Future Fishies Private Swim School.

SOUTHERN California's abundant swimming pools gave Maria Adaimy the perfect tool for operating a small business with limited overhead. She opened Future Fishies Private Swim School five years ago, sending qualified instructors out to private homes instead of maintaining a permanent pool facility. Jennifer Smith spoke with Adaimy about running the service.

"I had been a swim-team kid. I started teaching in college and developed my own method. After that school closed, we (the instructors) split up the clients and I taught privately.

"Business goes mainly from May through November. I am based in Hancock Park, and my instructors go to Bel-Air, Encino, Coidwater Canyon. I don't get too many calls farther than Woodland Hills.

"I advertise with sororities, frats and private high schools for instructors. I train them personally. They do 20 hours of observation time, and then they assist at lessons. Professional swim teachers are usually young because it's not a lifetime profession. They're good with the kids and they've got the physical endurance.

"The average student age is 3 to 5 years old, but we take six months to senior citizens. Over the years, I've only had about four adults, and they usually cancel. A lot of them think swimming is a kid sport -- if you didn't learn as a kid you won't be able to as an adult. I have taught some housekeepers, because the parents want to make sure they can rescue kids, if need be.

"Some kids take one lesson to learn, and others can take three summers if they have major fear. I recommend a minimum of two lessons a week, and they're $30 per lesson.

"For instructors, there must be absolutely no reprimanding. Even during a difficult lesson, there are ways around it. We provide treats like cookies after the lesson, as an incentive.

"I call parents to make sure the lessons are going well, and to see if an instructor is getting lazy. It's also a challenge to figure out who's right or wrong if there's a problem. Often parents set unrealistic goals for their children. One parent didn't like my technique even though I had sent her my best instructor. I said they'd probably be happier with another school.

"When I first started out, I put my brochures in children's clothing stores, anything related to kids, but my strongest form of advertising is word of mouth. No one is going to open the yellow pages if they're bringing a stranger into their home."