Please guys, everybody has different needs, wants and situations. Very few instructors can or want to be like DCBC, Thal, Walter, Jim etc.
The vast majority of students are currently going to chose one of the 3 or 4 major agency certifications through a dive shop. The economy problems are going to have an impact on that, but not as much as SB makes it sound like because the vast majority of diving and instruction happens in warm water and those warm water locations are not going to lose as many dive shops, because the vast majority of diving and instruction happens in warm water.
Changing the entire scuba industry because the cold water regions are struggling may be cutting your nose off to spite your face.
For example; I like living on Maui a lot, I like diving Maui waters a lot, I prefer to earn my living by instructing and guiding divers, Maui County quit issuing new beach business permits many years ago and you can't even get one by buying an existing business, viable Maui boat operation also involves a permit and to get one you would have to buy an existing business which would be really expensive. My choices are to operate a beach business illegally, teach/guide from a private boat illegally, not be involved in the scuba instruction/guiding industry, move somewhere else OR go to work for one of the existing operators using my PADI OWSI.
For the vast majority of instructors it makes sense to work where the vast majority of customers end up. I am really happy for all you anomalies who post here but when you say the rest of us have all made the wrong choice and we should change our ways, all the vast majority of us hear is blah, blah, blah.
By the way; the vast majority of scuba divers and the vast majority of dive instructors don't even know ScubaBoard exists.