Why Small Businesses Matter Reimagined
Small businesses matter - now more than ever. They are answering the call with innovation and determination like never before.
We hope you join us in supporting them by sharing their story far and wide and shopping local! We are thankful to Fairfield County Bank for their continued support and making this series possible.
Step inside Sweet Blue Swim Academy!
Three questions with Katie Mittlestadt, Operations Manager, and Swim Instructor at Sweet Blue Swim Academy.
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What do you want the community to know? Are there ways for the community to help you and other local businesses to prosper?
Sweet Blue would like our community to know that even with these restrictions we are committed to offering the highest quality of instruction safely. We realize that, given all limitations, we are far from our usual capacity in our class schedule. Like all small businesses navigating this “new normal,” we want our community to know that we are working hard to work with our families to accommodate as much as we can. We greatly appreciate the community's patience and understanding as we work out a new system.
We love hearing people share their experiences with Sweet Blue. One way to help local businesses is to spread the word! Share products and services you like with your friends, family, and social media. Sometimes people don't know about your company until they hear it from someone else. Word of mouth is the most effective marketing!
Are there certain individuals or organizations that supported you and your business through this trying time?
Sweet Blues continues to exist as a small family business, this is largely due to the wonderful community of families who encouraged us to believe that we could be back. And here we are! Their unwavering support, generous donations, and outpouring compassion help us continue during these unprecedented times.
We also owe our deepest gratitude to our local official Stephen Meskers who went to bat for learn-to-swim and swim programs in Greenwich, getting us traction in the Governor’s office. His crucial support and guidance ultimately helped the Governor’s Office focus attention on the two main fronts that truly matter to us: 1) low risk that a controlled chlorinated environment poses; and 2) the far greater risk we have of child drownings in the state of Connecticut. Thank you wholeheartedly.
Please share the ways your business is adapting to keep your customers and employees safe in addition to the standard guidelines
Sweet Blue has been following the strictest of CDC, CT State and U.S. Swim School Association’s guidelines necessary for a safe environment for our families and staff. The Sweet Blue staff is required to wear a waterproof face mask or face shield in the water and a mask out of the water. Our classes are operating at a lower ratio (1:3 or 1:2 ratios of teacher: student, based on ability to social distance the participants within each class), and regularly sanitize our equipment and facilities throughout our lessons. We only offer Intensive classes during the week to minimize the amount of traffic in the pool area. During the weekend, we continue to offer weekly classes with our smaller class sizes.
Sweet Blue Swim Academy is located at PO Box 7886 in Greenwich. Visit Sweet Blue Swim Academy online here, or view their Facebook profile.
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!