Clarity: Why It’s Important to Business Success – Cathryn Castle Garcia

Why “Clarity” is Such an Important Term for Dive Businesses

by Cathryn Castle Garcia, Owner, ClearStoryCoach.com, The Azores

REMEMBER DEMA 2025? It was only several weeks ago when we gathered, all gung-ho about the diving industry. If you’re like me, you probably returned home with your brain buzzing, excited to implement new ideas to grow your business.

The word “clarity” is particularly well-suited to business planning because confusion is one of the most expensive problems a business can have. Confusion shows up in unclear offerings, inconsistent messaging, and scattered marketing efforts.

But let’s be clear; clarity is not simplicity. Simplicity aims to reduce effort. Clarity assumes effort and accepts it as a challenge. Clarity is a discipline and a practice.

Clarity insists you do your homework. It begins with asking probing questions and setting clear goals. Vague goals such as “grow the business” or “improve marketing” aren’t action items. Clear goals, by contrast, are specific, measurable, and tied to real outcomes. When clarity is the anchor, we ask better questions.

Clear Questions

Let’s get started. I’ve identified a few key questions to ask that will give you a clearer picture of your business:

Why are we doing this? I’ve written about this before, but I firmly believe all entrepreneurs should regularly watch author and speaker Simon Sinek’s classic TEDx Talk, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action. It’s had over 13 million YouTube views and his bestselling book, Start With Why, has sold over a million copies. Defining your business’s why, and being able to clearly communicate it to employees and customers is the key to your success.

If you’ve never crafted a Why Statement, you’ll find a lot of online tutorials on how to do it. Here’s a simple fill-in-the-blank to get you started: “We are in business to [contribution] so that [positive impact of your contribution].” Knowing your why is foundational to everything you do. In business. And in life. It pays to spend some time thinking about it.

Who are we serving? Get specific. You must know who walks in the door most often, who spends the most money over time (and what they’re buying), and who refers the most future customers to your business. These people are your core customers. Clearly identifying your core customers will enable you to nurture your relationship with them. It will also help you attract other core customers from the same demographic, and it can help you identify outliers to target as future customers.

What problems are we solving? Practically every column I write repeats this message; every single buying decision we humans make must answer the question, “How will you make my life better?” Successful businesses don’t just answer the question. They guide customers to a happy outcome that creates a lasting, profitable business relationship. They give customers a clear picture of what their life will be like once they buy the thing, or complete the class, or take the trip.

How do we make money? The diving industry is notorious for thin margins, high inventory costs, labor-intensive training, and seasonal revenue swings. So, how do we succeed despite the challenges? This is where “clarity” is about knowing where your efforts are making bank, where they’re building toward the growth, and where they’re going bust. Get curious and ask. Which offerings drive profit? Which offerings drive traffic? Which offerings create long-term loyalty? Which offerings exist mainly to support the brand? Not every effort will make a “cha-ching” sound – and that’s okay – but running a “bank/build/bust” audit of everything you’re doing will help you discern what’s working/what isn’t. Clarity helps you adjust accordingly.

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Clarity Plays the Long Game

Next up? More questions. (I know. I warned you that gaining clarity requires doing some heavy lifting.) These are planning, execution and measurement questions, including what exactly are we trying to achieve this year? How will we implement the goals? What does success look like in concrete terms? You’ll use the answers to plan your business strategy and marketing messaging.

Traditional goal setting often focuses exclusively on results, while ignoring the habits and decisions required to achieve them. Using “clarity” as your Word of the Year can help you emphasize behavior, not just outcomes.

Clarity is not about perfection. It does not mean having every answer in advance. It means you’re committed to figuring things out.

Your Word of the Year becomes your mantra and your marching orders. Clear goals are the foundation that supports everything. When clarity is the anchor, business planning becomes less about prediction and more about alignment. And alignment, sustained over time, will help you create and implement plans that foster progress. And profitability.

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