the top of their list. As a new owner, you get to decide: Is the opportunity they turned down aligned with how you want to grow? Is it something you have the time, bandwidth, and energy to pursue? If the
turned down the idea due to limited bandwidth and staff en- gagement. We stayed in touch with the diver over the course of a year, met the organization’s director, built a program, launched a partnership, and executed two successful classes. In our first year partnering with this organization, we trained 21 students, and we are on track to double that number in 2026 from all the buzz that came from those who participated this past year. Opportunity #2: A New Pool Partnership: Shortly after taking over, we learned that the pool our shop had used for
answer is yes, pursuing these oppor- tunities and new introductions may open up a whole new growth channel. The Strength of Weak Ties: This is a concept my father taught me early in my career, and it has served me incredibly well as a new owner. If you ask a close friend for help, they’ll usually say yes - no questions asked. But what about someone your friend knows? A weaker tie. If your friend says, “Hey, can you help my
20 years was going to increase our rental rate tenfold (no exaggeration). It didn’t make sense from a business per- spective to continue with them going forward – we would have lost money on every class. As any dive shop knows, a pool is critical to operating a dive shop. We urgently needed a new facility, but as new owners, we had few contacts in the local aquatic facility community. Our customers, however, did. One cus- tomer knew the facilities coordinator
Community Dives
friend out?” that person is often just as willing. That’s the power of weak ties. Leaning into our customers’ networks with this mindset helped us grow our student counts at a re-
at a local aquatic center and was thrilled to introduce us. That introduction led not only to a new pool partnership but also to significantly better pricing. From a business perspective, it
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