8 Important Questions You're Not Asking Your Instructor

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Tina Ramser

Got lessons going on this summer? So you’ve figured out class times, pool location and the parking situation. After navigating your child successfully through swarms of families at the facilities, you’re able to drop the kid off to where (and which teacher) he/she is supposed to be with. And when it is finally all over, you’ve got to round up the little one , dry off, change wet clothes and probably go pick up another one or get dinner started (maybe both). It’s easy to forget about the 8 key questions you need to ask your  instructor about swim lessons:

What swim skills can my kid work on? Listen for key words like straight kicks, back floating, big arms. If your teacher says they need to work on coming up for air, that means your child definitely needs you close in the water for assistance. By focusing on what they need to work on, this is as close of a question and answer you can get to figuring out when your kid will be swimming on their own.

Can you recommend a good pair of goggles? Goggles can be incredibly inexpensive, like around $4, but not work right. And they can be very expensive,as high as $20 and still not work right. You want to find out what kind of eye size and materials work best for your child’s face, and a teacher knows. A good pair of goggles is priced right in the middle and usually made by Speedo.

Can I leave the pool area? Some teachers love that question and nod their head vigorously in agreement. It sounds harsh, but this is what you want to do for a whining child that won’t listen to your warnings to stop. With lifeguards on duty, this might be a good time to make some calls or get in a little time for yourself.

Is my child behaving in group class? Tell the teacher it’s okay to be honest. If you don’t like the answer, in my opinion hang close to the next class and step in before the teacher does when they are acting up. You don’t want the teacher to use your child’s valuable turn or time disciplining instead of swimming.

Is my child learning about pool safety? There’s a national push right now to educate families and industry professionals about the importance of doing the little safety things around a pool and spa. Make sure you are both understanding the big picture.

Will you be teaching the next group session? The objective is to try and follow the instructor you like and to stay away from the ones you don’t. Trusting (or disliking) a teacher can really impact a child’s swim progress.

Do you teach private lessons? This is in case you feel your child needs more one-on-one attention. Maybe privates are the instructor’s specialty. Maybe you can cut the cost down by adding just one student/friend to make it a semi-private. Perhaps there is even a time to come for a lesson that works even better for your schedule. Just ask.

Do you teach lessons year-round or anywhere else? This is a great question if you are fishing around to see if the instructor might want to come teach at a different pool — specifically one located in your backyard or a neighbor’s. It might not be policy or the best move for the instructor to blatantly take your number (a.k.a business) in front of co-workers or pool managers. Let them navigate you through the hint.

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10 Ways to Increase Your Summer Swim Business

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Tina Ramser

Boy, I don’t know what’s been worse this season: the economy or the weather. Swimming is now both a temperature-contingent activity and a cost-contingent one, too.

I’ve dolled out advice for parents seeking to stretch those recreational summer dollars, but this entry is for all you swim instructors with a side or home-based swim business. All of these ideas do not cost a lot of money or have liability issues. Here’s 10 ways to drum up more summer swim business.

#1: Call up your past clientele. I’ve never called up a client/family that hasn’t been happy to hear from me. If they don’t want lessons, I bet they know at least one person who does.

#2: Volunteer at school-related events. Now more than ever communities are trying to raise money for schools, and events naturally follow. Have a sign on your ride at a Bike-a-thon.  Pass out swim caps (very inexpensive when ordered in bulk) with your swim business on them at an art fair.

#3: Donate your services at an auction. I went to the Marin Builder’s Association crab feed a couple months back and ran into a swim family of mine. The big to-do of the night was an auction and tickets were about $5 each. During the auction, I was thinking how cool it would have been to donate free swim lessons. I know one family that would have bid on them!

#4: Hello! Social networking on Facebook and the like. Post your business on a social-based network. Start a Tweet account for daily pool updates. Do an email blast. Create an account for your local mother’s club website. I just read a study how 83% of people first go to the interest to check out a business.

#5: Strategically-placed fliers. One parent recommended a good way to get my swim clientele would be to give a bunch of fliers to the elementary schools. Some schools do a “Friday Flier” kind of thing and all kids go home with a bunch of fliers.

#6: Become an expert source. If you join a website like HARO (Helping a Journalist Out), you receive a daily email with a list of articles writers need sources for. I’ve been offering myself as an expert to any summer-related queries in a quick and easy email to the writer. If a writer does contact you, they  interview you and print your info, like a website or where you work.

