And we know that children who go swimming will develop faster both mentally and physiologically. But you have to take a few risks to get there. The kitchen table at which Water Babies was first created sits proudly at the front of the Honiton offices; a testament to how small ideas can turn into world-changing realities. You must be logged in to post a comment. Written by Kate Williams Images courtesy of Water Babies Having been a journalist for over 20 years, I have interviewed an enormous amount of business people, but none as driven and enthusiastic as Paul Thompson who founded the now global network of baby swimming schools, Water Babies.
And all this was born from a snap decision and a crazy idea. About The Author. Joff Alexander-Frye. Related Posts. Leave a reply Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment.
Search for:. Recent Videos. Recent Posts Is being active at work possible? Sign-up for our newsletter plus GDPR malarkey. After attending just one lesson, Louise announced she wanted to quit her job and become a teacher, so she did. Six months later, the opportunity to buy the franchise she was working with came up. Alan was working as a probation officer at the time.
Leaving home at 6am and returning after 7pm, Alan had little time to spend with Evelyn. Owning the Berkshire franchise promised to improve their work-life balance, as well as being a fantastic business opportunity. Given the economic climate at the time, this proved more difficult than initially thought. Alan believes the success of the franchise is largely down to the help they received from Water Babies co-founder and chairman, Paul Thompson, and his staff.
They helped us recruit the right people, find the right facilities, even help us move offices in two foot of snow. Six years later, Alan and Louise are now running a successful business employing 11 different teachers, managing over 60 underwater photo shoots and running swimming classes seven days a week. Looking forward, Alan plans to continue the growth of the business by using more facilities, training more teachers and employing more staff and ultimately offering more people the experience of taking their babies swimming for the first time.
When you meet with the franchisor the discussion will inevitably focus on business growth and what sort of returns you will receive if the business performs as it should. I first heard about Water Babies through my sister, Jess, who founded the company with her husband Paul in Yorkshire in At that time, baby swimming was pretty much confined to the South East and they were amazed by the speed at which the business took off… clients after just eight weeks!
This exponential growth and their obvious passion for what they were doing prompted me to start thinking about getting involved. After much discussion it was decided that my becoming a franchisee would be the best way of expanding the company. My career up until that point had been fairly diverse, incorporating management consultancy, retail and marketing, so I relished the challenge of doing something different.
A year later, in summer , I started my first lessons in Bristol and Bath. Of course, the fact that I was joining a family team, where I had access to unlimited support, was appealing to me.
But I also appreciated the fact that franchising offered me independence to run my business within a network of support and a central point of leadership.
Not only is our corporate image incredibly well devised but the brand now stands for so much in terms of fantastic customer service, innovation and attention to detail. We started with babies and now have close to 1, with a waiting list of - mostly gained through word of mouth.
As far as Jess, Paul and the rest of Head Office go, I feel they have always provided me with great support and help — I feel constantly pushed to achieve more and be the best that I possibly can be in everything I do. Most importantly, we are all passionate about what we do. Having spent the previous few years travelling the world, running a dive school in Indonesia and crewing various yachts around the globe, I felt it was time for a new challenge.
Since I really enjoyed my work with the baby classes, it seemed a natural progression to look into running my own. I really believe in teaching swimming from birth, and want all the babies who swim with us to have a truly positive experience which will remain with them for the rest of their lives. I am also keen for babies to start exercising from an early age, which, I hope, will form the basis of an active lifestyle later on.
Since I was already working in the industry I was familiar with Water Babies and aware of its excellent reputation. From a business perspective, we operate a very effective, exemplary business model: cash upfront and costs at the end of each course, so no-one ever owes us money.
And, mindful of this, we also pay all our own bills pretty much by return! In fact, we are actively encouraged, as new franchisees, to call existing ones as often as we like and the strength of camaraderie between us is really special. It does mean a lot knowing that, no matter how hard we are working as franchisees, we know that HO are working equally hard on our behalf and really want us to succeed, both from a business and personal point of view.
I was working as a local authority swimming instructor when I first saw an article about Water Babies in You also agree to receive further newsletter email marketing from What Franchise. Water Babies has outlets available across the UK. Request free information in just 60 seconds! Keep me up to date with franchising news and promotions. Water Babies. Teaching water confidence and safety skills to babies and toddlers. Request Free Information. Discover these similar opportunities Tutor Doctor.
Third party. School is Easy. Onside Coaching. Stagecoach Performing Arts. Love Churros. Local Eats. Minimum Investment. Business Type. Now 54, clients a week are taught the life-saving skills, building confidence and the capacity to enjoy the pleasures only being in the water can bring. Over the years Water Babies has been at the forefront of a social change that has seen a growth in activities for younger children and recognition of the benefits by parents that outweigh financial pressures they may also be coping with.
These teach little ones — from as young as a day old up to five years — how to swim by focussing on breathing control to avoid water inhalation and using play techniques such as blowing bubbles. We have never had a franchise fail, a tremendous record for our industry.
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