Four-time Olympian Amanda Beard on channeling her passion for swimming into a new career

Photo Credit Sacha Brown

Amanda Beard is a four-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist swimmer. In 2017, she co-founded learn to swim school Beard Swim Co. with the philosophy that the ability to swim is one of the greatest gifts you can give a child. The New York Times best-selling author of “In the Water They Can’t See You Cry”, a memoir that chronicles her personal struggle with depression and substance abuse while competing at the highest level of sport, Amanda is an active voice in the conversation around athlete mental health and currently shares her story of professional and personal triumph via motivational speaking engagements. Amanda also serves on the board of the national nonprofit Hope Floats Foundation, which provides swim lesson scholarships for children in need.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I grew up in Southern California with my mom and dad and two older sisters. I started swimming when I was four and competed in my first Olympics when I was 14. After I retired from professional swimming, I moved to Washington State with my husband and two kids. I wanted to continue being involved in the sport of swimming and decided to open a learn to swim school.

What inspired you to start your business?

I didn’t start doing anything concrete in the business world until after my second child was born in 2013 and I decided to retire. I was ready to let go and move on to the next chapter. From there, I had to decide what I wanted to do next and that took some time before I found my purpose and the drive to create something new. The epiphany came after experiencing my own children learning to swim. I realized I loved it and wanted to share the gift of learning to swim with more children. Now I had my purpose and decided to go all in on opening a learn to swim school in my community. We opened the doors to Beard Swim Co. in 2017.

Where is your business based?

Beard Swim Co.’s flagship location is in Gig Harbor, Washington. We’ve been putting a lot of time into strategy and vision around expansion, and we have some exciting plans for 2022 and beyond to add locations across the country. 

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

The first step was doing a ton of research. I looked at different locations and cities, trying to decide where would be the ideal place to open the school. Once we knew we were moving to Gig Harbor, I took a close look at the population, demographics, available commercial real estate and finally created a business plan. I also leaned on friends and fellow entrepreneurs with experience for advice and mentorship. I was very fortunate to have a close friend who owned a learn to swim school in Arizona. She guided me a lot in the beginning, helping to identify areas of focus and questions to ask. She pointed me in the right direction to succeed. Honestly, I also failed a lot while I figured out how to run my business.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

The most effective way to raise awareness for Beard Swim Co. has been social media and word of mouth. Word of mouth and personal referrals (even when it comes through social media posts) is huge, especially when it involves children. If parents are pumped on something, they will usually tell all their friends. In the beginning, we created a “no commit” waitlist and used that to secure our initial bank loan by showing the bank how much interest we had. The list also served as a vetted email contact list before we even opened our doors.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

The timing of the initial launch was one of my biggest challenges, especially as it relates to building out the physical location. We had to secure all our contractors and get bank approval to line up perfectly for the grand opening. It’s like cooking Thanksgiving dinner in your one oven and trying to ensure everything comes out at the right time to serve dinner.

How do you stay focused?

As an entrepreneur, I think it’s important to incorporate something you love into your business. For me, swimming is a huge part of my life and that makes it easier for me to stay focused every day. Goal setting is also vital for me. Having clear goals motivates me to push forward and grow.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

I am laser focused on quality over quantity. We don’t try to be everything for everyone, rather we focus on what we do best and that’s swim lessons and teaching children how to swim. We’re not a swim team, we don’t offer jazzercise in the water or try to expand our offerings in ways that don’t make sense. We do one thing and we do it well. That translates into the Beard Swim Co. brand being trusted and shared as one of the best in our business.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Our most effective marketing strategy is social media. It’s effectively “word of mouth”, but on a bigger scale. And it can be challenging, especially as a small business owner and entrepreneur, to make time to create content and engage with my community online. But it’s super important, especially as we look to expand Beard Swim Co. across the country. Social media serves as a way for us to reach people and tell our story and gives our customers and community a way to engage with us, even if we don’t live in the same place.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

My best advice is to push forward, never give up and get comfortable with obstacles. Obstacles are going to happen, no matter what, and they shouldn’t stop you. Challenges and failures can help you reevaluate different aspects of your business plan that might be confusing or need an alternate approach. Just know you’re going to have people that tell you “no” or laugh and say, “it’s not a good idea”. Don’t let the naysayers get you down. Be confident and keep going.

What's your favorite app and book? Why?

I love Instagram and the weather app, but I really try hard to be present and off my phone as much as possible.

This year I got all my favorite swimmers’ books, including Natalie Coughlin and Michael Phelps. I’m just getting started but I know they are going to be great!

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Jackrabbit Class management software is my favorite business tool because it keeps my business organized. Jackrabbit houses all our information on customers, classes, billing and most importantly, keeps all our classes organized and structured. It is our one stop spot for all things swim lessons.

Who is your business role model? Why?

Carrie Demond. She is my friend who owns a swim school in Arizona. She was a huge inspiration for me to start my own business; she showed me what was possible and opened doors for me.

How do you balance work and life?

Honestly, I’m still trying to figure that out daily. Most of the time I put myself last and I’m trying to change that. For me, the best way to reset and recharge is spending time with my family. I don’t even need time away or a big vacation. When I was swimming competitively, I rarely got time off, so I got used to recalibrating myself with a very short amount of time.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

My favorite way to decompress is getting away from it all with my family and being present with them. All the phones get turned off and we reconnect. Some of my favorite things to do are pretty simple. We love going to the beach and playing cards.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

For the last five years since we first launched Beard Swim Co., we’ve been working hard to establish best practices and grow the brand in strategic ways. Now, we’re ready to push forward and build out additional locations across the country, while still retaining the quality we know is vital for success. 2022 is going to be a big year of growth.

How can our readers connect with you?

Social media is the best way to connect. You can find me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @amandaraybeard and @beardswimco. You can also learn more about Beard Swim Co. on our website at www.beardswimco.com.