Aqua Start Swim School

Words in [brackets] are blanks you fill in with your own details when you adopt this sample in Supreme Plan AI.

Executive Summary

Aqua Start Swim School is a swim school in Florida with a heated four-lane, 25-yard indoor pool. We teach children and adults to swim through parent-and-child classes, group lessons, private lessons, a competitive swim team and adult fitness swimming, all year round.

Why this fits. In a state where water is everywhere, swimming is a safety skill, and parents want their children water-safe as early as possible. Lessons are booked weekly, so a school with a good schedule and steady instructors has predictable income. Families who see a child become safe and confident in the water tell their friends, and children who stay in lessons for years become the swim team.

Here is what our numbers show. In Year 1 we plan about 8,864 group lessons (roughly 170 a week), about 1,127 private lessons and about 328 competitive team and adult fitness sessions. That brings in sales of $284,873, growing to $674,528 by Year 5. We expect a loss of about $28,300 in Year 1, a profit of about $7,000 in Year 2, a profit of about $47,400 in Year 3 and a profit of about $87,000 by Year 5. Rent, pool upkeep and instructor pay are our largest costs, and the heating and water systems paid for before the first lesson add to a loss in Year 1.

We need $210,000 in total. Of that, $150,500 is startup costs (pool heating and water systems, lane lines, teaching and safety equipment, facility improvements, deposits, permits, insurance and a cushion), and the rest is cash for the first months. I am putting in $40,000 of my own savings and asking for a $170,000 SBA 7(a) loan.

I am Keisha Morton, the owner and head instructor. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this plan, not promises.

Company Description

Aqua Start Swim School will be a limited liability company (LLC) in Florida, owned by Keisha Morton. We will rent a building with a heated four-lane, 25-yard indoor pool, a deck, a lobby with seating for parents, a front desk and changing rooms.

What we believe. Swimming is a life skill, not just a sport, and every child deserves to be water-safe.

What we offer:
- Parent-and-child classes for babies and toddlers.
- Group lessons by level for ages 3 to adult.
- Private lessons for beginners and for people with fear of water.
- A competitive swim team and adult fitness swimming.
- Water safety talks for schools and community groups.

Safety. A certified lifeguard is on deck for every class. Class sizes follow strict instructor to student ratios, children under a set age must be accompanied by an adult in the water, pool chemistry is tested several times a day and logged, and we hold the health department permit and follow its rules. We teach water safety but we do not promise that any child will be drown-proof. Swimming lessons reduce risk and do not remove it, and children always need adult supervision near water.

Where things stand today. The class levels, schedule, budget and emergency plan are written. The next steps are the lease, the pool systems and the first 100 enrolled children.

Problem & Opportunity

Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death for young children, and many families have never had access to good lessons. Community pools often have short sessions and long waitlists, and instructors change often. Private clubs can be expensive. Lessons that start and stop each summer make it hard for a child to progress.

Parents also want to know the pool is clean, warm and safe and that the instructors are trained.

A year-round, heated indoor pool with trained instructors and a clear level system fills this gap.

Products & Services

Aqua Start will be the safe, warm, year-round place where children learn to swim.

What makes us different:
1. Year-round lessons. A warm indoor pool means classes continue in every season.
2. Clear levels. Children move up when they pass specific skills.
3. Small classes. Strict ratios so every child gets attention.
4. Trained instructors. Certified, background-checked, with CPR and lifeguard training.
5. Safe by design. Daily water testing, a lifeguard on deck, parent viewing areas and a written emergency plan.
6. A path forward. Children who love the water can join the swim team.

Why families stay. Their children get better and feel safe.

Market Analysis

Who we serve:
- Parents of babies, toddlers and children who need to learn to swim.
- Older children and teens who want to improve or join a team.
- Adults who want to learn to swim or swim for fitness.
- Schools, daycares and community groups that want water safety classes.

How we sized the market. Our trade area is the towns within a 20-minute drive. We are not counting on every family with a child. Year 1 plans about 170 group lessons a week, which is a small share of the children in our area who are not yet strong swimmers. Replace this estimate with your own count of homes, schools and daycares near your pool.

