We recently connected with Carolina Escobar Downie and have shared our conversation below.

Carolina, appreciate you joining us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

I started out Namaste Sports as a one-woman show. I taught all the yoga classes and coached all the soccer sessions my business offered, as well as managing all the backend operations of the business. I continued this way for a couple years before I realized that the way I was going to scale my business, was by building a team.

It took a big reality check and releasing of self-judgement to sit down with myself and multiple people I look up to, to realize my strengths and weaknesses in the business. I was under the impression that if I couldn’t do it all myself, than I wasn’t going to be successful. Boy was I wrong! The truth was the complete opposite.

Although I have a strong background in sales, I realized that because it didn’t bring me joy, I was severely lacking in that aspect of my business. Upon realizing and coming to terms with it, I decided to hire a salesperson! It was unheard of in my industry and maybe I was the first person to do it, but it made sense to hire out the tasks that I was not excelling at and enjoying.

I started out looking for a salesperson where I knew best… I looked to the people I knew and trusted. Being from Orlando, finding a salesperson that came highly recommended was pretty easy. I started on Facebook and expanded my search on LinkedIn. I realized however, that for me, I felt most comfortable hiring somebody who came with a personal referral.

I put together a training manual and staff handbook. We met in person and chatted about our mutual interests and goals for the position. We went over the manual and handbook to make sure we were on the same page… but ultimately, I want us to grow together, as a true team. My “interviews” are more like chats. I like to get to know the people I’m hiring, because to me, they are becoming a part of my family when brought on board.

If I were starting today, the only thing I would do differently would be to build a team sooner.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have always known I wanted to work with children. I have taught in schools, camps, nonprofits, coached teams and babysat. Although my degree is in something completely unrelated, I knew I wanted to help children. I have a strong passion for children’s rights and have always strived to make a difference in a child’s life.

I started Namaste Sports, my mindfulness extracurricular business, because I wanted to offer children the opportunity to partake in a different type of program. Namaste Sports teaches soccer and yoga programs in schools. Our mission and values are to help
kids develop emotional regulation, confidence, self-love, and compassion.

Growing up, all the clubs and organizations I was a part of we’re competitive-based. Our emotions were not taken into account. Looking back, I always thought about how much I would have benefited from a club or program that would help me and my peers develop those core values.

With social media and peer influence being such a driver of kids’ view of themselves, I strive to help kids feel strong and love who they are, overcoming adversity with the skills to communicate their feelings and grow from them.

I am most proud of hearing success stories of my students, from the parents who see it all unfold at home. We may be teaching these kids one class a week, but hearing that they are taking home what they learn and applying it in their every day lives, makes all the hard work worth it.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2020, as we all know, COVID-19 put a damper on everyone’s lives. Because my program operates in schools, I had to make the quick decision to pivot my business, or risk losing it. All of my schools were closed and/or not accepting outside vendors, therefore I made the quick decision to go fully online.

It was honestly a quick-witted decision that I didn’t even have time to think about. It was the most difficult and scary adjustment, and I had no idea how I was going to make it work, but I did!

I sent out a video to all my families, welcoming them to our new online program and every week I would send out private access to my students to take both soccer and yoga classes online with me. I also put together lessons that the kids could work on at home throughout the week.

It was scary! It was the first time parents would see me teaching/coaching and what my program had to offer. But it was the most rewarding experience, albeit not my favorite (videography is not my strong suit), because while I did lose some students due to financial hardship, when we were back in schools in 2021, all my business came back.. and then some!

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

This is huge. Communication is so important in business and I strive to be personally invested as much as possible. My business has two sides of clients to it. One side is the schools the other is the families. I “sell” the programs to the schools however, they are just allowing me to offer the programs. The parents are the ones paying for the programs and the students are the ones receiving them.

Because of this, I make it a point to be present in all facets, to foster brand loyalty. I have a personal relationship with school leaders. I go in for chats, check up through email, donate time and resources to the schools during events and holidays, participate in teacher appreciation week, etc. For the parents, I am 100% grandparents with the mission, values and expectations of my programs. I send our monthly newsletters and communicate mindfulness wins with them. I also have a presence on social media and interact with families through there as well. My students are the bread and butter of the business and they go home filled with love and knowledge to share. They’re the reason my business is thriving; because they love Namaste Sports just as much as I do!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.namastesports.com
• Instagram: @namastesports
• Facebook: @namastesports
• Linkedin: @namastesports

Image Credits
Dovetail Photo