Bill Lamp'l
Grove Scuba
Miami, FL USA
"You either have the time or the money. Right now, you might have the time, but not the money. Later in life, you might have the money, but not the time. I wanted to make sure time didn’t run out before it was too late to do something I love."
Career Roadmap
Bill's work combines: Action Sports, Entrepreneurship, and Being Physically Active
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
There are always going to be days where the work aspect of this job is stressful and not enjoyable. In those cases, diving does become less fun than it was when I started. At the end of the day, diving is something I love, so I always take the time to go on dives just for fun in order to remind myself why I decided to do this.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
History, General
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
Doctorate
Law
University of Miami
Certification
Scuba Instructor Trainer
Certification
CPR and First Aid Instructor Trainer
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Born and raised in Atlanta, GA.
2.
Attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received his Bachelor's degree in History, Technology, and Society—a degree that combined history, math, science, and engineering classes.
3.
After graduating, he wanted to do something during the summer before he started law school, so he completed his divemaster and dive instructor certifications.
4.
From then on, he continued diving regularly—says he always considered diving to be his back-up career.
5.
Moved to Miami, FL, where he attended the University of Miami and received his PhD in law.
6.
He practiced law for about a year and a half after graduating, but realized that it wasn’t his passion.
7.
In 2006, he decided to follow through on his back-up career plan and opened Grove Scuba in Miami where he is a certified PADI Course Director and actively involved in diver safety training.
8.
He is also passionate about traveling and underwater photography—his work has been published in National Geographic, Scuba Diving Magazine, Sport Diver, and more.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
Diving for work is going to be less fun than diving as a hobby.
How I responded:
There are always going to be days where the work aspect of this job is stressful and not enjoyable. In those cases, diving does become less fun than it was when I started. At the end of the day, diving is something I love, so I always take the time to go on dives just for fun in order to remind myself why I decided to do this.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
It is a struggle to start your own business. It takes a lot of money to invest in getting the business going and then it always takes a while to build up a clientele that will start earning you money.
In addition to financial struggles, running your own business is generally stressful. You have employees and customers to worry about, equipment safety, etc. Thankfully, diving is my stress relief.