Welcome to ClassKite, a site to find articles and resources to help you successfully run your kids’ gym business.
My name is Mina Marsow. I am a native Brooklynite and an entrepreneur that is passionate about education, wellness and community. I founded Prospect Gymnastics in March of 2014.
I grew up in Brooklyn, New York before it became a brand name. Crown Heights was a rough, low income neighborhood. Growing up, the highlight of my childhood, was my weekly gymnastics class held in a local women’s small dingy basement. All week long I waited for Thursday 5 PM when I could finally go to class in the little 400 square foot room with 5 foot ceilings that had a few mats and a floor balance beam. Fast forward to November 2014 when I was laid off from my job as a Human Resource Manager. I started researching options and career choices and I realized that while much of Brooklyn had changed since the 1990’s, the number of gymnastics program since my basement training days had not. Within a few months, Prospect Gymnastics was born.
I never imagined becoming an entrepreneur and it didn’t take long to realize that I had no idea what I was doing. I started my program by renting out a room on the weekends from the local music studio. I bought a few mats and a small floor beam and then held an open house over a weekend in February to introduce my program to the local community. By the end of the weekend I had 10 students signed up for classes. The trouble started when it came time for the parents to pay. They asked me what the business name was to write the check out to. That’s when I realized that I did not have a business name nor a business bank account! So, I went to the bank to open a business bank account and the first thing the banker asked me was for my business identification number and I just looked at him kind of funny and he looked back at me kind of funny and it finally dawned on me that I better get some help quick! Do you see where I am going with this?!
Running a business required knowledge and expertise in so many areas. Thankfully, I found the local small business center and they helped me create a business plan – basically a list of everything that needed to get done. Which was great because that’s when I realized that my work was cut out for me! With a basic list of steps and where to start, I began to turn to many different resources for help. I went to several local business center to help me with business strategy and hiring, I made a list of educators and gymnastics gyms I admired and I contacted them to get information on creating gymnastics programs and curriculums, I went up and down the main streets in my neighborhoods and asked local business owners for advice. I found that everywhere I turned there was someone willing to help me and I am eternally grateful to all the advisors, business owners, neighbors and friends who guided me on my journey.
And I started to think– wouldn’t it be nice if I could find all my business resources in one place? A place where strategy, programming and hiring resources can all come together? One that particularly targeted children’s sports programming? As I started searching for that type of resource, once again I came to the realization that there was an unmet need. So, I started this blog – for you my fellow business owners, coaches, educators and/or aspiring entrepreneurs. I hope to share with you the knowledge I’ve learnt along my journey as well as connect you all to the resources I found. My goal is that this blog will be a place that can bring together the many different facets of knowledge and resources that a children’s sports program would need so that you my reader can have a one stop supermarket for your needs. My hope is that sports teachers, coaches, educators, administrators and directors will connect with one another through this blog and build a community of like-minded individuals who can grow through sharing knowledge and resources with one another.