the business of tennis - specific tips on how to grow your tennis program

Tennis Entrepreneurship Tim Bainton, Founder and Principal

©Tim Bainton 2015

The Business of Tennis

©Tim Bainton 2015

• “Any good tennis player is able to adjust their strategy and think creatively to win the match…”

• “The same is true in the ‘game’ of business – if we applied these skills to what we have learned about playing competitive tennis to our business, then we will increase longevity and capture more widespread attention, thus creating better systems of sustainability.”

Objectives

• Tap into your inner entrepreneur

• Tennis Industry isn’t just teaching

• Let’s realize the issues

• Provide useful guidance

•Maximize individual and club potential

• Create a corporate culture

• Don’t be afraid to think differently

• Talented pros or talented business people, How about both?

©Tim Bainton 2015

What is your story?

• Don’t be afraid to tell your story

• Your story is your most valuable asset

• Publicize who you are and where you’re from

• Emotional connection = financial growth and stability

• Don’t forget: people don't care what you know until they know how much you care!

• It’s not how many people you know, it’s how many people want to know you!

©Tim Bainton 2015

What incentivizes you?

•Love for the sport

•Give back

•Respect from your peers

•Developing players

•Fame and fortune

•Financial gain

©Tim Bainton 2015

Define what you want?

•You can’t reach your goals if you haven’t defined them!

•Make SMART goals: • Specific – target a specific area for growth, your business or improvement

• Measurable – quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress

• Assignable – specify who will do it

• Realistic – state what results can realistically be achieved, given available resources

• Time-related – specify when the result(s) can be achieved

©Tim Bainton 2015

Constantly Audit

•Who you are

•Where you are in your career

•Where you are going (and where want to be)

•How to get there personally

•How to get there professionally

©Tim Bainton 2015

Let’s Define Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs, in the purest sense, are those who identify a need—any need—and fill it. It’s a primordial urge, independent of product, service, industry or market.

– Dictionary.com

©Tim Bainton 2015

Be Entrepreneurs

•Don’t be afraid to fail and be willing to take calculated risks.

•Create incentives for you and your staff

•Provide opportunity for growth

•Create “ownership” opportunities • Ownership does not just need to be “brick and mortar”

•Always be prospecting, learning, and innovating

©Tim Bainton 2015

Entrepreneur must haves

•Vision

•Passion

•Great decision maker

•Team builder

•Character

•Remember you are never going to please everyone and that’s OK!

©Tim Bainton 2015

Food for Thought!

“There is no Fate that plans men's lives. Whatever comes to us, good or bad, is usually the result of our own action or lack of action.”

– Herbert N.Casson

©Tim Bainton 2015

Great Advice for Entrepreneurs

•You must be obsessed with what you do and what your idea/ideas are

•Velocity must also be guarded by reflection

•Don’t just ask questions, ask the RIGHT questions

•Execution is always more important than the idea

•Stay grounded both in business and personally - success means more people will be watching!

©Tim Bainton 2015

Successful Advice

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

– Winston Churchill

©Tim Bainton 2015

Pitfalls of being an Entrepreneur

• Trusting your gut, rather than getting validation for your idea

• Not getting your business to market fast enough

• You take too much advice…or none at all

• Making the wrong decision on fundraising

• Making networking a low priority

• Not knowing when to pivot

• No marketing, no problem

• Putting the customer last

• Hiring the wrong people

• Time

©Tim Bainton 2015

Remember that true entrepreneurs

will learn immediately from their

mistakes and adjust accordingly

Personal confessions

• Advocate calculated risk taking

• Steady growth is better than rapid growth

• Build a support team from day one

• Don’t trust anyone that doesn’t believe in YOU

• Acquire financing through legitimate sources

• Be transparent

©Tim Bainton 2015

Five Pillars of Success

•People

•Plan

•Process

•Product

•Profit

https://www.sba.gov/blogs/5-pillars-small-businesses-success/

©Tim Bainton 2015











Run a business

• Individual, team, club or chain should be aiming to apply corporate standards and best business practices

•Run your tennis business like a Fortune 500 company

•Break down existing hierarchy (no matter how hard)

•Be the future, not the present

©Tim Bainton 2015

Create sustainable income streams

• Shark Tank – nobody gets an investment without sales

• Identify most consistent areas and focus on strengthening

• Membership tiers: Win-Win

• Ongoing Programs that transition to the next level

• Packages without drastic discounting

• Cutting edge programs- Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

©Tim Bainton 2015

Extensibility – ability to scale

DEFINITION OF 'SCALABILITY'

A characteristic of a system, model or function that describes its capability to cope and perform under an increased or expanding workload. A system that scales well will be able to maintain or even increase its level of performance or efficiency when tested by larger operational demands.

