The Business of Teaching How to Swim

Authentic Business Adventures Podcast

Nathan Boehm - Diventures - Sun Prairie, WI On Knowing Where to Set the Bar: "Always the goal for the first day is not to cry in the water. You know, set it nice and low.." Nathan will share with us the fascinating growth story of Diventures from a modest beginning to an enterprise spanning 18 locations nationwide offering an array of aquatic services, including a robust swim school and exciting scuba diving adventures. Nathan dives into the intricacies of managing such a complex operation, touching on everything from the difference between dry suits and wetsuits to the challenges of teaching swimming techniques effectively. He'll also discuss the importance of building lasting relationships with clients and how he's helping the business thrive by fostering a community through swimming, whether they're four months old or part of the senior citizens' classes. Listen as Nathan explains the ins and outs of getting both kids and adults in the pool and learning how to swim comfortably and while having fun. Enjoy! Visit Nathan at: https://www.diventures.com/locations/sun-prairie/ 00:00 Classroom work then certification vacations to dive. 04:55 Transition ideas from womb to water, baby excels. 07:51 Living in tent after rent increase, job searching. 12:29 "Rewarding aquatics work with special needs children." 15:23 Comparing strength and swimming technique casually. 16:35 I run the business and have employees. 20:32 Testing water pH using colorful science kit. 24:51 Parents can start swim lessons at age three. 26:26 Free trial swim lessons offered for parents. 30:23 Flippers used for fun and better swimming. 33:57 Coordinate movements, maintain momentum, and express emotion. Podcast Transcription: Nathan Boehm [00:00:00]: You can totally default the doggy paddle. Just make sure you're not doggy paddling like this. And you want to have your arms out a little bigger. James Kademan [00:00:04]: Okay. Nathan Boehm [00:00:05]: So you can move more water, man. James Kademan [00:00:06]: That's great advice. Nathan Boehm [00:00:06]: No, you can't. You can't be a t rex and swim, right? No t rex arms allowed. You need big arms. James Kademan [00:00:11]: All right. Nathan Boehm [00:00:11]: You need bigger. Unless you have a tail. If you have a tail, then you could be a dinosaur. So, yeah, most kids don't have a tail either, so that's usually what I tell them. Yeah, if you have a tail, you can totally swim however you'd like. James Kademan [00:00:22]: You have found authentic business adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle, stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link. [e-mail] we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie, and today I am welcoming, preparing to learn from Nathan Boehm, the aquatics experience manager at Dive ventures in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. So, Nathan, how is it going today? Nathan Boehm [00:00:50]: It's going good. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. I was looking forward to this. James Kademan [00:00:53]: Yeah, this is exciting. Aquatics experience manager. Tell me about that. Nathan Boehm [00:00:57]: Yeah, so, yeah, I handle the day to day operations of the diventures in the swim school side of things, so enrolling people into swim lessons, training the instructors, overseeing the swim program, and making sure everybody's having a happy and fun time. Yeah. James Kademan [00:01:12]: So diventures, is that franchise or is that so? Nathan Boehm [00:01:14]: No, we have one single owner. His name is Dean Hollis. He's a wonderful man. We started in Omaha, Nebraska. James Kademan [00:01:19]: Oh, wow. Nathan Boehm [00:01:20]: And then when I came on, and I started in 2020. Yeah, you wouldn't think of like a swim school dive location, Omaha, Nebraska. But people like to travel,