Dive Business Owners: “When is it Time to Retire?” by Tom Leaird

May 2026 Table of Contents
category: Business EDU (4 min read)

Plan your life, live your plan, just as you plan your dive.

by Tom Leaird, Manager, Tom Leaird’s Underwater Service, Muncie, IN

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MANY OF US in the scuba industry are getting a bit older and at some point, we need to make decisions toward retirement. There are several points to consider. Age, financial position, health, replacement of current duties, and more.

A bit about myself, I am age 86, in rather good health, my financial situation is OK, and I have made several choices for both continuation of my scuba business and other owned assets.

Brooke Speedy has taken over my store as manager and has also become a scuba instructor. I have a group of 12 others to rely on in leadership.

Plan your life, live your plan, just as you plan your dive.

With an attorney I have created a trust that lists my wishes when my life ends. This is a very important document that each of you ‘older’ folks should consider. Over the years I have owned real estate that has been sold and the resulting funds are invested with a financial advisor with good returns that can support my chosen lifestyle.

When you own a business it is a necessity to have a plan in place for all of the “What ifs.” Seeking out expert advice from financial advisors and attorneys is an invaluable practice. If you don’t know where to start please reach out to me or local business owners in your community that you trust.

Adventure Still Awaits

Perhaps the most important consideration is, if I do fully retire, what will I do with my life? I have had friends who retired, sat around, got fat, no exercise, and with nothing to do, simply died. That is not my choice. There are many opportunities for traveling around the world if the money is available. In Indiana, our residents are perhaps the capital of volunteerism.

There are many chances to join with others of our age and help those who are less fortunate. I spend lots of time on the Board of Managers at our YMCA camp that is located about 100 miles north of our home in Muncie, Indiana. I make at least five or more trips there during the year.

I will continue to support our dive center in any way I can. Bobbi and I have a small cabin on our farm only 10 miles from our home and we spend at least three nights a week there. That has become my hobby.

I asked one of our interns to go through my dive logs and list all the trips I have taken. The list includes 122 trips over my diving lifetime with as few as 10 and as many as 38 to 40 divers each, all outside of Indiana. After 55 years leading trips, I have done everything I desire, gone places, from the Mediterranean to Indonesia including trips to Italy, Germany, Greece. Through those trips, my life has been blessed.

The divers who have joined me, and the folks we have met at the various destinations, have been an enriching life experience.

Thankfully, most of those trips included my wife, Bobbi, who has always been a tremendous supporter. In June 2024, Bobbi and I led 15 divers to Stuart Cove’s in the Bahamas. By then, both of us were using canes, and when you add large bags of dive equipment to the equation, we realized it was time to stop leading those trips ourselves. Several of our instructors welcomed the opportunity to take over, and they have done so very successfully.

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Make a Business Safety Stop

My advice to everyone approaching retirement age is to make thoughtful decisions about the lifestyle you want for the rest of your life. Before moving forward, I urge you to take a “Business Safety Stop” and consider these items: age, financial position, health, and the continuance of your current work position.

Use these details to help create a formal trust, a will with medical preferences, and begin to answer the question, What will you do with yourself?

Talk to your financial advisor and your attorney for advice. Making these plans now will reduce your risks later in your life and make your present and future life more enjoyable.

Publisher’s note: Tom served for many years on the DEMA Board of Directors as Treasurer and Secretary. His many accomplishments include owning a dive store and quarry, and serving as the driving force behind Scuba Educators International.

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