The Story of Little Strokes Swim Academy

“We didn’t have a dime to our name. We had $1000 to put into advertising for one round of flyers in the local newspapers. We got 16 kids. They all told their friends, and the very next session we had 80. We were miraculously able to pay the bills. Now we’ve grown to over 700 students and 12 employees.

We grew up on the swim team together in Waunakee, and that’s when we realized this is what we want to do for the rest of our lives. That’s why we started Little Strokes. We started saving every dime, and a few years ago we realized that we were actually gonna make this happen.

We found Dave and Paige at Fortifi Bank and they told us, “This is awesome. We want to work with you, and listen to your goals.” It’s been great ever since. It’s been amazing. We’re living the dream.

My advice to other business owners going out on their own for the first time: Grow your company one employee at a time. Stay within your means. Be willing to take aa couple lean months. You’re going to have to put in 70-80 hours of work early, but eventually it will turn into a normal work week if you have your ducks in a row. “