#7: Piggy-back on bigger names or businesses. I won’t suggest starting your own blog unless you plan to grow it (and become my competitor). If you work for a community center, club or private business, and they have a website, ask the IT or web administrator to include a swim lesson page and bio on you. It’s a win-win for both.

#8: Stick your business card on houses that have pools. Hey, I get tree-service guys doing this all the time because we have a huge redwood in the back. How can you tell a house has a pool? I take walks in neighborhoods and on trails that have big hills so I can spy down on my town.

#9: Follow that pool-man. And stick business cards in the mail box. It might not hurt to going into your local pool store and ask if you can leave business cards.

#10: Get business cards. If you don’t have them, they are free at VistaPrint.com (okay — you’ll pay under $6 for shipping. I’ve used this service many times and it takes about 10 minutes to design a professional card). Have all your info and title. Always have them on you. That means keep them in a plastic bag on the side of the pool when you are in the water. Heck — laminate them.

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Group Lessons Breed Multitasking, Yet Multitasking Doesn't Work

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Tina Ramser

Photo courtesy of mbgrigbyI’ve suggested many times group lessons are a great way to save money when revising your swim budget. By increasing the class ratio, you decrease swim costs. My advice doesn’t change, nor does my side note about group lessons delivering results for the adjusted, not the fearful.

Up until recently, I wished I was a better group lessons teacher. I’d take on group lesson classes time and time again just to try to increase my teaching abilities in quantity situations. My conclusion? I’m personally throwing in the towel on group environments that equate to over 2 kids. There are two major reasons as to why: One, because I develop guilt-based stress for knowing I’m not delivering the goods or swim skills for the money;  and two, because it is proven multitasking doesn’t work.

In fact, this multitasking article in New York Times shows that is can take a person 15 whole minutes to refocus after an interruption.

I don’t think I need to paint the picture of a 6-to-1 (students to teacher) ratio with a bunch of 4 to 5-year olds in a beginner’s swim class. Someone is crying, someone is climbing out; someone else has just jumped off the pool stairs without permission and another has to use the bathroom. There’s another kid underwater not listening. The one quite child left needs help with his goggles. I love children, but you get what I’m saying. And you’re paying for all of this. Even when the kids by some miracle are all on the same page, the nature of swimming still equates to one turn at a time. Divide your ratio by the time in the class and tell me how many turns that is.

But wait — there’s the distraction of teacher multitasking to configure into that number. A good estimate  to account for the interruptions multitasking breeds is to take away a full turn. I’m a freak like this because it’s not a soccer field, its a dangerous body of water and your kids must learn how to be safe.

I’ve broached this subject a few times, but here’s a new way to look at it. Let’s say you have 1/2 hour class or swim time. Assuming you have a focused and competent teacher, here’s how a half hour lesson  looks in a private one-on-one versus a group lesson:

Private one-on-one lesson. In a 1/2 hour, depending on skill level, your child should be able to: submerge face under water dozens of times; practice climbing out of a pool dozens of times; demonstrate holding onto pool edge; make numerous trips around shallow end with teacher assisted or unassisted; practice jumping off side with or without assistance; display and receive technical advise on kicking, arm circles; blow bubbles endlessly; learn a new safety skill; review all the above; be able to play a few minutes with pool toys. And they develop a stronger bond with their teacher and better pool behavior.

Group lesson 6:1 ratio. In a 1/2 hour, depending on skill level, your child should be able to: submerge face about 3 times or watch how it is done; practice climbing out of pool 1-2 times; jump 1-2 times or watch how it is done; swim or receive teacher assistance a short distance 3-4 times (teacher cannot leave students alone too long); kick at stairs with some advice; show arm circles; display or watch bubbles; maybe learn a safety skill if attention is present; and no time for toys as their aren’t enough and are too much of a distraction.They cannot remember their teacher’s name and they might have been cold and/or acting silly between turns.

So you see the major differences are  performing the actual skill a lot, or a limited time, or not at all. No matter the skill level, all kids are under the same fair equation or “6 divided by 1 minus multitasking = My Turn” formula. With a wary or nervous child, there is just not enough time or focus in a turn for the teacher to both develop the trust needed to convince them to perform and then actually get them to do it correctly and well. And for the perfectly adjusted child, their potential is held back by the lowest-skilled kid, as a teacher cannot create an unsafe environment by moving too far from the herd. Singular attention breeds results. Numbers breed multitasking and multitasking doesn’t deliver.

