Gymnastic Centers Grow Through Word-of-Mouth

Gymnastics is tumbling to the top of children’s extracurricular activities as gymnastic centers are expanding. With nine centers spanning Northwest Arkansas, and up to 150 clients per center, the gymnastics business is evolving.

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Several of the gymnastics centers have been open for decades but have grown tremendously in recent years. Erin Hundley, owner of Genesis Gymnastics, previously Something Special Gymnastics in Bentonville, became owner in January. Once Hundley updated her equipment, including installation of a spring floor, Genesis Gymnastics grew to teach 150 students, twice as many as were taught previously. Tumblebus, a unique program that brings beginning gymnastic lessons to elementary schools, “has grown significantly because the area has exploded. There are more schools than there were when I started [eight years ago],” owner Jamie Morse said.

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Several of these gymnastics centers have expanded their services. Gymnastics team competitions are a draw for many young gymnasts, and the addition of training for these competitions has spurred growth of several centers. Many gymnastic centers now offer rental for birthday parties, bringing in revenue and advertising towards attendees.

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Most gymnastic centers rely only on word-of-mouth advertising, including flyers at fundraising events and in schools. “It’s pretty easy to get the word out as long as you’re taking good care of people’s kids,” Hundley said. Larger centers, such as William’s Center Inc. in Fayetteville, rely on newspaper and yellow pages advertisements to spread the word.