Technology can completely transform the way someone can manage courts – from basketball to volleyball to tennis. In this case study, we’ll explore how one of our current clients made their court management so much easier with the help of court rental software.
User Experience Spotlight: Court Rental Software
Our client, Jack, built a six-court basketball and volleyball facility. He also set up a contract with AAU teams to use his facility. Also, Jack wanted to take advantage of leagues, basketball and volleyball camps, and court rentals. With the number of courts available, he didn’t want to spend all his time scheduling these courts himself. Jack wanted court rental software that could do it all for him.
Jack’s biggest concerns were finding a system that prioritized no double bookings, sends out automated notifications, and manages all of his services as well as a concession stand. While searching, he found eSoft Planner’s scheduling software. We can do all of what he wanted and more. Our software is a centralized scheduling calendar, which prevents double bookings during scheduling. Automated notifications are sent by the system for order confirmations and reminders. It’s proven that appointment reminders can reduce no-shows by 38%. These reminders are sent to decrease no-shows. Also, eSoft Planner can manage many services with ease.
With the help of our scheduling software, Jack manages all of his different services with ease. He added both competitive and recreational leagues, with individual or team signups for his practices. After his leagues, he offers open play for anyone to come in for a drop-in fee. Not only is Jack successfully managing multiple services without issue, but he also doesn’t need to spend a lot of time behind the scenes keeping everything organized. He also no longer needs to worry about issues with double bookings or a high number of no-shows. eSoft Planner’s software has worked wonders for his facility.
Conclusion: How to Empower Your Court Management for Success
Are you spending a lot of time and money trying to manage your courts? With eSoft Planner’s software, you don’t have to worry. Manage all your services and rent out your courts quickly and easily. Request a custom demo of our software to find out how we can increase your cash flow and decrease the time and money spent.
Coaches and players both understand the critical role that scheduling can play in optimizing their performance. Volleyball scheduling software can be a game-changer for a facility. Mainly, this software simplifies the complex work that goes into coordinating team practices and group training.
Manage Your Teams
A lot of volleyball clubs tend to have teams or organizations connected to their facility. Team management is especially important to these clubs. There are several critical features for managing teams. Team managers need to be able to easily register their players online, schedule their practices, and manage payments and budgets. Also, they should schedule different types of practices, from jump training to open gyms and tryouts.
Schedule Your Camps & Classes
As volleyball can be more difficult to do one-on-one lessons, group training, such as camps and classes, has taken over as the best solution. Group training allows players to practice with other players and refine their skill sets without the worry of an actual game. Therefore, your software should be able to schedule your camps and classes at any time easily. Also, multiple features should be included, from price customization to categorization.
Do More
There are other important aspects of a volleyball club, from weight rooms to retail. When looking for new software, you should find one that is able to easily manage all areas of the club. For example, our software manages teams, camps & classes, retail, lessons, and more. Clients can register for their training online. The owners and managers can view reports and manage marketing quickly from within the system.
Conclusion
Volleyball scheduling software allows you to easily schedule your camps and classes as well as successfully manage your teams. Plus, the software can save you both administrative time and money, so you can focus on what you really enjoy. Request a demo for more information on how our software can benefit your club.
When it comes to sports scheduling, there are many problems and few solutions. If you’re in charge of scheduling everything from tournaments to practices and games, then you know about the headaches that come with managing all those moving parts. You also probably know that finding a sports scheduling app that offers affordable pricing, ease of use and powerful features is next to impossible.
Enter eSoft Planner: your low price solution for your sports scheduling needs! eSoft offers adaptable pricing based on how much power you need. So, if you have just one league or sport, we can help with some of the lowest rates and best user experiences in the sports scheduling industry. Even better, we don’t force anyone into signing unreasonably long contracts. We know the eSoft difference is something truly special! In addition, you don’t need to worry about customer service either – since we are consistently ranked #1 in this area among all sports software providers in the country. We’ve been helping organizations across America schedule their programs since 2007. There’s no problem we won’t be willing to assist you with.
eSoft Planner offers affordability and adaptability. With a la carte pricing, you aren’t forced into high rates; pay for what you need and want.
You can choose the features that work best for you and get the most bang for your buck. With multiple modules to choose from, you can tailor the software to your business no matter the sport, hobby, or layout of your space.
