Floaties Swim School

See where it all started...

  

When Mike and I started our business in the backyard of our house, we always knew our ultimate goal was to open an indoor facility which offered lessons year round. What we did not know was that when we started looking at properties we would have so many people tell us, “NO, it can’t be done.”

We ended up looking at over 80 buildings and putting in several offers only to be told NO before finally securing our current location. Floaties Poway is a 6,000 sq ft building with a playroom, outdoor patio and huge observation hallway. Construction began January 15, 2008 and what a rollercoaster ride that experience was for us. There were many days Mike and I looked at each other and questioned what we had got ourselves into but then a client from our backyard would stop by the new building to say hi and tell us how excited they were to start swimming indoors with us and the stress seemed to melt away.

On April 28, 2008, we held a week long Open House giving the public and our clients an opportunity to come in and meet our staff, tour the facility and ask questions. It was a huge hit as well as a lot of fun speaking to so many families. I remember thinking after that week was over how amazing it was to talk to so many parents who were fearful of putting their children in the water because they did not feel secure about the environment. Mike and I were even more determined to continue our “Floaties Family” approach even here at the commercial facility.

We opened our doors on May 12, 2008 with 6 teachers on staff and 4 girls working the front desk. I remember that first day we opened and thinking we’re in over our heads simply because we weren’t in our backyard anymore. We were in charge of these employees who we want to be the best in the business as well as these children whose parents trust us to teach their children what could be a life saving skill. Mike and I quickly came up with the mantra, “we’re going to swim-not sink” and that’s exactly what we’ve done over the past 2 years here at the Poway facility.

We’ve had the opportunity to provide jobs to our community, donate countless swim lessons to public and private schools foundations or fundraisers, meet so many wonderful families and most importantly, our staff has taught hundreds and hundreds of students how much fun swimming can be as well as how to be safe in and around the pool.

Mike and I are looking forward to watching the Poway facility and all of its wonderful families continue to grow over the years. We would like to continue to strive to be the best in town and really have a sense of community within our business. We both have realized how important community is to us and our business and how appreciative we are to be here in Poway.