Over thirty-two ago, my business address wasn't a fancy office.
It was a Post Office Box.
My office was the small spare bedroom in my house. I converted it into a workspace with a desk I bought myself at Pier 1 Imports way back then. Funny enough, I'm still sitting at that same desk in my home office today.
I didn't have a business plan that guaranteed success. I didn't know exactly how I was going to make ends meet. Most days, I wasn't even sure I knew what I was doing.
I just knew I loved teaching children to swim, and every day I took one more step forward.
One lesson. One family. One team member. One challenge at a time.
Building a business isn't one big breakthrough. It's thousands of small decisions made over and over again. Some days you feel unstoppable. Other days you're just trying to stay upright.
There were plenty of moments when the wave I was surfing felt too big.
But if you keep showing up, keep learning, and keep putting one foot in front of the other, those small steps begin to compound.
Today, that little business with a PO Box has grown into five locations, a dedicated support center, an incredible team of more than 150 people, 56 employee co-owners, and thousands of swimmers in the water every week.
None of that happened overnight. It happened one ordinary day at a time.
So if you're in the scrappy stage right now, working from your kitchen table, your spare bedroom, or a tiny office, wondering if all the hard work will ever pay off, keep going.
Every successful business has an origin story. Mine just happened to start with a PO Box.
And honestly, I wouldn't change a thing!