The software is easy to use and can be customized to fit the needs of any facility or sport. It’s designed around your business, not the other way around. Then, you don’t have to pay for features you won’t use or train staff on features they won’t need.
eSoft Planner is a favorite sports scheduling app among trainers, coaches, organizations, and academies across the country.
eSoft Planner is a favorite sports scheduling app among trainers, coaches, organizations, and academies across the country. After 15 years of leading the industry, eSoft boasts a growing list of satisfied clients. As the ultimate sport scheduler software, it helps optimize, streamline, and grow sports / training businesses across the country. There are eSoft Sports Software clients in every state in the country (and many more countries around the globe), and the number is growing every day!
The eSoft Sports Software is a powerful and easy-to-use tool that allows you to manage your entire sports business. It’s the only software in the market that offers both unlimited, consultative customer service from dedicated U.S.-based experts, as well as no pricing increase for growth or expansion. We’re here for you every step of the way.
There are a number of benefits to using eSoft as your sports scheduling app. One of the most important is that it helps you save time, money, and resources. It streamlines your business processes and reduces admin time and report creation. Also, the eSoft Sports Software allows you to create custom reports that can be exported in any format (PDF, Excel, Word, etc.) for easy sharing with your clients or other stakeholders. It’s just another key example of the power and convenience of eSoft Planner.
The system is flexible, powerful and so affordable you don’t have to think twice before buying – Whether it’s swimming pools, courts, fields, or something totally unique.
eSoft Planner is flexible, powerful and so affordable you don’t have to think twice before buying – Whether it’s swimming pools, courts, fields, or something totally unique.
Whatever your needs are, eSoft Planner can help. It schedules leagues, tournaments, and practices. Further, it can track inventory, sales, revenue, etc…
Whether you are looking for a way to track your players and their progress or just need a simple way to schedule games and practices, eSoft Planner has the tools you need.
Clients love the service they receive from their account managers and other support staff at eSoft. eSoft Planner is consistently ranked #1 in customer service.
eSoft Planner has been trusted by thousands of sports organizations. Clients love the service they receive from their account managers and other support staff. In fact, eSoft Planner is consistently ranked #1 in customer service across the entire industry.
The executive team and employees at eSoft have a personal interest in the success of their clients. It makes relationships stronger and more meaningful than any other business in the sports planning space. Further, eSoft’s staff is comprised of former trainers, athletes, and facility owners, giving us unique insights into the industry and what it takes to help our clients succeed.
If you’re a coach or owner of a sports organization, you’ll find that eSoft Planner is the perfect solution for your needs. We offer flexible options to fit any size of business and budget. Also, our software is extremely easy-to-use, yet powerful enough to meet the demands of any coach or business owner. eSoft Planner is the industry standard for sports organizations and has been trusted by thousands of clients over the last decade. Clients love the service they receive from their account managers and other support staff, which is why eSoft is consistently ranked #1 in customer service across the entire industry. The executive team and employees at eSoft have a personal interest in the success of their clients. Therefore, relationships are stronger and more meaningful than any other business in the sports planning space.
The Problem With Sports Scheduling and Our Solution.
Sports scheduling and management require a lot of time and attention to detail. The problem with sports scheduling is that it can be hard to find an affordable solution that works for everyone. Our solution solves this problem by providing an affordable, flexible, and powerful software program. It has been trusted by thousands of sports organizations nationwide. Also, it aligns with the varied, diverse landscape of needs that confronts so many coaches, owners, and trainers.
With eSoft Planner, you can easily manage clients, classes, courts, guest passes, inventory, merch, and customers without spending hours on the phone or at a computer. Then, you’ll have more time for coaching, hiring, marketing, and growing your business!
You can even utilize the software’s marketing capabilities to send email updates, point to blogs and social media, and promote client achievements.
Affordable, Flexible, and Powerful
Sports scheduling has never been easier. eSoft Planner offers a low-price, high-power system that is customizable, user-friendly, and easy to use. It works with any sport or activity and can be used by organizations of any size. Due to that, sizes range from a single team up to the biggest leagues in professional sports. If you need an affordable solution for your sports scheduling needs, then look no further than eSoft Planner!
eSoft Planner is the simplest, easiest way for sports teams and organizations to schedule their games. It’s loaded with powerful features that let you easily manage your team schedules, player availability, game results, and more. To learn more, check out some of the capabilities below:
Another key aspect to consider is that as your program grows, your subscription rates will stay the same. Perhaps even better, our software is so robust, that we can actually personally tailor it to your exact needs. One sport, multiple sports, inventory management, marketing capabilities, and more! The sky is the limit, as we’ll never engage in practices that hinder your bottom line and/or your ability to grow.
