Here’s how my swim school surpassed 2.5 million lessons in 30 years and became employee-owned.
By Miren Oca
My journey with Ocaquatics Swim School began with a passion for water safety. As a swim instructor and single mother of a young child, I was alarmed by the high rates of drowning, especially in children in my South Florida community. But I didn’t view the rates as merely statistics — I saw them as preventable tragedies. This set me on a mission to teach families to love swimming and become safer, more comfortable, and more responsible around water. At Ocaquatics, we are proud of our work to help significantly reduce drowning rates through high-quality water safety and swim education.
I started the business three decades ago by teaching swimming lessons in backyard home pools and eventually leased locations like country clubs and hotel pools. As the business grew, I started hiring part-time team members. The more people I hired, the more the business continued to grow. I realized that I needed to develop a business model and operating philosophy. We also needed to address the weather challenge of working solely outside because it was negatively impacting our ability to consistently teach our swimming classes.
So after 15 years of teaching in outdoor leased locations, I decided that I was going to need purpose-built indoor facilities. The change was a big, bold, scary move that required significant capital investment, but I realized that moving to indoor locations and implementing more sustainable practices could affect greater change. The expansion allowed us to teach year-round, which was very different in South Florida at the time. It also allowed us to make a greater impact and reach more people to make children and families safer around water.
Investing in Our Employees
With this new growth, we were also able to create a more sustainable model. We added a second part to our mission specifically dedicated to our team members. We committed to helping them grow within a framework of social and environmental responsibility so that we could expand our school in a sustainable way and make a bigger impact in our world.
We realized that we could not honor our mission to our families without a strong commitment to our team members. We wanted to be a workplace that cared about our people and invested in their development. We made sure our team had fair wages, good benefits, and personal and professional growth opportunities. We grow our team from within, helping them learn the skills they need to lead in a culture that is supportive and inclusive.
We discovered that our team members really enjoy working with an organization that is making a difference in the community. As a certified B Corp, we teach our team members about social and environmental responsibility and how a business can be a force for good. We ask our team to help us designate our charitable contributions by making donations to the charity of their choice on work anniversaries, birthdays, and key milestones. We offer paid community service time and paid time off to vote in elections. We help our community and environment with all of these initiatives and are excited to continue doing them.
Expanding Our Operations
Between 2009 and 2019, Ocaquatics underwent significant expansion. We built five new, dedicated, indoor facilities and remained true to our mission for our families and our team members. Expanding our operations required navigating financial uncertainties, regulatory landscapes, and building a team that shared our values and mission. These challenges taught me the importance of resilience, adaptability, and the value of community support.
Our greatest milestones include celebrating Ocaquatics’ 30th anniversary and transitioning to a 100% employee-owned company through an employee ownership trust. These achievements are not just markers of success; they are affirmations of our mission’s impact. We now have 165 team members between five year-round, indoor, warm-water locations where we have taught over 2.5 million lessons.
As we embrace our new identity as a 100% employee-owned company, I am filled with optimism about the future. This transition marks a new chapter for Ocaquatics, with every employee-owner playing a pivotal role in our journey forward. Together, we are committed to deepening our impact on water safety and swim education, leveraging our collective creativity, dedication, and passion. This collaborative approach will ensure that Ocaquatics continues to thrive, making a difference in every life we touch.
To my fellow impact CEOs and those aspiring to make a difference, my hope is that our journey serves as an inspiration. The path to making an impactful change is paved with collaboration, dedication, and a deep sense of purpose. Embrace your values, cherish your team, and remember that the most sustainable path forward is one walked together. We are stronger together. I encourage anyone interested in this space to join a group of like-minded, purpose-driven businesses, such as those that participate in the Real Leaders Membership.
