Teaching Meets Trampolines: Chad & Katie Babcock of JumpTime in Boise, Idaho, Part 1

CoupleCo: Working With Your Spouse For Fun & Profit

This guy calls himself a former carny, so maybe the question is: What kind of a carny becomes a successful sporting business entrepreneur with his wife, and half a dozen operations and 80 employees around Idaho and Montana? These two are objects in motion. Chad and Katie Babcock’s businesses are JumpTime, TumbleTime and SoccerTime—indoor trampoline, tumbling and soccer. They went from being teachers to educating in a much different way. They’re doing a job that’s fun, but also gives both kids and parents confidence. They’re respecting developmental levels, helping kids discover their talents, and helping parents understand them. Their favorite thing to do is teach. They also have an interesting perspective on management: Really, it’s also education. They like giving their employees a sense of ownership, and are also learning from their employees. And like Katie says, a day without learning something is a day wasted. And to think this little empire began with a business in a used school bus. That caught on fire.