Meet Callie Heim | Swimming Instructor and Social Media Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Callie Heim and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Callie, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
I teach swim lessons all over Palm Beach county. Since about 1 out of every 3 homes in this area have swimming pools in their backyard, learning to swim is an essential skill. I make the community a safer place by educating my clients on water safety so parents don’t have to worry about their children drowning in their pool. I come to my client’s homes to make their lives easier. I know SwimPerfect has made an impact in my community because I serve as a resource to busy parents and offer affordable rates so everyone has access to my services.

What should our readers know about your business?
I teach private swim lessons in the Palm Beaches. What truly makes SwimPerfect different is that the instructor comes to the client’s home pool. I think it is important to teach children in the pool that they are most comfortable in because it helps them become acclimated faster, prevents drownings and any other emergency that can come with having a pool in your backyard or community. I teach all people ages 6 months to adults. My youngest client at this moment is 6 months old and my oldest client is 57 years old. It truly is never too late to learn how to swim. I offer everything from survival swimming and floating, to stroke improvement for those on swim teams or training for triathlons. I am most proud of my ability to juggle swim lessons along with my other full time job as a social media manager for a beauty company called Nova Wax. I have transitioned gracefully from full time swim lessons in Maryland, to 40 hours social media manager and around 25 hours as a swim instructor. I have gotten to this point through networking and utilizing my experience in social media management to grow my business through my marketing efforts. The encouragement I received from my friends and family is more than enough love and support to push me to continue this dream of mine to be my own boss and own my own business. After losing my mother, I knew I needed to chase my dreams and move to Florida and I am happy that it has worked out so well so far. I want the world to know that I am a hustler. I go after what I want. I love children, and this is my way to be a teacher without fully committing to the challenges of being a teacher. I am able to instill my love of the water in my clients and I love to see the progression right in front of my eyes. Along the way I’ve learned that being kind and consistent can get you a long way.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was visiting, I would take them to Juno beach for some surf lessons. First we would stop at Papa Kwans for some amazing breakfast burritos or acai bowls. Then, we would rent our boards from Locals Surf shop across from the Juno Beach Pier. We would surf all day, then grab a margarita and some early happy hour food from Papi Chulo’s in Jupiter. Afterwards, we would go snorkeling at Cato’s bridge and watch the sunset from the shore. If we were up for it, we could even get dressed up and go to UTiki, for some of the best fresh catch fish in the area and go next door to Square Grouper for drinks and dancing! The next day, we would wake up early, head to Riverbend park and rent kayaks. We would do the kayak trip and look out for gators. Afterwards, we could grab some lunch from GuanaBuanas in Jupiter and go shopping across the street at Blueline Surf and paddle. Then we could go to the Loggerhead Marine life center and check out the turtles and if they had any releases, we could go and watch that too. For dinner, we would head to Lynora’s and get all the hand-made pasta we could eat. For dessert we would head to Palm Beach Ice cream.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mother got me interested in teaching swimming lessons when I was only 15 years old. I had been a competitive swimmer for years, as well as a frequent surfer and wakeboarder. My mother loved the water and pushed me to enjoy the same activities so we could spend them together. I became certified by the Red Cross in water safety instruction at 16 years old and have been teaching lessons ever since. I got started at a public pool in my small town in Maryland. After two years, I started offering private swim lessons because my mother encouraged me to branch out on my own and knew I was a bit of a salesperson. I then went on to teach my own private lessons while coaching a swim team at just 18 years old. Once Covid hit, I fully committed to doing private at-home lessons and reached 40 lessons per week. My mom was so proud of me. Unfortunately in 2021, I lost my mother to cancer. I’ve since moved to Florida, her second home where I grew up surfing and swimming, and started my own business, SwimPerfect. I know she still has a hand in my everyday success.

Instagram: @swimperfect.co

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/callahanheim

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089585050665

Other: TikTok: @swimperfect.co