Posted in Children Learning to Swim, Parenting & Swimming, Swim Lessons & Programs, Water Fears & Trauma, Water Safety | 1 Comment

National Swim Safety Campaign Launches Today

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Tina Ramser

Today marks the kick-off for a national pool and spa safety campaign brought to you by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) or PoolSafely.com. (Not a typo — it is pool “safely” as opposed to “safety.” I asked).

It is a first-of-its-kind nationally addressed approach to sparking a conversation about swim safety education with families, pool operators and industry professionals. Much of the focus is on pool and spa entrapment, but I see this wrapped up in a major message about preventative measures using key phrases such as “performing that extra pool-safety step” or implementing “a personal system of safety.” However families and pool professionals are to remember it, I like what I see because it will bring light to a lot of overlooked yet simple ways to increase water safety.

This also coincides with the CPSC’s annual reports on children’s submersion and entrapment incidents. For the complete report, click this link. Here are some findings:

  • 78% pool and spa-related drownings are younger than five (between years 2005-2007)
  • Total drowning for these years/age equals to 299 fatalities
  • 74% of these drowning occurred at a residence (I’d like this to be defined a little more, but I’m thinking private homes)

The American Academy of Pediatricians also came out today with similar suggestions and preventative measures, and have revised their definition of drowning. This will help present and collect data better. Also, here’s some more big news:  The AAP has lifted its advisory against swimming lessons for children between the ages of 1 and 4 years. However, the AAP is quick to point out it this doesn’t mean they now recommend lessons for this age group. They also noted that there is no evidence that infants under 12 months should receive swimming instruction. All that is a post in itself and you can read the policy statement here.

The AAP gives us something really interesting to add  to our statistics above :

  • 32% of the drownings occur in an artificial pool

Makes sense: The majority of artificial or plastic pools — inflatable or portable  — do not have fences or alarms. It doesn’t matter if there is just 1-foot of water in one of those little ones. If the majority of children who drown are younger than five, we’re talking coordination and strength issues and if they haven’t had lessons, aren’t equipped to deal with pool safety issues as well.  Artificial pools appear to breed entrapment, with their slippery surfaces, cold temps, tight fit and unsturdy sides. We look them over so easily.

I know this paints a picture you don’t want to look at, but I think that’s the point of the “Pool Safely” campaign. By carefully gathering this important but unfortunate data correctly, these organizations can find out what the problems are, revise their advice (like the AAP’s “lift” or “relaxization” on waiting formalized lessons age), talk to the public about it with this current campaign, and prevent the problems from growing. Thinking over the cause and numbers, do you have any great pool safety advice to share? It’s time to look at this issue from all angles and solutions.

Posted in Children Learning to Swim, Parenting & Swimming, Swim Lessons & Programs, Swimming News, Water Safety | 2 Comments

Public Campaign Set to Launch About Pool & Spa Safety

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Tina Ramser

I received a press release the other day from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about a pool and spa safety campaign set to launch on May 24th, 2010 to “start a national conversation to change the way Americans think and act about pool safety.” This event will better tie consumers to PoolSafety.com, the agency’s website. Olympic swimmer Janet Evans will be there.

Much of this current stir has to do with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, federal legislation signed into law in 2007 designed to mandate new safety requirements with pools and spas. We’re specifically speaking about proper drain covers here — pool and spa pumps are so incredibly powerful they can suction and keep a person submerged underwater. The law is named after little 7-year old Virginia who drowned due to a faulty drain cover.

Virginia’s mother, Nancy has been an amazing force in enacting this bill. Therefore she’s been an amazing force in getting out pool safety. While the media event will focus much on drainage compliance, general pool safety topics will be addressed as well as annual report on childhood drowning. While I won’ t flying to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Florida to be there, I do have access to interviews.

Remember a few posts ago when I looked into my crystal ball and predicted the media would be covering more pool safety topics this summer? I’ll keep my finger on the pulse of this topic and when I find out something more to add, I’ll post.

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3 Important People Who Thought They'd Never Learn to Swim Laps — And Did

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Tina Ramser

Are you visiting my site because you did a search for “how to swim laps”? (This Squidkid.org post often comes up as one of the number one web addresses to find good information on this subject). If you are here to learn about freestyle or any other proper pool stroke, I want to talk to you today about not feeling nervous when it comes to swimming laps correctly and well. And I want to share with you three important people that felt like they weren’t doing it right when they started either.

