15 Small Business Owners Share What They Wish They’d Known When They First Started

Jodi’s Gym founder and CEO Jodi Levine wishes she’d had spent more time focusing on the big picture.

Levine, a former gymnast, started her chain of children’s gymnastics schools in 1982. There are locations in Westchester and New York City.

In the early years of her business, she spent too much time focused on the little details rather than the bigger picture, and she now wishes she’d had a mentor to help her work through that.

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GYMNASTICS FOR KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
http://insidechappaqua.com/gymnastics-for-kids-with-special-needs/

Jodi Levine of Chappaqua and owner of Jodi’s Gym in Mt. Kisco and Manhattan, firmly believes that gymnastics is a great way to help children with special needs or who are on the autism spectrum because it incorporates many of the skills with which these children have difficulty. The benefits of gymnastics include increased balance, strength, self-confidence, motor skills and spatial awareness.
Jodi loves to see the way the kids’ eyes light up when they enter the gym and the joy the parents have by taking their children to a safe and fun gymnastics program. Her current class was inspired by the parent of a child who had visited the gym as a birthday party guest and simply loved it. Plans for the summer include a social skills class for 3-4 year-olds which will combine a half-hour of class time with a social worker and then time in the gym where the kids can apply the skills they learned. The program focuses on progress, not perfection, with the goal of developing skills such as sharing, positive interaction with other children, taking turns, making friends and even dealing with frustration. Consultations and a parenting discussion will be provided by the social worker. For more info, visit www.jodisgym.com

TOP TEN REASONS TO ENROLL YOUR CHILD IN PRESCHOOL GYMNASTICS

http://insidechappaqua.com/top-ten-reasons-to-enroll-your-child-in-preschool-gymnastics/

10. GYMNASTICS is a positive and fun introduction to movement.
9. GYMNASTICS is an exercise which leads to healthy habits to last a lifetime.
8. GYMNASTICS improves overall balance, strength, flexibility, body awareness, confidence and coordination like no other sport.
7. GYMNASTICS helps to develop strong bones.
6. GYMNASTICS improves reading readiness.
5. GYMNASTICS improves motor skill development.
4. GYMNASTICS helps kids to focus and set attainable goals.
3. GYMNASTICS allows children to focus on their own skill development and their personal best (it’s non-competitive).
2. GYMNASTICS is the foundation of movement education and all sports.
1. GYMNASTICS is sooooooo much fun!

SETTING THE STANDARD IN CHILDREN’S GYMNASTICS

Jodi’s Gym offers gymnastics based classes, parties, and camps for children 9 months to 12 years of age. Classes are age appropriate, developmentally sound, and curriculum based. A key mission is to introduce the students to the joys and endless benefits of fitness. Gymnastic classes are design to help children develop strength, balance, coordination, flexibility, focus, and discipline necessary for gymnastics and all sports. “Classes are always fun, safe, non-competitive, and appropriately challenging,” states Jodi. “Every child is a success as he or she masters skills at their own lever, reaches for attainable goals, and moves toward their personal best.”

Background: Jodi’s love for the sport of gymnastics began in sixth grade. Years of gymnastics training followed. After receiving an athletic scholarship to Indiana State University, Jodi continued to compete at the national level through her college years. In 1980, “thinking the gymnastics thing was over,” she returned to Manhattan, where she received a Master’s degree in Psychology from NYU- and also began teaching gymnastics again. “I could not stay away from the sport I loved,” she states. “While coaching competitive gymnastics teams and older children, I noticed the gyms were all empty during the day. I thought, ‘Why not introduce this amazing sport to younger siblings and preschoolers?’ It was truly a new idea back then. Many people thought, ‘What mother of a two-year-old wants gymnastics for her child?’ The rest is history!” The mommy and me phenomenon began. And 27 years later, Jodi’s Gym sets the standard of what a children’s gym should be.
Greatest Strength: Jodi’s Gym hires and trains “the absolute best people. Our entire staff is completely dedicated to delivering the love, the patience, the enthusiasm, the passion, the knowledge and expertise needed to maintain and deliver the ultimate in children’s programming. Our education and staff training is serious and ongoing… and far surpasses any industry standards.”

Proudest Moments: Jodi describes the pride she experiences when reuniting with past students- many who are now in their 30’s. A good number have shared stories of how their childhood involvement in gymnastics still serves them today- with goal setting, perseverance, confidence, and a commitment to a strong, fit, and healthy body. Jodi also immensely enjoys the “second generation” of students, new moms who were her students now bringing their own children to her classes. “People become all teary eyed with Jodi’s Gym memories!”

