We were lucky to catch up with Savannah Brown recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Savannah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

Most of my working life I have carried multiple jobs at one time. I became a single mother when I was 21 and had to find ways to make ends meet while going to University and caring for my daughter at the same time. I wanted to make sure I always had flexible jobs that allowed me to be there when my daughter needed me. One of the many jobs I had was teaching an afterschool program and I loved working with the kids and providing them a place to learn a new skill. I continued in this position for a few years, it was one of the jobs I considered to be my fun job. When I had graduated college, I thought I would be able to settle into a career and carry one job and have some stability and a consistent schedule. Unfortunately, I was just not cut out for an office job and felt like I was still missing my calling. A friend of mine had been a survival swim instructor for a few years when she approached me and suggested I get certified as an instructor to do the same. I told her I would think about it and continued on working for many other companies in the few years to follow. Finally, I hit a point where I decided I really did want to work for myself and find a way to create my own business. I decided to purse training to be a certified survival swim instructor for infants and children.
I would have started so much sooner, I was granted the freedom to run my business the way I saw fit and have the flexibility I was looking for. I can now say I love what I do. I enjoy engaging with the families on a personal level and making a difference in their lives by providing children the skills they need to be safe in and around the water. If I would have started sooner, I feel like I would have found my happiest self a long time ago. There is not a day, when I am in the pool with my students, that I would rather be doing anything else. I look back and wish I had started sooner because I love what I do and I see the impact I am having on my local community. I feel like I found confidence, passion and my purpose through starting my business. The only thing that would have changed if I started sooner, is I would have impacted more families and students by now. I have met so many wonderful families and unique members in my community. This has allowed me to make connections and form true relationships with each family that comes to my pool. I now am able to provide for my daughter and show her what it is like to work hard and help others in our community through my business.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Savannah Brown and I am an infant and child, survival swim instructor. I provide swim lessons that are developed based on research through Infant Swim Resource (ISR) to provide children the prime learning space and tools to be successful in self-rescue skills. When my daughter was about one year old, she went through swim lessons and gained the skills needed for survival swim. Not long after we had completed lessons, she had fallen in the pool when she had snuck out the back door and squeezed through the pool fence as I had walked family members out of the home after visiting us. Fortunately, she had these skills and was able to not only float and swim to the steps but pull herself out of the pool to come find me. I never thought I would be that parent to have this happen, but it only took 30 seconds for my little girl to get curious and sneak away. Lessons are structured to provide children the best possible chance of retaining the skills in case they ever need them. During lessons there are many protocols and safety measures taken to provide some of the safest and most effective lessons out there. Drowning is the leading cause of death in children ages 1-4 years old, as of this year the national drowning rate has increased by almost double that of last year. I find that swim lessons are a vital skill for all children to know because almost 100% of people will interact with a body of water at some point in their life. Children learn to swim and float in the duration of a six-week session. I am proud to say that so far 100% of my students have graduated and have been successful with their skills.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My first season, I was so scared to start and was worried it would not take off. I posted on social media, walked to a handful of businesses with flyers and information to get my name out there. I dropped off flyers and my website information anywhere I could think of. By the time summer rolled around and it was time for my season to start I had gotten 6 students which wouldn’t be enough to cover the cost of everything I had put into getting certified, paying for licenses/ certifications, insurance and any miscellaneous expenses. I was also working two other jobs at the time just trying to hold everything together and make ends meet. I was hoping to get enough students that I would be able to leave my other jobs but at the start of my season I was feeling pretty discouraged. Three weeks into my season, I decided to reprogram my website and set up a messaging widget. After some help from a friend who knew a whole lot about marketing and branding on social media my website and social media accounts were ready to go and more user friendly than before. I had also gotten together with three instructors in surrounding areas that had much more experience than I had who were gracious enough to provide feedback and helpful tips to help move me forward. Within a few weeks I had gone from 6 to 40 students. I was able to leave my other jobs and look forward to growing business even more.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I am constantly dealing with parents and families who care deeply about their children. I found that I not only needed to build trust with my students but also with the parents. I had to evaluate the language I was using and make sure I was communicating well and providing valuable information during each lesson so that parents understood expectations and how the lessons were going. Because I see each family so frequently, I found it important to get to know them and take the time to talk with them about all aspects of life. Because I was able to build meaningful relationships with parents this added to the success of the lessons for my students. I find when you treat others as if they are your most valuable customer they tend to want to see your business thrive. Many of my families recommend other students by word of mouth and I am able to have walking testimonies of my services throughout the community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://savvyswimmersaz.com/
• Instagram: isrsavvyswimmers_az