Tim Ferriss, author of  “The Four-Hour Work Week.” Tim Ferriss took Generation X and all the above by surprise with a controversial #1 New York Times book about lifestyle designing that serves as sort of a manifesto for the working traveler or anyone else wanting to regain their freedom, among other things. Recently, Ferriss learned to swim laps and he wrote about it here. Of course when Ferriss does it, he learns how to do it with the utmost efficiency or in 10 days.

J.D. Roth, blogger and founder of Get Rich Slowly (and Get Fit Slowly). I’ve had a few guest posts at J.D.’s site and find his approach to offering personal finance advice sound, unique and often very touching. He contacted me when he wanted to get back into swimming laps after a decade-long absence and I gave him and his readers some advice found here. J.D. is frequently mentioned in many of the big financial magazines and also just came out with this first book called “Your Money: The Missing Manual.”

Heather Boener, writer and career coach. Heather is a friend and member of a San Francisco-based writer’s group I belong to. aside of penning articles for Yoga Journal and the SF Chronicle, Heather also runs a blog geared to deliver serenity to the self- employed found here. I was able to asked deeper questions about lap swimming, how she got into it and what it means to her. I think you will really relate to her. She had a lot of fears when first starting, such as body image, knee pain and if she could do this without her glasses. “I just had to be willing to risk looking foolish at first, or feeling foolish,” she told me. Here are some highlights from her email on swimming:

  • Being in the water turned out to be a cure for self-consciousness — I felt strong inside my own skin.
  • Once I realized everyone went through struggle of learning how to breathe correctly I stopped panicking about it.
  • Water is calming, meditative and like an escape, unlike plugging into your iPod on the elliptical trainer.
  • Swimming is much like yoga, with a subtle focus in shifts and stance making it much easier and relaxing.

Remember a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Learning to swim laps requires patience, persistence and practice.

Posted in Adult Swimming, Lap Swimming & Strokes | Leave a comment

Learning to Swim is Like Learning to Budget

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Tina Ramser

This might be a bit of a stretch to make the connection here, up I’m up for the challenge. I have been writing a lot of personal finance pieces lately and need to shake out what’s swirling in my brain. I personally love to talk about improving credit scores, best interest rates and debt settlement scams. Maybe you do to — or want to know more. Either way I think you will find this post amusing.

Okay. How learning to swim is similar when learning to budget.

Swimming and saving are two things that take time. I think a lot of people give up on savings accounts because they think stowing $25 on the first shot is not good enough. That’s like saying because your fearful child didn’t swim across the pool on the first lesson they aren’t doing a good job. Deliver huzzahs for small efforts. They add up to progress.

Don’t compare other situations to your own. It’s not how much you make but rather what you do with your money that matters. So it’s not about the fact your child is 3-years old and his same-aged friend is swimming circles around him. Swim ability is not defined by age but a host of different factors. Jimmy doesn’t need to keep up with Jonesie in the pool.

Create a budget (and swim schedule) and stick to it. You’ll make the most progress with these two subjects if you stay regular about  practicing them, especially when you need to most. This means working with a resistant swimmer (or saver).

Don’t get in over your head. Good safety pool rule for newer swimmers and those with too many credit cards.

Stay away from businesses that offer the impossible. I don’t have much respect for debt settlement companies that promise to “reduce what you owe in half!” because studies and articles show (like this CNN Money one) they have like a 10% success rate and put people into future financial ruins. If anyone flat-out quotes to you exactly how many lessons it will take to get your child swimming, they are estimating the impossible.

Ignoring the signs today means a struggle tomorrow. While it’s true some kids just aren’t ready for swim lessons, it’s important to be proactive with swim skills and get assistance in the form of assessments or lessons with the right teacher. Same goes for spending outside your means, which equates to future debt.

Invest today and it will pay off tomorrow. The more you spend time with your child in the pool today, the more it will pay off in confidence, safety and the importance of health and fitness in the future. Same goes with investing in your company 401(k) plan or a Roth IRA.

Does anyone have any clever examples to share? I’d love to hear them here at Squidkid.org.

Posted in Children Learning to Swim | Leave a comment

Pay Attention to These Summer Swim Stories!

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Tina Ramser

I working right now with Parenting Magazine on several summer swim stories as an expert source and author (sorry — under contract to not divulge any details). But I can tell you most magazines are doing the same: Gearing up for choice summer swim pieces.