Conclusion
Countless reviewers, clients, and coaches have found that eSoft Planner is the best option for sports scheduling. Given the unique variety of needs in the sports and training industry, we find that clients’ reasons for choosing the software are as robust and wide-reaching as the software itself. Whether it’s the ease of adding new trainers or clients, the powerful field/court reservation mapping options, seamless barcode-integrated guest passes, or one of the many other proprietary capabilities that have made eSoft the authority in the industry, there is almost a certainty that eSoft Planner will help you take your team, league, group, or academy to the next level. For more information, feel free to request a demo or give us a call and speak with a dedicated expert today.
As the sports scheduling market grows, you’ll want to lean into software that is built with you in mind, operated by companies that prioritize you. From time and time again, eSoft earns clients from under-committed competitors for this very reason. Finally, now is the time to experience the most robust, client-focused, sports scheduling and planning software in the country.
Most people working in a sports facility don’t see themselves as salespeople. After all, many of them got into sports facility ownership because they were passionate about sports and seeing others achieve their athletic goals. Not to promote classes, memberships and lessons.
There are a few reasons that the word “sales” elicits this type of response. First, your staff probably have had some negative experiences with salespeople. We’re all familiar with the stereotype of the manipulative, pushy, slimy sales rep. So the word doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation for people with no business background.
However, even if your staff has no problem with the idea of sales, they still might see it as a mysterious or innate skill that they just don’t have.
The True Meaning of Sports Facility Sales
Everyone at eSoft Planner enjoys helping athletes reach their peak potential. They are passionate about the games we play – baseball, football, softball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, and other activities. But if they were asked to describe their strengths, the word “selling” would not be included in their response.
Now, here’s the funny thing about this situation. If you’re like us, you know very well that your staff can sell. Mainly, they have the most important characteristics of any sales rep:
they understand our clients’ needs
they’re passionate and knowledgeable about what they’re selling (athletic training)
they’re articulate about the benefits that our services provide
To remove the sense of intimidation that inevitably pops up whenever we speak of the concept of selling classes, memberships and lessons, we encourage our sports facility clients to use more easily digestible terms like branding and promotion.
If your staff is really invested in your programs and believes that they can help people live healthier lives, these efforts will be a lot more appealing to them.
Listen: Changing a few words around isn’t going to trick your staff into suddenly rushing out the door to hand out fliers on the street. Everyone wishes they could just skip the selling part of their work. Sales is difficult. It involves getting out of your comfort zone, making yourself vulnerable and risking rejection.
Yes, it would be nice if all your clients found you via word-of-mouth. However, that will never be the most consistent part of your business. If you want your business to be more than just a side income, you have to be proactive about getting new paying clients.
Conclusion
If you’re new to the idea of thinking of yourself as a salesperson, or if you just need help getting your facility staff and volunteers to understand how they can become better at branding and promotion, we would love to talk to you. Our staff at eSoft Planner come from a wide variety of backgrounds in multiple sports industries.
Click here and fill out the form to schedule a time to talk with us.
Make the Most of Your Team Relationships: Give Players Perks
A great way for sports facilities to generate business is by building relationships with local teams through team management. Whether the teams rent your facility space or are hosted by your facility directly, giving players special perks is part of developing those quality relationships.
Giving team members special benefits at your facility can increase team retention and provide a revenue stability for your facility. Particularly if the membership benefits extend throughout slower seasons.
Case Study: DNA Sports Center
DNA Sports Center is home to the Midwest Prospects, a nonprofit, elite baseball program whose goal is to expose players to college coaches. Midwest Prospects players get exclusive access to a specially tailored speed, agility, strength and hitting membership at DNA Sports Center.
Players are encouraged to take advantage of this membership to improve their skills. It’s simple for coaches to collect the cost of the membership along with monthly team payments. Also, players have year-round access to member benefits.
If your facility doesn’t directly sponsor sports teams, it’s still worth creating a membership named after each team that you offer these perks to. These package deals can be great marketing tools that advertise your special relationship with a team. It encourages other teams to develop a similar relationship with you. eSoft Planner makes it easy to set up these added perks. With flexible membership management tools to build the packages around your business.
