We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nikki Scarnati a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nikki thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

During covid I was pregnant with my youngest daughter. Like many of us I was stressed about having a pool in our home and a child that could possibly finding it. I was fortunate that my oldest was able to swim, however I needed the piece of mind for my youngest. I researched to discover there was only 1 full time instructor and 1 part time instructor in my area.. Both were completely booked. I eventually settled on driving 30 minutes to get ISR lessons for my daughter. I am so thankful I did. Her instructor was not only amazing at her job, she also helped me apply to become an instructor because our area was lacking the help! I owe my entire career to that instructor and to this day would not be the instructor I am without having experienced the ISR program as a parent before becoming an instructor. I have taken many of the thoughts and concerns I had as a first time ISR mom and portray that into my social media content to help give other parents the information I have learned along the way. Drowning statistics, and information needs to be educated on, I am very blessed to have the platform to do so.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Yes! My name is Nikki Scarnati. I am a Certified Self Rescue and Strokes instructor. I offer survival swim lessons to children 6 months to 6 years old in the Spring Hill FL area. I have also expanded my certification to strokes this year to allow my students to grow their skills beyond self rescue. I am also a board member of Swim for CJ we are a Non-profit organization that raises money for water safety initiatives in Hernando County which also includes scholarships for self rescue swim lessons. I have spent a lot of time reading, and educating myself on my trade. I am also an Ambassador for Underwater Hypoxic Blackout prevention which educates the masses on why breath holding games effects people of all ages in the water, and not just shallow areas. We have teamed with the Michael Phelps foundation for our campaign to help raise awareness of the importance as well.

I have spent the past 2 years building a portfolio on social media about all of the most common questions, issues, or providing resources for parents wanting to learn about water safety. In March of 2023 I had a video that went viral on why parents should NOT purchase blue bathing suits for their children but to opt for bright colors instead. I was blessed enough to be featured in articles all over the globe including GMA, People magazine and Parents Magazine. That video currently has over 60 million views across all platforms. This is what fuels a lot of content I cover on social media. There are so many parents that do not know that drowning is the number one cause of death in children 1-4 and the second leading cause in children 5-12. If every parent watch 1 of my videos to learn something about water safety to help make their child safer, I have done my job. On the home front I am able to teach children in my area how to save themselves so parents do not have to know what going through a drowning accident looks like.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Social media absolutely helped build my reputation in my market, as well as educate. Traditionally my trade is a referral based Followers having access to that helps build your credibility and competency in the eyes of parents. I helps them build trust form a far so they can eventually build that stronger bond in person through lessons.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Being knowledgeable and accessible for those who are inquiring for lessons. Have programmed responses that covers all of the essential information that parents ask for most, which in my case is lesson frequency and lesson cost. I also include scholarship information upfront to minimize those questions so we can focus on the for specific questions that pertains to the child and their lessons. Answer the questions and make the parents understand their child is safe in lessons because you are qualified and knowledgeable.

Contact Info:

• Website: springhillisr.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scarnati.swim/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikki.woder/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzsJyLcNc7Zt4hIDEbtaKJQ
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scarnati.swim

Image Credits
Wild Three Photography