Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharon Barber
Hi Sharon , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Originally, I am from Long Beach, California and my husband Dewey is from Georgia. I am an Army Veteran having served as a Reservist and on Active Duty. In 2018, Dewey retired from the Army, and we moved to San Antonio, which is the first city we have lived in without being on active-duty orders. I was working odd jobs, but the desire to own my own business was increasingly becoming a passion. My husband went to UTSA for his undergrad and was able to finish his degree. Dewey came home one day after classes, and we started talking about how he met a franchise consultant. I think it was through one of his networking events he had to attend for his classes. We consulted with that franchise consultant and narrowed down our possibilities to British Swim School. I love to swim, and I love to teach, it was a win-win in that aspect. My parents put me in the city swim lessons during the summer as a kid and that was extent of my water experience as a child. By high school I wanted to swim competitively without any influence from outside sources. Sports was not really a big thing in my family. People tried to talk me out of competitive swim, but I persisted. Now, we are the owners of British Swim School of Leon Valley serving the Northwest, West, and Far West San Antonio. We have a team that loves water and loves to teach others of all ages and abilities.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We are getting ready to close out our second year in operations in a few months, there certainly has been challenges. Sure, we had our challenges with hiring the right people. Our current employees are fabulous and work hard to bring quality of lessons to our students and their families. Our expectations are high because my husband and I expect a lot of ourselves as well. The main challenge is finding the “balance” between the business and the home life. We are also caregivers to a relative that is mentally disabled. It’s having that perspective that helps me keep the main important things at the forefront. Like all other business owners, we are finding what will work for us and what doesn’t.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about British Swim School of Leon Valley?
British Swim School was started over 40 years ago in Great Britain by Rita Goldberg that has expanded into the United States and Canada. The corporate mission is to ensure every person, regardless of age or ability, has the opportunity to be a safe and happy swimmer. Survival of the Littlest is our tag line. We focus on survival swim ensuring our students knows how to survive in the water first and foremost, then we move into stroke development. A person can learn to swim from end to the other, but do they know how to survive? Every quarter we have Survival Week and we go over a water related scenario. The key difference with us is that we don’t focus on the persons age but their abilities in the water. Our program is designed to meet our students where they are in their swim experience. Students learn faster when they are comfortable and in a structured environment. Each level has five goals to obtain before moving up to the next. Our parents love this because it takes the age pressure off.
We have a variety of ways for our parents to follow along in their children’s progression, plus we give real time feedback. Our app gives parents and adult students a way to see what has been accomplished and needs to be accomplished. Each of our levels has a color coordinated swim cap. It’s like karate but swimming. When we have multiple classes going on, we will be able to quickly distinguish which child needs to be where. The swim caps are our safety net, because the color of the cap tells us what skills the child should know or is learning. Water is fun when it’s safe.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up I was the quiet one and the most studious one. I have one brother and that is it. He was the child that always got into trouble with the teachers. I was the one that took the harder classes, and added more things to my plate than I should have. I also love the outdoors, reading, and pets. I am a sucker for cats and dogs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://britishswimschool.com/leon-valley/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/britishswimschoolleonvalley
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BSSLeonValley/
- Other: https://www.google.com/maps?cid=13772545782064490148