I’m going to look into my crystal ball and predict what’s going to come out in the media on the topic of swim lessons for kids this summer as well as recommend what topic to stay close to that will benefit you the most.

Pay attention to any debate, detail or discussion around group lessons. With the issue of money and budgets still apparent, there might be more advertising for signing kids up to take group lessons as opposed to private one-on-one. The bigger the ratio, the less the cost is the argument. But the less of a chance a child has of learning vital swim skills, too, when quantity triumphs quality.  Just make sure the group fit is right and you have observed the environment and teaching style.

More swim safety plugs. I think parents and editors are putting more of a plug on safety issues easily overlooked. You can learn a lot of tricks that can raise a child with safe and positive pool habits by tuning in to these tips. You’d be surprised at the little things that can give kids a wrong impression about what to do when panicked in the water. For example, if you let kids harmlessly hang onto you when ever they want, what do you think their reaction is going to be when panicked?

Your usual (but terribly sad) drowning story. These tragedies are always plastered across newspaper headlines. Many of them include limited reporting and can be downright misconceiving, scaring the crap out of parents like this one about dry or secondary drownings that I took apart and demystified.

Updated swim studies most media outlets don’t run with. There are very few of us writers out there that follow cutting edge swim news.  There was a great article a few years back about the controversy statement the American Academy of Pediatricians made about children not being ready for formalized swim lessons until the age of 4 – but a March 2009 study by the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine that found participation in formal swimming lessons was associated with an 88% reduction in the risk of drowning in the 1- to 4-year-old children.

One day swimming is going to be a school requirement. It is in most European countries. It is being lobbied for as a new state law in North Carolina by a state representative. I currently assist in teaching the Kindergarten – 2nd grade  for the local Lycee Francois or French School students. You might start to see more of this happening in your area.

What do you think? What swim topics do you think the media should cover more?

Posted in Children Learning to Swim, Parenting & Swimming, Swim Instructors, Swim Lessons & Programs | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Good Food or Good Exercise: What Really Burns the Weight Off?

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Tina Ramser

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooryi recently said in this CNNMoney.com article that “if all consumers exercised … obesity wouldn’t exist.” I find that to be an incredibly naive statement. But if your paycheck came from selling the rhetorical Kool-Aid, you’d probably say the same thing.

Almost two-thirds of American are overweight or obese. That number is set to grow: If a child between 10-12 years old is currently overweight, they have a 70% chance of turning into an obese adult, and I’ve written about here. That’s why I love what Jaime Oliver is doing right now with his Food Revolution.

So, is it all about proper exercise to lose weight? Or is it about what you eat? Most diet (for  lack of a better word) books I pick up — at least written by the most respectable sources — always seem to focus on a food plan before delving into an exercise plan.

One of the major reasons is because there is only so much weight that can be lost through exercise. In fact, according to the Editor-in-Chief of Men’s Health, David Zinczenko, only 15 to 20% of your calorie burn can come through movement or exercise. Between 60 and 80% of calorie burn comes from doing nothing. We call this your basal or resting metabolism. The remainder or 10 to 30% of calories is burned through digestion. So it is vital you are eating well. That you can control.

So no, Mrs. Nooryi, I don’t think the answer is if all consumers exercised obesity wouldn’t exist. But I do think if they stopped drinking all your high-fructose corn syrup they’d have a fighting chance. It’s hard to support your better products like Naked Juice when you peddle liquid killers and blame the rat for drinking the poison you so ostentatiously supply. I’m not without my own sins, but at least I won’t be forced to drink this stuff everyday in purgatory. Warm.

Exercise needs to be in the mix, of course. Here’s a recent plug from Dr. Oz. In this month’s issue of AARP Magazine, he has an excellent article about getting healthy in six months. Dr. Oz said that if you cannot walk a quarter mile in 5 minutes, you have a 25% chance of dying within the next six years. He then made a connection how these numbers mean you are more likely to die from not being able to walk than from cancer. Dr. Oz presents his stats with spice!

Now here is my water plug: Get in the pool and walk it out. You’ll burn between 100-150 more calories than walking on land. And if you are looking to lose weight, the water is a supportive medium that will  be kind to your body issues, making you feel light and thus definitely inspired to stay in. I guarantee it. I have a student right now who has lost more than 30 pounds in the past 3 months through diet and working out in water. Simple movements, like scissor legs, which is flutter kicking in the water, is a great start. An of all the exercises Dr. Oz could have chosen in his article, scissors kick was the only one he pushed. I get it space was limited, and he only had room for one — but nevertheless, this was the one.

