March 14, 2017

Meet Mark Sheppell of Goldfish Swim School in Johns Creek

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Sheppell.

Prior to owning Goldfish Swim School – Johns Creek, Owner Mark Sheppell spent five years employed at the Goldfish Swim School – Birmingham MI location. He began as a teacher but quickly gained more responsibility within the store, where he learned all operational systems and processes. Mark spent his last two years in the store as a manager.

Mark then spent three and a half years employed as a Franchise Consultant on the Goldfish Swim School Corporate team. As a Franchise Consultant, Mark helped franchisees uphold swim lesson quality, brand standards, provided on-site school-opening support and ongoing training and IT support.

Growing up as a competitive swimmer for the Birmingham MI YMCA, he qualified to compete on the national level. Mark was also named a multi All-American swimmer competing for Seaholm High School, finally continuing his swimming career competing for Division 1 – St. Bonaventure University in New York.

Has it been a smooth road?
I moved to the Atlanta area in August 2016 and our new Swim School opened back on January 10th, 2017. The biggest challenge I faced was being completely new the Atlanta area. Having basically no connections or associates here locally proved to be a challenge, but I immediately joined the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce and other business groups to obtain advice and guidance for the opening process. I also attended numerous local events and contacted local “mom bloggers” in the community to start spreading the word that Goldfish was coming soon.

Working with Johns Creek and Fulton County during the construction process went well. All parties seemed to be excited that a brand new state-of-the-art swim school built for children was opening in the community.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Goldfish Swim School provides swim instruction to children ages 4 months to 12 years-old in a unique setting with highly trained instructors, small class sizes (max 4:1 student to teacher ratio), shiver-free 90-degree pool, and a state-of-the-art water purification system. Families with kids of different ages and skill levels can conveniently have all of their swimmers in the pool during the same half hour time slot.

In addition to our top-notch swim lessons, our brand new facility is designed for children. Every square inch of our unique facility is designed to enhance the learning, fun and safety for every child and parent who joins the Goldfish family. You’ll see and feel the difference the moment you walk through the door. For kids, it’s an invigorating and fun place to be with best friends, make new friends and cultivate a love for swimming. For parents, it’s a comfort in knowing their kids are safe, nurtured and growing.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I feel the Atlanta market is perfect for a business like mine! Specifically Johns Creek and the surrounding communities are the top standard for raising a family. Atlanta is extremely family friendly with many available activities for children we’re excited to now be a known name in the community.

With the nationally ranked schools and multiple neighborhoods, we can’t think of a better place to open a Goldfish!

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