Why Big Blue Swim School Franchise Candidates Should Bring All Decision Makers to Dive-In Day

Since its founding in 2009, Big Blue Swim School has delivered more than 1.7 million swim lessons. Through its superior curriculum, proprietary technology and rapidly-growing footprint, Big Blue Swim School has established itself as a winning concept in a fast-growing segment, with 81 units sold in 18 states. As one of the final steps for prospective franchise partners in the discovery process, Big Blue recommends that all investors attend the brand’s Dive-In Day to meet the executive team and acquire first-hand operational insight to make a well-educated decision.

“Our team understands the value that a spouse or business partner carries, especially when it is time to make a decision,” said Franchise Development Director, Dennis Campbell. “ Educating all decision makers and giving them an opportunity to see themselves in this business is something candidates should experience during our mutual evaluation process. Big Blue does not simply put candidates into the ‘sales funnel’ — it is important for the franchisor to meet all decision makers, because we want to award our swim schools to partners who will carry out our values and brand promise.”  

According to Sam Abraham, a multi-unit Big Blue owner in New Jersey, the Dive-in Day experience was the deciding factor in his evaluation process. “At some point, the decision to franchise comes down to the gut feeling about who you are getting involved with,” he said. “After meeting the team at Dive-In Day, my wife and I felt that the Big Blue concept was clearly head-and-shoulders above anyone else.”

While attending Dive-In Day, candidates see first-hand the results of the leadership support Big Blue provides. Campbell notes that a picture is worth a thousand words -- and seeing the brand's swim schools in action is worth even more.

“During Dive-In Day, candidates have the opportunity to tour our world-class facilities, test our proprietary technology and observe how our full-time staff seamlessly executes 60 swim lessons every half hour,” said Big Blue CDO Scott Thompson. “It’s important for potential franchise partners to see the optimized layout of our facility, tour our pump room and watch our parking lot fill up. While these observations may seem simple, it’s advantageous for candidates  to witness our process in person.”

“You cannot replace seeing pools in person — prospects are able to ask questions about aspects they’ve never had experience with, such as the mechanics of a pump room or how activity flows through our facility at prime swim times,” said Campbell.

In addition to observing activity at the pools, Dive-In Day allows candidates to interact with the leadership team, learn how the industry-leading real estate team selects a site, how the operations team helps staff and train full-time swim associates, and how the marketing team ultimately fills pools with customers through a strategic pre-opening strategy. This creates a powerful experience for prospects that can’t be achieved otherwise. 

“Outside of the professional setting, our candidates also spend time at dinner to build relationships on a personal level with our team,” said Campbell. “These casual opportunities are critical, and we believe our candidates deserve the chance to meet and interact with our team before deciding to partner with us. Seeing the value of what Big Blue offers as a business model is usually quite evident to candidates before Dive-In Day, but meeting the team they will ultimately work with and having a sense of belonging and comradery is essential.”  

Since Dive-In Day occurs toward the end of the discovery process, candidates are already educated on the brand’s model prior to meeting in person, having already attended webinars and gone through legal review, business plan creation, unit economic model creation, FDD review and territory confirmation. Still, there are a few key insights candidates should expect to learn when they visit. 

“At Dive-In Day, we outline the current and future plans of Big Blue, allowing candidates to better understand the big picture,” said Campbell. “We also teach candidates how to build upon an already-complete business plan and in-market development strategy. Prospects develop an understanding of how our New Franchise Partner Orientation is delivered and how it creates timelines for a candidate to meet the milestones necessary to participate.” 

Overall, Dive-In Day positions future franchise partners for success by allowing all decision makers involved to personally validate the information they receive during the mutual evaluation process.  

“To meet and form personal relationships with our management staff, and the key employees who will work closely with franchise partners, adds a huge layer of comfort for all parties involved in the investment. This experience positions candidates for an easy transition during onboarding,” said Thompson. “Our mission and values are important to us, and Dive-In Day helps us partner with those who share that same commitment.”    

Multi-unit franchise opportunities are available for qualified candidates looking for their next big opportunity, and veterans can receive a 10 percent discount on the $80,000 franchise fee. The total investment necessary to begin operation of a new Big Blue Swim School is $2,329,223 to $3,636,998 (refer to item 7 in FDD)" To learn more or inquire about Big Blue Swim School, visit https://www.bigblueswimschool.com/franchising/.