Competitive Landscape

What families can do today:

1. Community and recreation pools. Low cost, but short sessions, large classes and long waitlists.
2. Health clubs and YMCAs. Good lessons, but limited schedules and crowded pools.
3. Private pool instructors. Personal, but dependent on a pool the family may not have.
4. Other swim schools. Some are very good, but waitlists and distance make them hard to use.
5. Teaching themselves. Free, but risky.

Where we fit. Aqua Start offers year-round warm-water lessons with small classes and trained instructors. We will not try to be the cheapest. We will be the school parents trust with their children.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How families will find us.

Before opening:
- Open a waitlist and sign up at least 100 children for the first session at an early-bird price.
- Host a free open house with a safety demonstration.
- Meet pediatricians, daycares, schools and neighborhood associations. We do not pay for referrals.
- Put up the sign as soon as the lease is signed.

After opening:
- A free assessment so each child starts at the right level.
- A Google Business Profile and honest reviews from parents.
- Short videos of children's progress, shared with permission.
- Sibling discounts and a scholarship fund so more children can learn.
- Summer intensive weeks and holiday workshops.

What we will measure. How families heard about us, how many assessments become enrollments and how many children return each session.

Operations Plan

How the school will run.

Schedule. Afternoons and early evenings on weekdays and mornings on weekends are busiest. Mornings are used for private lessons, adult fitness and daycare groups.

Staffing in Year 1. Keisha teaches and runs the school. About two full-time equivalents of certified instructors, shared among several part-time instructors, teach most classes. A front desk coordinator handles scheduling and payments. Pay for each role is listed at the end of this plan.

Bookings and payments. A scheduling system takes enrollments, handles waitlists, charges cards and sends reminders.

Safety. A lifeguard is on deck for every class. Water is tested and recorded several times a day, and the heater and filters are checked every week. We follow the health department's rules, hold the permit, keep an AED and rescue equipment at the pool and drill the emergency plan each month.

Cleaning. The deck and changing rooms are cleaned between sessions and the pool is vacuumed and treated on a daily schedule.

Management & Organization

The people who will run Aqua Start Swim School.

Keisha Morton, owner and head instructor. She designs the lesson levels, trains and reviews the instructors, leads safety and the budget and talks with families. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Certified swim instructors (about two full-time equivalents in Year 1, shared among part-time instructors). Each instructor holds a current swim instructor certification and CPR, first aid and lifeguard training, passes a background check and follows the school's teaching and safety standards.

Front desk coordinator. Greets families, handles scheduling and payments and keeps the lobby and changing rooms clean.

Outside advisors. A pool service company, an attorney who reviews the lease and the waiver, an insurance broker, an accountant and a free mentor from SCORE or the Small Business Development Center.

Staff pay in this plan is a full year per person: owner / Head Instructor (USA Swimming) $48,000; certified Swim Instructor $34,000; front Desk Coordinator $28,000. Replace them with the pay you can offer where you live.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals and when we plan to reach them.
- Before opening (5 to 6 months ahead): sign the lease, finish the pool systems and deck, get the health department permit, hire and train the instructors, set the class levels and sign up at least 100 children for the first session.
- Year 1: about 8,864 group lessons, 1,127 private lessons and 328 team and adult sessions; $284,873 in sales and a loss of about $28,300.
- Year 2: about 11,130 group lessons, 1,404 private lessons and 408 team and adult sessions; $371,514 in sales and a profit of about $7,000.
- Year 3: about 13,740 group lessons, 1,728 private lessons and 503 team and adult sessions with an extra instructor; $476,982 in sales and a profit of about $47,400.
- Year 4: about 16,000 group lessons, 2,000 private lessons and 580 team and adult sessions and a stronger team; $575,360 in sales and a profit of about $50,500.
- Year 5: about 18,000 group lessons, 2,286 private lessons and 658 team and adult sessions and a plan for a second pool or location; $674,528 in sales and a profit of about $87,000.
Growth depends on winning and keeping customers, so treat the later years as goals, not promises.

What we check every week: lessons booked and attended, class waitlists, instructor hours, water tests, incidents, reviews and cash in the bank.

Funding Request

How much we need and how we will use it. Total we are raising: $210,000.

