Meet Di Olson

We were lucky to catch up with Di Olson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Di, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I am fourtaure to have had my purpose clear pretty early! I always s wanted to be a mother and raise a family. I really wanted to be a good mother and raise children that we ready for this world. I am proud mother of four and lucky to have three of my four children in state and one that visits regularly. As the kids grew up and went on to college and to lead their own lives, I was more than thrilled to transition that family and motherly passion into my now business, Colorado Clownfish Swim Club- eleven years running! I was easy to welcome the children of the swim school (although we work with all ages and levels) and carry my skills as a mom into skills as a business owner, leader, and teacher/coach. Nurturing our kiddos, their families, and our community is the best part of the job. We pride ourselves on not only loving our swm family, but putting water safety first as a life skill for all. I am also a long time lover of the water and was a competitive water skier and swimmer for years- so adding the water back into my daily life was amazing!

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Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Colorado Clownfish Swim Club is about much more than swimming- we are a family! As I mentioned, we put water safety first, but we also work to cultivate a thriving community, a space for our swimming to truly succeed, as well as position the best and brightest as far as swim products, apparel, and assessores that can enhance or add to our swimming experience! I am a major believer in life skills through sports, so we know our swimmers are learning how to swim and water survival skills, as well as life skills- from team works, to commitment, to empathy and compassion. Seeing the kids literally grow up and excel and move on to competitive swim teams, even college level swimming- is so fulfilling. And seeing them experience their own success and feel good about themselves is priceless, The passion in and out of the water is tangible. Their self-esteem builds and it make huge strides in their life overall.
We also have a passionate team some have been with us all eleven years and incredible partners including speedo, TYR, O’Neill, and other top swim brands and community members! You’ll enjoy the family atmosphere – it’s a local, family owned business- born and raised in Colorado.

I look forward to building our team and community in 2024 with new events and swim techniques – come in for a lesson anytime, the first one is free!

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Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

There are a few qualities that i attribute to our swim school/community success! The number one thing would be a love for children and the water (ok, number 1 and number 2:) and then thirdly, doing something purposeful in this world. Having the opportunity to use all of my personal and professional (and athletic) knowledge and experience I have bring to the swim school is a true blessing- it provides purpose and positive impact. across the board!
Commitment to the cause is also so important, because entrepreneurship is very hard and ever changing- you have to stay in it no matter what. Especially in our line of work- it’s more than a business, it’s saving lives. We also work to enjoy the job and have fun with it- you need to enjoy the process. We want our swimmers swim lessons to be one of the best parts of their day- and the families too (even if it takes a time or two to get used to the water for our new swimmers;).
Finally, it’s always great to stay ahead of the game and continue your education and practices- constant evolution is the key!

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We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

Going all in on your strengths AND continue to improve on the weakness, but one of the most important things is building the right team around you. Investing in your people is critical, so they invest in you.
No matter how good you are, you need good people around you, you can’t do alone. How you spend your time and with who matters- especially for the kids and leading by example. Finding people that are strong at the things you are weak at and committed like you are – to impact more than anything, is how we work to build out team. We are constantly growing, so this is an ongoing process!
We are always hiring teachers, it’s a tough, demanding job, so it’s important that we are consistently building our team and making curriculum updates, which we are! the journey is a wild one, but I wouldn’t change it for anything!

Contact Info:

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