GREEN BAY – If you’ve cringed at a horrible smell or jumped when hearing a loud noise, you have experienced sensory issues. For most people, it is a temporary discomfort. But for an estimated 1 in six children and 1 in 20 adults, it can be serious enough to curtail daily activities.

Ian and Faith Ainsworth are starting a business that will specifically address those issues. Slated for a fall opening, The Sensory Club, a franchise, will open at 3863 Norrie Drive in Green Bay and feature a 6,000-square-foot facility. Updates are available at www.thesensoryclub.com.

The couple has made helping others a focus throughout their careers. They had a camp ministry and served at three camps throughout Wisconsin before coming back to their hometown of Green Bay in 2019. As Ian took a job in property management, they also considered the possibility of starting a business. That’s when they heard about The Sensory Club.

“About a year ago, my father was working with local youth and they took a day trip to The Sensory Club in Milwaukee," Faith said. "He was so enthused about the club and how much fun the kids had and how it regulated their behavior for the rest of the day that he suggested we visit it.”

They took a trip to Milwaukee and were sold on the business model.

At that point, the hard work began. They needed to contact the franchise for additional information, write a business plan and obtain funding. They met with a SCORE mentor and learned about The Startup Hub, a project of the Greater Green Bay Chamber.  There they met Ron Franklin, Hub manager.

“For the first part, we needed funding,” Faith said. “Because we had spent our careers in the ministry, that was a challenge. Ron helped us with that and gave us input in writing our business plan and with his help in providing resources, we found financing in two months.”

With Franklin’s assistance, they were given a list to follow step by step. Using that information, they spent their scheduled Wednesday date nights writing and revising their plan. They learned that sensory issues were prevalent and that there was nothing like this business in the area.

“Green Bay alone has about 30,000 people who would benefit and this business should pull from the surrounding communities. We need something like this here that will provide sensory services,” Faith said.

The business does that by offering a club where people of all ages with disabilities have a place to explore and satisfy sensory needs. On the website it is described as: “An open-gym concept that features various therapeutic swings, a jumping island, a rainbow acrobat, monkey bars, rock climbing walls, cargo nets, crash pads, heavy cubes, a self-cleaning sanitary ball pit and more.”

Caregivers, following guidelines that have been recommended by their therapists, are encouraged to be guides and facilitators.

“When you work with a sensory processing disorder, you may not be able to regulate your system well and might be affected by sound or visual input," Faith said. "By working these systems at the gym, it can help to regulate the individual.”

As the couple investigated the franchise, they became convinced of its effectiveness.  Faith said they have been impressed with the assistance that has been provided.

“They are helping with the pricing, equipment selection, paperwork and design," she said. "There is a base cost and we need to use the same colors and purchase a base package, but we can purchase other equipment and design our space using our preferences.”

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That design is a work in progress. Their contractor, who is doing a build-to-suit, has experienced delays in obtaining construction materials. While they wait for the building to be constructed, Faith is focusing on marketing. Plans include using social media, working with local schools, event-planning, scheduling special nights when parents can drop off their children, and providing tours.

People can register and sign up for updates on the website. She emphasized that the club isn’t just for children. As the parents of three sons, the Ainsworths enjoy working with children, but the club will serve four distinct groups.

Those include: children from birth to 9 years; pre-teens and teens ages 10-18; adults with special needs; and adults with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. The emphasis is on providing unique experiences that will help each group with controlled environment activities that will decrease anxiety and stimulate the brain.

Faith said: “We want to be a place where everyone can come in and meet together.  A person might feel like their senses are bouncing off the wall, but when you come here, you can go into a room where there is different input that will level your systems back down.”

Her goal will be to make everyone feel welcome, and she will be more involved with the day-to-day operations until the business becomes financially secure. In the interim, Ian will continue to work full time and on the business. They purchased multilocation franchise rights and eventually hope to have four locations.

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Couple to bring The Sensory Club franchise to Green Bay for disorders