It really isn’t more expense to eat whole or healthier foods than cheaper processed foods, and this Being Frugal post backs the claim up. I can as well: ever since we started exclusively eating whole foods (I define as farmer’s market produce, organic brands, and nothing packaged) we eat less. Yes, I pay more for a cut of meat or a bunch of carrots, but we get full faster and consume less and also spread the meals out into 6 versus 3 to stop stuffing our bellies. Because the skill of budgeting is practiced, I’ve become very aware of my internal grocery finances and I know now when I’ve spent my mark. Once you stop eating a lot of red meat and switch to softer proteins like fish, you get mental about the idea of digesting steak. And you know what? Another perk is less dishes to clean. Our food is not so complicated to make. And my taste buds are renewing themselves. I already knew I was a tomato snob, and now I know why: Because tomatoes taste best when they are in season. Farmer’s market’s teach about eating seasonal food.

One more great article I will stick you with is this Wise Bread entry about the 9 Habits of the World’s Healthiest People. These people get to drink red wine, take lots of vacations and hang out with friends too much. I want to be one of them! Go ahead and leave a comment … Jaime. Jennifer. I know you’re reading!

Posted in Health and Fitness, Water Exercise & Aerobics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

How a Swim Business Survives and Thrives in a Bad Economy

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Tina Ramser

Today I officially pushed the starting date of my summer private swim lesson business back by eight weeks. What I do is run like any other small business, plagued with issues brought on by a tough economy. For me, it’s the cost of a service that can be downsized into a quantity solution (group lessons instead of one-on-one private lessons), the price of heating up an outdoor pool, and uninspiring rotten weather. That makes swimming not just a temperature-contingent activity, but I’m also learning a cost-contingent activity!

This was an executive decision that isn’t full of loss but rather new direction. I’ve learned to take lemons and not just think about making lemonade, but to actually squeeze the fruit and get results. It’s positively crucial if you want your business to survive.  I have also been forced to embrace the concept it isn’t about outgrowing as much as it is about the new phase presenting itself. The glass half-full kind of thinking. With numbers as your concrete evidence you’re doing something right. In business you’ve got to have evidence of profit and working capital or you’re just standing in place.

Here’s how my business is going to not just survive but thrive in a bad economy. Ideas here can be applied to any small business or freelance position:

Avoid running on empty. I didn’t push back my start date by 2 weeks. I opted for 8 weeks. This means I’m not waiting anything out but rather taking a turn to jump on new business elsewhere with my other products (freelance writing) to make up for lost income . I have already landed two swim assignments with Parenting Magazine and told a few other writing clients to up my work load.

Sniff out dormant ideas waiting to make money. I’ve sat too long on this blog and not pushed for placing ads or selling a product. So I have hired a SEO expert to help start generating an income and will also be selling awesome eBooks for learning lap swimming and teaching fearful swimmers. I get about 40 hits a day on one entry about lap swimming for beginners and am the number one site that comes up if you do a search on “how to swim laps.” Jump on it already!

Create a versatile product. Teaching swim lessons is something that I’m good at, but if isn’t selling in a pool, I can take it behind the desk. I write about swimming and sell the product that way. Also, I can extend my skills to teach more water aerobic classes. I might try to market myself a little more as a fitness writer. AARP would eat up an article about water exercise as a means to help with arthritis.

Add it up quarterly. Numbers are great navigation pieces. If you break down what you make, when you make it and who you make it from, you can use that info as an indicator of what your future profit will realistically look like. It’s April, which means you can do your First Quarter Income Statement now.  I’ll be okay with missing 8 weeks and possibly more of private swim lesson income because I realized I’m bringing in more than predicted from select avenues, which will continue and thus replace lost income.

Let go more often. I don’t really hang on too hard to anything professionally. It’s sort of the curse of the freelancer: you’re immediately expendable at any moment. Or, the All Good Clients Must Come to an End syndrome. Letting go frees you up for inspiration and new direction. It also makes you prepared for those rainy days sure to come.

Unless you take your business seriously, it’s just … a joke, I guess. It’s kind of like debt: If you know you’re hiding from it,  the last thing you want to do is look and listen to the numbers yet its the thing you need to do to get out of it. Being open to new light, patterns and habits is the solution. Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

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