1986-Current                  The SWIMshop

Owner / CEO

§         Began the SWIMshop from my basement in the fall of 1986 to outfit swim teams in the Metro Atlanta Area.

§         Opened our first retail store with Swim Atlanta in Lilburn Spring of 1988. A computer system was installed to manage inventory, sales, and accounting. (Employees = 3)

§         Spring 1990 - The SWIMshop opens a second location in Roswell and is now actively involved in State, Regional, and National level events in the swimming community.  (Employees = 4 ft/2 pt)

§         Fall 1992 - The first SWIMshop catalog is developed and mailed via bulk mail.

§         Fall 1994 – The SWIMshop and Norcal Swim shop in Napa Valley, CA become advertising partners.  Together we develop a catalog and our mailing increases to over 200,000+ catalogs per year using in house and purchased mail lists.

§         Winter 1996 – The SWIMshop opens a third store in the John’s Creek area of South Forsyth. (Employees = 7 ft/2pt)

§         Spring 1997 – With 2 container units overflowing in the Roswell Store Parking lot, the “warehouse” is opened in a house built in White, Ga. We now have 2,500 sq feet of storage/office/shipping and another 300 sq feet of office for the full-time bookkeeper.  (Employees = 8ft/3 pt)

§         Winter 1997 – The SWIMshop implements an upgraded POS system to handle retail and back office sales.  It polls the stores daily and helps with stocking orders, allowing the stores to have most items in stock when the customer needs them.

§         Fall 1997 – The SWIMshop begins an online store: www.swimshop1.com

§         Spring 1998 – The SWIMshop opens in the Chatham Aquatic Center in Savannah.  This is a new state of the art facility built to host National Level Swim Meets. (Employees = 8 plus 6-12 pt)

§         Spring 2000 The SWIMshop awards the first “Best of Friends” Scholarship.

§         Winter 2001 – Terry Gill is featured by “USA Today” in the small business section of their Web Paper. http://www.usatoday.com/small/blue/blue021.htm

§         Spring 2001 The SWIMshop awards the first annual “Betsy Dunbar Memorial” scholarship in memory of a dedicated employee and USA swimming volunteer.

§         Summer 2001 – The SWIMshop opens two stores with the Dynamo Parent Group in Atlanta.  The Chamblee facility is one of the premier meet facilities in the state of Georgia.

§         Summer 2001 Terry Gill is interviewed on the radio show “Entrepreneurs! Tour of America”

§         Spring 2002 – Terry Gill is interviewed for “My Business” magazine.  A photo shoot was completed at the Dynamo Chamblee Pool.

§         Winter/Spring 2003 – The SWIMshop incorporates and upgrades the POS system to allow for better use of employees at the stores during slow times of the day. (Employees: FT=5  PT = 12)

§         Fall 2004 – The SWIMshop closes its stores with the Dynamo Parent group and opens new stores with Chattahoochee Gold in Woodstock and Gwinnett Aquatics. A new online store system is implemented.

§         Fall 2006- The SWIMshop consolidates the Gwinnett and John’s Creek Store into a new larger Roswell Store. 

§         Fall 2006- Opens a pro shop at the World of Swim in Canton, Ga.  

§         2008- The SWIMshop closes the Roswell store and extends the hours at our Woodstock store.             Internet /Team sales become our main focus.  With a lower overhead, internet and team prices are reduced.  (Employees 4=FT 6=PT)