Dive Merch

It was my partner's birthday and as we are both divers, I wanted to get him a diving themed present. Looking online, I found there is a limited range of scuba diving merchandise aimed at the UK market. The ones I could find had similar, copycat designs, were expensive and had very slow shipping. It was hard to find quality products that would arrive in time for his birthday. Speaking to diver friends, I realised that this was a problem experienced by many. Divers like to express themselves as divers and are often what could be called boastful. We like to show people that we dive because when we're not in our gear, it's impossible to tell. So lots of us look for merchandise like this. So, I created Dive Merch. With a focus on quality products and unique designs, Dive Merch products are unlike other products on the market. It fills a gap in the market and could expand to hold significant market space.

As another side project, I'm a videographer. I write, film and edit adverts and product demonstrations. Freelance videographer work is a lot more time consuming, but I can charge a much higher mark up and I want to focus my marketing on expanding this self-employment instead. I'm also a law student aspiring to become a barrister, so the more experience I have of presenting, the better. Honestly, another barrier has been lack of funds. Dive Merch has been set up on a very low budget and is run using free software wherever possible, or low budget subscriptions like Shopify and Buffer. The next big thing for the business is a focus on paid advertising to get those cost effective pay per clicks that I chose this niche for. I was able to set up the business because it won a pitching competition at University, but that small grant has run out and I need to be in full time paid work over summer to save for the next academic year (I don't live at home or have the bank of mum and dad).

Set up in a passive income format, Dive Merch requires very little time. In a week, I spend 30 minutes generating social media posts using my templates and setting them in a queue on Buffer for the week. I spend another 30 minutes tracking the analytics, website visitors and conversions and 10 minutes on accounts. Once a month I'll spend an hour or two writing blog posts as it's important for the SEO. Additional time spent on business strategy, development and marketing are optional, but recommended.

I would implement a professional and extensive paid advertising strategy across platforms. The store was built in a niche for cheaper pay per clicks and it has the potential to shine as a leading scuba diving merchandise brand. I would also look to contact scuba diving clubs across Europe directly to build a strong network and gather feedback. Additionally, I would look to expand to global shipping and translate the store into different languages.

This is a creative and fun business. The free platforms that I use are easy to learn and simple designs can be made with little effort, however, as marketing is the most time consuming role (although it only takes an hour or two a week), it's good if you enjoy it. However, all post templates, designs and branding materials will be provided, so the extent that you wish to develop the brand is up to you. You could also hire an assistant to run the social media channels and employ freelance designers if you want to expand the range.