Always start with the end in mind!

©Tim Bainton 2015

Extensibility – ability to scale

Start with the end in mind; Strategize and Plan for growth

SUCCESS STORIES

• Burke Racket Net profit Year one for managing tennis programs

• Corporate Programs showing profits of 50% and growing – held offsite; Low overhead

• Elementary Private Schools Programs

LESSON LEARNED

• Growing too fast too soon

• Make sure extensions of your business are relevant

©Tim Bainton 2015

Recruiting Top Talent

©Tim Bainton 2015

•Always be actively recruiting • Partners

• Clients / Players / Ambassadors

• Sponsors

• Staff

• References / Press

•How? • Through traditional methods

• USPTA

• PTR

• USTA

• Other industry job search engines

• Word of mouth

• Social media platforms

• From your own programs

Transition and succession planning

•Always provide opportunities for advancement • Financial and Personal (training programs-ie: USTA HP coaching workshop)

• Accountability to goals teaches advantageous management

• Pyramid of growth

•Owners/Managers: must help set goals • Educate your staff – spreadsheets, net vs. gross revenue, overhead

• Explain the why – goals tied to business growth & profit

©Tim Bainton 2015

Customer Service is King!

•Quality Product or Service

•Genuine Service-Customer first

• Time is Not on Your Side-Speed but with quality

• Be Prepared for Things to Go Wrong-you will be judged based on your product and service equally to how well you deal with a mistake

• In today’s society of constant reviews and feedback you must be on top of your customer service game

©Tim Bainton 2015

Brand, Brand, Brand

• Start thinking of yourself as a brand

• Audit your industry presence - Awards, Publications, Seminars, Social Media - specifically LinkedIn.

• Create a presence outside of the industry- it is not how many people you know it is how many people want to know you

• Find ways to produce value

• Be purposeful in what you stand for • On the court and off the court/social and business

• Associate with other strong brands

• Reinvent

• Be relevant

©Tim Bainton 2015

Launching your social business

Run your tennis programs like any other business; promote your ‘customers’ successes and they reflect positively on your brand and will help create satisfaction…and longevity.

• Facebook - Pictures

• Video – YouTube instruction and highlights from tournaments

• Blog Posts (testimonials, success stories, tennis tips)

• Twitter / Instagram - to create excitement and appeal to a younger demographic

• Advocate Networking; partner with USTA & local tennis organizations such as NJTL and WTEF

©Tim Bainton 2015

Have a mentor

• Align yourself with good patrons

• Identify who your mentors are and what specific role they have in

helping shape your career and character

• Your business mentor does not have to be in the tennis world

•Mentor for Business – top 10 business books

• Learn from other industries

•Mentor for tennis business • Reach out to others; find out what works!

• The secrets to success transcend industry ©Tim Bainton 2015

Listen to a mentor

“For good ideas and true innovation, you need human

interaction, conflict, argument, debate”

– Margaret Heffernan

©Tim Bainton 2015

Realize you are a mentor too

•Make yourself accessible

• Have an opinion but…….

• Listening is the most powerful way to form great opinions, so be a great listener first

•Open yourself up to ideas and suggestions – open brainstorming with staff-Tuesday Team Meeting

•Get excited over staff success – celebrate with and for them

• Treat them like family #BlueChipFamily

©Tim Bainton 2015

Never be satisfied!

•Be proactive to achieve GROWTH

•Collaborate with others

•Build partnerships

•Be aware of industry trends

•Build the brand: 1 brand, 1 team, unlimited potential

©Tim Bainton 2015

Key takeaways

1. Be an entrepreneur

2. Create systems for growth

3. Always innovate

4. Solve problems

5. Build trust

6. Create positive experiences for clients & staff

7. Run your business like a Fortune 500 company

©Tim Bainton 2015

the business of tennis - specific tips on how to grow your tennis program

Small Business & Entrepreneurship