Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Gundert.
Daniel, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started Gymnastics when I was in grade school and competed through High School. I had (and still have) attention issues as was extremely hyperactive and nervous.
Gymnastics was a productive outlet that gave me structure and confidence when I needed it most. I started teaching gymnastics classes to preschool and school-aged children on the weekends at Aztec Gymnastics located on the SDSU campus when I was 14 years old. I have taught gymnastics in some capacity ever since.
I began coaching at North County Gymnastics and the Gyminny Kids in 2003 just out of High School. Here I met Liz and Rob, the Owners who mentored and guided me through my late teens and 20’s. I started and oversaw the competitive teams back in 2012. From there, I moved into management in 2015 and now oversee the business operations as the Director and Head Team Coach. Our 17000 sq ft climate controlled facility is home to over 100 team gymnasts and 2200 recreational gymnasts a week.
My wife, Melanie and I (hence the name D&M Leotards) saw a need for high quality, affordable, fitted leotards. The TV show “Make It Or Break It” hosted on ABC Family, canceled the show and an executive gave the leotards to a neighboring gym. That gym reached out to me and offered to sell me the leotards from the show at a fraction of their value. I purchased them and resold them on eBay and profited approximately 25K. My wife and I used that money and some we had saved to start D&M leotards.
Husband and Wife, Daniel and Melanie both were competitive gymnasts. They met while competing for the same club in Elementary School. Melanie is the Design Director and Daniel is the Operations Manager at D&M Leotards. Daniel is currently the Head Competitive Team Coach for both the men’s and women’s programs at North County Gymnastics and the Gyminny Kids. Daniel is a men’s nationally rated gymnastics judge and judges women’s gymnastics as well. Melanie was a successful level 9 Gymnast spending over 5 years competing in San Diego. She currently judges High School gymnastics and enjoys creating, designing leotards and being a homemaker to our five children.
One thing Daniel and Melanie have in common is a passion for Gymnastics. Creating beautiful, high-quality leotards was born naturally when the time came to order leotards for Daniel’s own team. Daniel and Melanie realized there was a need for long-lasting, and most importantly, affordable leotards. We sell our leotards in the Gyminny Kids Pro Shop, the D&M website, neighboring gyms and Amazon.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Liz and Rob spent 30 years ironing out many of the kinks and created a system that I would call a well-oiled machine. Though we have 2200+ students and 2750 enrollments a week, we have the systems, facility and staff to keep operations running smoothly. The Coaches we have are some of the best in the Nation with enough certifications to make your head spin. We take pride in the ongoing training that our entire staff participates in. The front desk associates are professional, warm and well informed of our policies which makes answering the client’s questions seamless.
As with any institution we have our struggles. What makes us strong is our diversity both in age and backgrounds and our ability to work through obstacles and look at them as an opportunity for growth. The management staff does a phenomenal job of investing time in the staff vs focusing too much on the task. We believe if we treat the employees well, they will, in turn, treat our clients well. Happy clients tend to return!
Relative to D&M Leotards, it is difficult to start a business from the ground up. We found inventory can be quite expensive if not projected correctly. SEO and social media marketing takes a tremendous amount of time. Our goal has always been to scale the business with little to no debt which makes growing as fast as we would like a struggle. We believe slow plus slow equals fast and small improvements over time lead to exponential growth. We also try not to outsource work we can do ourselves.
Melanie and I work hard at dividing the responsibilities and figuring them out as we go. I will say there are plenty of online apps that assist with complex business operations and my experience at Gyminny Kids has better prepared me to run my own business. In the same way, starting D&M has taught me about the online market, communications, SEO and social media as it relates to business.
Please tell us about Gyminny Kids Gymnastics and D&M Leotards.
North County Gymnastics and the Gyminny Kids opened in 1987. I have been a part of the company since 2003 and are the heart and soul of the business is the founders, Liz and Rob. I believe the most important aspect to long-term success in business is the personal touch. Small gestures that go a long way with the customer. Free coffee, Wifi, stadium seating, clean bathrooms, seasonal gifts, flowers, caring upbeat Coaches/front desk associates, proactive management and knowing the customer’s names and interests.
Our mission statement is “Fun and Fitness for all”. Our goal is to raise happy well-rounded children and to assist them in reaching their personal best. Gyminny Kids has always incorporated lesson plans within the gymnastics circuits that teach character, life lessons and build a foundation for lifelong success. Our kinder-classes teach preschool and playground readiness. The majority of our students come one to two days a week recreationally. Some use gymnastics to supplement other sports as gymnastics is the foundation of all other sports. Start with gymnastics, go anywhere!
D&M Leotards also puts much effort into the customer experience. We spend a lot of time following up with customers and interacting with them via email and social media. Not only do we sell leotards online, we are a resource to the gymnastics community. We post regular drills, routines and give ways on Instagram @dmleotards, Facebook dmleotards and YouTube at dmleotards. Our leotards are as elaborate and beautiful as companies that charge two to three times as much as D&M. We offer dazzling head-turning designs, high-quality practice leotards that our clients rave about.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I’m not sure I would like to start over again at this moment. Starting is the hardest part as it takes a colossal amount of time, effort and courage. A couple key lessons I have learned along the way, champions do not have office hours. In business, you just need to do whatever needs to be done (within reason of course) to make sure the business keeps moving in a forward direction. 40 hours a week is a starting point. In order to make real progress, it takes working dozens of hours in addition to your nine to five.
It also takes multiple revenue streams to save money. The forty hour work week paid for necessities but in order to do more and grow the businesses, I worked 7 days a week for seven straight years. I would do private classes outside my normal teaching hours, go to garage and estate sales and resale the items on Craigslist and eBay. I drove for uber and did all these things in addition to my forty hour work week. I have always believed that no one is going to send the limo for you, if you want something in life, you need to work harder than most, be patient and give back.
Contact Info:
- Address: 17022 Camino San Bernardo San Diego, CA 92127
- Website: gyminnykids.com and dmleotards.com
- Phone: 8584510204
- Email: info@gyminnykids.com and daniel@dmleotards.com
- Instagram: @dmleotards @gyminnykids @ncgteam
- Facebook: gyminnykids
- Yelp: gyminnykids
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