So you want to start a coaching business?
Over the past decade, and in particular the last year I’ve had numerous discussions with coaches, and former and current players about how to start building supplemental, or full time income through the game of soccer. During the COVID-19 pandemic never has it been more evident that being able to generate your own wealth is incredibly important. Many professional soccer players found themselves either without a job, or with a job in that was in peril due to the virus that has been wreaking havoc across the globe. The lack of control, and ability to create additional security become clear as the world waited to see what would happen with this virus.
For many professional soccer players in the United States the financial realities of being a soccer player are very difficult. It cost a lot to play as a youth player and as a professional even if going into the MLS directly the pay is often very low for a professional athlete. That being said these athletes are driven, hard working, and extreme go getters who can leverage their platform as an athlete to build income off of the pitch and create long term incomes and opportunities for when their playing days are done.
A common entry level opportunity for most lower league professional soccer players, former players and current coaches is to build a training or coaching business. This allows for flexibility in terms of time (you set your schedule and when you want to train) as well as less of a burden than being a youth coach with weekly training and game schedules that are often difficult for a professional athlete to manage along with their own training and team travel.
Based on conversations over the last year a lot of players want to start coaching but have no idea how to start building a client base ie how do they get in front of youth players and their parents who want training, and how to really get this off the ground. So let’s start with a how to build a training company.
Decide if doing this as individual, or building a business (ie Do you need to form a company, or doing this as a sole proprietor? Want to find out more about this check out LegalZoom.com or consult an attorney. In my experience setting up an LLC can be very advantageous for you, but I’m not an attorney so make sure and consult with one first. Want to get started quickly start as a sole prop and build your way up to a full blown LLC. Again, I recommend discussing with an attorney and your CPA on what the best path forward is for you.
Grab a URL for your new business - Go to GoDaddy.com and find a URL ex. YOURNAME.com. BusinessName.com, YourNameCoaching.com etc.
Set up a landing page or website to get started and help people find you. There are numerous ways to set this up. I’m partial to Squarespace.com as it is very easy to get set up quickly. Wix.com is another good simple option and Book Like A Boss is a fantastic option that includes the ability to set up schedules, classes and services.
Things to consider - Do you want to have clients automatically set book sessions with you. As an example do you want to manage your schedule on google, or iCal and have it sync with a calendar that potential clients can see and automatically book a time, pay for it etc? You can certainly manually coordinate a day/time with prospects, but in our opinion the ability for a parent to inquire, schedule, set and pay all in one simple stop will increase your ability to get new clients and ultimately get paid.
Spread the word about your new business:
How do you do that?
Use your social media - post about it, get fans of the team, friends, family to share.
Target Ads - Facebook, Instagram, Google - pick a geographic area and some key words (ie what do people search when looking for private training) and do a small test. Depending on your budget to get this started ideally when testing the spend should be between $50-$500 to test. Remember to think about what your goal is ie are you trying to build a mailing list to email about your training, or is your goal to get people to sign up immediately. Again a lot of this is based on your budget and appetite to do the next step in marketing your new business. In the long run an active mailing list is KING and building a good active list quickly will only help you in the future.
Volunteer at local clubs, and youth organizations - do a few free sessions and be engaging with kids and parents. Show them what you can do. Could be a youth club, high school etc. The idea is to connect and build your name in the community you wish to serve.
Reinvest in your business. Think like an entrepreneur or engineer. You started by taking action to create your site. Next evaluate what you are doing, make adjustments optimize your process and repeat. The engineering process is defined often as a circular process where we Ask —> Imagine —> Plan —> Create —> Improve —> repeat by Asking questions again. Regardless of which type of feedback loop you take, the point is continue to test, learn, ask questions and improve your process so you know where to spend time, money, etc. to grow your business. Maybe you bring on team mates, maybe you build other products. The opportunities are endless but the key is taking the action by starting the process in the first place.
If you’ve started your own soccer coaching and training business drop a note below so we can share your website with other aspiring coaches. Remember the key is taking the first step. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good. Get started today. Make the decision to get started and give yourself a time frame to get it done. Maybe it’s 3 days for your first one, but the entire process can be done in a few hours. Again, we just want you to get started on your journey. You can improve what you’ve built over time.
Want to see an example of one we created on a Saturday afternoon? Check out www.charlottesoccerfactory.com.
Want more help building your own site, or need motivation to get moving? Set up a FREE 30 minute consultation and tell us what you are looking for and what type of help you need to get going.