Customer Service: “Our staff can and will do whatever it takes to satisfy our customers (as long as safety and well-being of the children is never compromised). We will go over and beyond what is expected, and do so on a daily basis,” says Jodi. “Our experience also enables us to flag when developmental milestones are lagging. We have over and over again been the first place where this has been brought to a parent’s attention,” says Jodi. “Parents are extremely grateful, and we feel so good to be able to get the ball rolling on early intervention.”

Special Plans: Three new programs are in the works and include Music for Aardvarks… a hip, fun, cool music program from NYC. There is a new class for children with autism- a socialization program combined with gymnastics and taught by staff and a Ph.D. who specializes in this area. Also, check out Jodi’s GYMFIT- Fun fitness classes for kids. “We are also expanding our Jodi’s To Go programs… bringing our brand of fitness and gymnastics into many daycares, schools, camps, and residential buildings.”

Hopes and Dreams: “These include sharing Jodi’s Gym through more outreach programs- to bring in children who can’t attend one of our locations; opening in at least one more location in 2009; partnering in our charitable work with another organization; continuing to educate parents on the importance of a sound movement education program from children, and for them to understand the value associated with a well-planned, developmentally appropriate curriculum; and finally, sharing the benefits of gymnastics with as many families as we can while keeping the highest level of quality, safety, and customer service imaginable.”

GYM QUEEN

There is one essential reason why, after 25 years, Jodi’s Gym is still one of the most popular places in the city for nurturing the joy of gymnastics and athleticism in children. And her name – you guessed it – is Jodi.

On a recent Thursday afternoon in a loft-like, sun-filled gymnasium on the Upper East Side, a group of eager 3- and 4-year-olds squealed with delight as they navigated a tot-sized obstacle course complete with uneven bars, rings, and of course, spotters.

“I did it,” a little boy exclaimed proudly after finishing a tuck swing on the rings.

“I can do it too,” the next student said as she stepped toward the instructor with a smile.

It’s a typical day at Jodi’s Gym the popular children’s activity center where kids ages 12 and under have been learning how to tumble, roll, and flip for the past 25 years. A neighborhood institution, it’s known for its first-rate training program and nurturing approach to teaching gymnastics.

“Gymnastics is a real sport, and there are fundamentals that need to be learned,” said Jodi Rosenwasser Levine, founder of Jodi’s Gym. “At the same time, we want the kids to enjoy the experience and leave here feeling really good about themselves. We want them to know that their bodies are capable, that fitness is fun, and that moving feels good.”

The idea for Jodi’s Gym first occurred to Levine, a former competitive gymnast, when she was coaching competitive gymnastics at a local gym while studying at New York University. She noticed the younger siblings of her students were excited to play in the gym and explore the equipment. She suggested offering baby classes to the gym’s owner and began developing programming for toddlers and young children. The classes quickly became a hit, and, after earning her master’s degree in psychology, Levine decided to go out on her own.

“At the time, there were no mommy-and-me gyms, but I just had this vision of how it would work,” she recalled, sitting in the noisy foyer of the 10,000-square-foot gym as a group of excited students poured out of class and began looking for their shoes. “I saw a real void for little ones, so I rented a small space in a ballet studio and printed up some flyers. It just caught on right away. It was like an episode of ‘I Love Lucy.’ I did it all; I was the teacher, the janitor, the receptionist. Right from the beginning it was a success.”

More than two decades later, Jodi’s Gym continues to be a haven for parents and children. “It’s a very friendly and warm place,” said Nina Stahl, who, as one of Levine’s very first customers, took her daughter Alana to Jodi’s Gym in the early 1980’s. Today, she continues the tradition with her twin grandchildren, Evan and Remi, who attend the school’s Mommy and Me Gym and Music Combo Class. “When Alana went,” Stahl added, “we thought it really brought out the best in her. She became very confident in herself because she learned to do all these things that she couldn’t do before.”

The age-specific curricula at Jodi’s Gym are designed to let each student move at his or her own pave by breaking down each technique into a series of small step-by-step progressions. Training begins at the preschool age, where children ages 3 to 5 learn basic skills for the balance beam, bars, and rings. Classes for older students are divided by age and ability through grade 6. For babies and toddlers, the facility offers a series of mommy-and-me style classes that provide active tots with ample opportunity to wiggle, run, and roll while socializing with other children.

Not surprisingly, Levine is passionate about the benefits of gymnastics for children, noting that what students learn at Jodi’s can provide them with a solid foundation for an active lifestyle. “Gymnastics improves, strength, flexibility, balance and coordination, and those are the building blocks for all other physical activities,” she said. “And it’s not just about the physical stuff either. They build confidence and know that their bodies are capable of learning how to do new things.”

Levine attributes the gym’s longtime success to its knowledgeable staff and an adherence to a strict, self-enforced safety policy. Teachers, who are hand-picked by Levine, are extensively trained by the owner herself for several weeks and are required to become certified by USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in the United States.