How we got that number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds up three things:
- Startup costs of $150,500, listed item by item in the Startup Costs section: $28,000 for pool heating system, $22,000 for water treatment and filtration upgrades, $8,000 for lane lines and starting platforms, $6,000 for teaching equipment: kickboards, floats, noodles and rings, $5,000 for safety equipment: AED, backboard and rescue gear, $8,000 for deck, changing room and shower equipment, $4,000 for cameras, monitoring and sound, $4,000 for laundry and cleaning equipment, $26,000 for facility improvements: deck, lobby and changing rooms, $7,000 for signs, website and opening promotion, $2,000 for scheduling and payment software, Year 1, $5,000 for health department pool permit, LLC filing and lease review, $6,000 for general and professional liability insurance, first year, $13,500 for security deposit and first three months of rent, $6,000 for contingency.
- The cash the business uses before it breaks even, about $900. Lessons fill over the first months while families find the school, but rent, pool heating and pay start on the first day.
- A cash cushion of about $57,500: three months of Year 1 operating costs.
- Together, the cash used before break even and the cushion come to about $58,400, and the three pieces add up to about $208,900, rounded up to the nearest $500: $209,000.
We are raising $1,000 more than that, $210,000 in all, to cover a slower first season than planned. With this funding, the lowest year-end cash balance is about $97,200, at the end of Year 1.

Where the money comes from:
- My own money: $40,000.
- SBA 7(a) loan: $170,000.

Kind of funding we are looking for. An SBA 7(a) loan from a lender that finances swim schools and recreation businesses, backed by my own savings and the pool equipment as collateral.

How we will pay it back. We expect a loss of about $28,300 in Year 1, a profit of about $7,000 in Year 2, a profit of about $47,400 in Year 3, a profit of about $50,500 in Year 4 and a profit of about $87,000 in Year 5. With this funding, the business has money in the bank at the end of every year of the plan. Our loan is the SBA 7(a) loan at 10.5% over 10 years, $2,294 a month. That payment is already included in our cash flow. We chose these as cautious planning rates; ask the lender for the real rates, which may be lower or higher.

What we are offering the lender: the pool equipment and my personal guarantee.

A smaller first step, if needed. If we cannot raise the full amount right away, we can start smaller and grow into this plan:
- Phase 1: open with the group lesson program only, two lanes and a shorter schedule, which lowers the startup costs and the loan.
- Phase 2: once classes fill, add private lessons, the team and adult fitness and follow this plan.
To plan the smaller start, make a copy of this plan (use Duplicate) and lower the numbers to match.

All numbers in this plan are estimates. We will update them as real results come in.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach before you send this plan:

- Your resume and a personal financial statement (a list of what you own and what you owe; lenders usually provide a form).
- Business registration papers and your EIN (your business tax number from the IRS, free at irs.gov).
- The lease or a letter of intent from the landlord.
- Quotes for the pool heating and water systems.
- Your health department pool permit application.
- Instructor certifications, CPR and lifeguard records and background checks.
- Your liability insurance quote, waiver and emergency action plan.
- Your class levels, schedule and price list and a list of families interested in classes.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Group Swim Lessons: about $22 in Year 1, rising to $26; about $4 in direct costs, rising to $5; about 8,864 in Year 1, growing to 18,000.
- Private Lessons: about $55 in Year 1, rising to $63; about $8 in direct costs, rising to $9; about 1,127 in Year 1, growing to 2,286.
- Competitive Team and Adult Fitness: about $85 in Year 1, rising to $95; about $12 in direct costs, rising to $14; about 328 in Year 1, growing to 658.
- A group lesson is one child or adult in one class session, at about $22 in Year 1. A private lesson is one student for one session, and a team or fitness session is one swimmer in one practice.
- Prices rise about 5% a year.
- Equipment ($85,000 in Year 1) covers pool heating and water treatment, lane lines and platforms, teaching and safety equipment, deck and changing room equipment, monitoring and laundry, and later years ($5,000, $8,000, $8,000 and $12,000) replace and add equipment.
- Pay (a full year, per person): owner / Head Instructor (USA Swimming) $48,000; certified Swim Instructor $34,000; front Desk Coordinator $28,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: rent and Utilities (pool intensive) $54,000, pool Maintenance and Chemicals $18,000, insurance and Licensing $8,500, marketing and Software $5,400. These grow between 3% and 8% a year.
- Customers and payers pay about 11 days after service, so at the end of Year 1 about $8,546 is still owed to us. Income tax at 21%.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and research.

Startup Costs