Why This New York Times and LinkedIn Alum and Her Husband Signed to Bring Five Big Blue Swim School Units to New Jersey

Big Blue Swim School, one of the nation’s fastest growing swim school franchises, is set to expand its New Jersey presence with a five-unit signing for pools in North Brunswick, East Brunswick, Marlboro Township, Howell, and Piscataway. This is the fourth couple to sign on to bring Big Blue to the Garden State, now with commitments for 14 locations. Julia and Jamey Holmes, the husband-and-wife franchise partner duo behind the signing, decided to invest in the Big Blue Swim School brand after recognizing an unmet demand for high-quality swim lessons in their New Jersey community. And together, they have a wide skill set that will prove itself useful in operating their locations. 

With more than 12 years of experience in digital advertising, spanning from the New York Times to LinkedIn, Julia has gathered experience in ad operations and client services. Jamey has spent 16 years in management consulting at an established multinational firm, where he is currently the managing director responsible for a portfolio of clients in media/entertainment and software/platforms. The pair have been married for nearly 10 years and have two kids: Lincoln,  8, and London, 6. 

“I was in digital advertising and operations for almost my entire career, but I got to the point where I needed a career change,” Julia said. “We had two young kids at home, which presented a lot of work-life balance challenges for us. As we thought about what we wanted to do for the second half of our lives, we realized that business ownership was the right path.”

When it comes to why the duo chose to franchise as opposed to starting a business from scratch, Jamey says it was serendipitous. “I had a long-term client who left his corporate job to invest in a franchise,” he said. “After he told me about his plan, I was contacted by a franchise consultant. Since I had franchising on my mind, I decided to take the call. It opened our eyes to the fact that franchising could offer a more passive income outside of traditional investment vehicles.”

When Big Blue came up as an option during the couple’s first conversation with the consultant, Jamey says the concept caught their attention immediately. “The most appealing factor for us was the idea of doing good for the world by helping kids learn a lifesaving skill,” he said. “And coupled with the economic profile of the business, it was clear the Big Blue Swim School team had a very compelling vision, and they’ve created a turnkey approach for success. We knew we wouldn’t have to invest in processes or strategies, but we could add our local strategy to an already proven system.”

Julia agrees that the opportunity to invest in a business that had a mission and purpose in combination with a scalable plan for revenue-driving growth was appealing. “Our Dive-in Day experience was very solid and made us feel very confident in the concept,” she said. “Being able to meet the Big Blue leadership team confirmed for us that this was the right fit. They are very passionate, highly experienced, and intelligent, which made us feel confident about entering into a 10-year partnership. They know what they are doing.”

Additionally, as parents themselves, Julia says they recognized first-hand the value Big Blue could bring to their community. “Based on our own experience and anecdotal insight from friends and family, we know how hard it can be to find a quality swim school in our local area,” she said. “We want to bring swim lessons that are easy to schedule and cost-effective. From what we’ve experienced, many of the available pools are uninviting or hard to schedule. We knew we could offer something better with Big Blue Swim School.”

Now, with contracts signed, the pair is currently in the real estate process and plans to open their five locations over the next several years. Julia will utilize her operational focus to run the day-to-day of the pools, while Jamey will support her with his strategic and financial background.

“Big Blue’s mission is to show kids they can do anything by unlocking their full potential in the water,” said Big Blue’s Founder and President Chris DeJong. “With Jamey and Julia’s passion for these New Jersey communities, we know they will dive in and make a significant difference in the lives of thousands of children.” 

Big Blue Swim School is currently scouting new locations across the country, including multiple locations in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, California, New Jersey, New York, and South Carolina, among other major metropolitan areas.

The total investment to start a new Big Blue Swim School is $2,475,200 to $3,966,700. To learn more about Big Blue Swim School franchise opportunities, visit https://bigblueswimschool.com/franchising/.