“We’re trying to build a Little Gym culture. We want to have a friendly culture with families in Indian Trail and nearby so they feel like they can come here, be safe, meet other families, and just have fun with their kids.”
After a successful career in the corporate world, Dawn Powell knew a typical retirement was not for her. She shares more about her journey to opening and running The Little Gym of Indian Trail below.
How Did The Little Gym Indian Trail Begin?
I always wanted to have my own business and work for myself, but it was hard to give up the stability of a good paycheck. As I got closer to retirement age, I knew I wanted to continue working, but doing something I enjoy. I decided to start my own business and became interested in franchises because they offer a blueprint for best practices and success.
When I came across The Little Gym, I thought it sounded like a lot of fun, but also, there’s a need for something like this in the area, which is developing so quickly.
What does The Little Gym Offer?
The Little Gym offers recreational gymnastics classes for children aged four months to 12 years old. For those who are four months to three years old, the parent attends class with the child to guide them through the skills. Once the students reach three years old, their parents can watch the class from the lobby.
The big difference between The Little Gym and other gymnastics schools is that ours is recreational. It’s not competitive. We make it fun. For the younger kids, we work on developing their motor skills, balance, and coordination, but they also learn social aspects like building confidence, following instructions, building friendships, teamwork, and sharing, as well as progressing their gymnastic skills.
We also offer member events. Once a month we do a free member event so members can come and just enjoy getting together with the other families. During our events, we always have an instructor-led class.
We offer birthday parties and we only schedule one at a time, so parents have the entire use of the gym and multipurpose room. One Friday each month, there is a Parents’ Survival Night which is where parents can drop their kids off for three hours. We will have an instructor-led class, a craft, and feed them pizza so parents can have a night out. The cost is $55 for non-members and members pay $50.
Who would be your ideal client?
Our ideal client would be parents who are interested in their children learning more than just gymnastics. Parents who want their children to learn social skills, work on a team, build their confidence, make connections, and definitely have fun while doing it; those parents and children get the most out of The Little Gym. They can accomplish all of this in a fun, safe, instructor-led environment.
One story we’re particularly proud of started with our grand opening. A woman brought her daughter just for fun but ended up signing up immediately. We found out later that her daughter had been taking tumbling classes for nearly a year, and still didn’t know how to do a cartwheel. But, after spending just a little time with our instructors, her daughter finally understood how to do it, and was able to practice the correct way. Now she does perfect cartwheels.
If you could have a celebrity spokesperson for The Little Gym Indian Trail, who would it be?
It would be The Rock, Dwayne Johnson. He is physically fit and has a great kids’ fan base. Whenever I see him in movies with kids, he’s so great.
You can find The Little Gym Indian Trail at 5850 West Hwy 74 Ste 108, Indian Trail , NC 28079. You can call them at (704) 981-2041.
Last modified: October 4, 2024