You may also choose to keep a partnership and its details private. Limit the purchase of the membership to in-store only. This way, you can ensure that only the appropriate team members purchase the membership.
Regardless, you should meet with team coaches to discuss what offerings would benefit them the most before you create the membership. If the coaches feel that the perks will truly meet their team’s needs, they will encourage their players to get involved.
With eSoft Planner, you can automatically apply discounts on lessons, camps, classes and rentals. In particular, add to special client groups, such as teams. If you would like to discuss how eSoft Planner works, we would love to talk with you. Click here and fill out the form to request a free demo.
Every potential business starts with a great idea — or at least what seems like one. Getting market data for your sports academy is one way to test whether your idea will hold up. Business owners that are armed with detailed market research can instill buyer’s confidence — whether they’re working with investors to finance the academy or planning to purchase a big piece of physical property.
However, it’s also important if you’re starting small or operating on your own. This research could save you weeks (or months) of time and energy by keeping your business on the right path.
Plenty of market research companies will compile reports for you for a price. However, you can start by taking the steps below to research your market on your own.
Identify Target Market Segments
Begin by listing groups of customers based on which services they would be interested in.
You can get as specific as you want with the groups. You’ll probably find yourself re-working the list a few times. These groups might even overlap with the customer personas you created, but you might decide to segment differently for this exercise.
Here are some examples of market segments for a typical sports academy:
Primary Market Segment:
Kids in middle school and high school who want to improve in their chosen sport
Secondary Market Segments:
Adults who want athletic-type fitness classes or personal training
Families looking for a birthday party venue
Coaches who want indoor practice space
People who use batting cages or other similar equipment recreationally
High school students who want help with the college recruiting process
Find the Sports Academy Market Segments’ Size
After you’ve identified your segments, it’s time to get some numbers on the size and growth of each of these segments as it relates to your business. You can use U.S. Census data, knowledge about your community, and good old-fashioned internet sleuthing to get data from reputable industry groups and publications.
Here’s an example of the information you would collect for the primary market segment:
Primary Market Segment:Kids in middle school and high school who want to improve in their chosen sport.
There are more than 300 kids on high school sports teams and 400 on middle school sports teams (soccer, football, baseball, volleyball) at schools within a 20-minute drive of our facility. Within a 30-minute drive, there are an additional 100 high school athletes and 100 middle school athletes.
Figure Out Your Short-Term Obtainable Market
You won’t be able to sell to everyone in the market segment — at least not right away. To get a more realistic idea of how many will buy from you in the short-term, consider these factors.
Customers’ Ability to Pay
Your customers can only buy if they can afford your services. Use your demographic research to get an idea of how many people in the segment have the readiness and ability to pay for your services right away.
Example: The communities around our proposed location have a median household income of $75K, which is well over the threshold of the profile family who we expect to be interested in the memberships we’d like to offer. About half of the athletes’ families in our area will be able to easily afford our prices.
Competition
Consider how difficult it will be to sell your idea considering competitors in the area. Put yourself in the shoes of your customer and consider which other alternatives they could use to obtain their goals.
Example: Because there are few competitors within a 30-minute drive of our location, we don’t expect much competition for this market segment.
Interest Level
Not every athlete will be interested in spending extra time and money to get to the next level, and your program simply won’t be a good fit for everyone. Gather some evidence to estimate how many will have an immediate interest in your services.
Example: There are also 10 non-school club programs located within a 30-minute drive of our facility, including club soccer facilities, elite baseball programs, and volleyball clubs. This indicates that many families in this area are willing to invest in competitive programs that will give their kids an edge in sports. College-bound kids, more represented in the higher income levels, will be more interested in our services.
Other Obstacles and Summary
What will make your services difficult to sell? Is the idea of sports performance training completely new to your community? Have you made connections with local coaches and other organizations?
Consider any other obstacles that might further limit your ability to sell in the short-term. Then you can estimate how much of the original market segment you can realistically expect to obtain.
Example: Based on these factors and the fact that we primarily have inroads in the baseball community, we expect that we can reasonably obtain about 3-4% of this segment in the first year of opening. That works out to about 30 monthly members for sports performance training.
Note the Sports Academy Market Industry Trends
To finish up your market research, you can add some notes on industry trends and relevant economic forecasts. You should be as detailed as possible with this and include specific examples and links to actual studies.
Example: The sports performance industry continues to grow, evidenced by the emergence of speed school franchise locations that are adding new locations every few months nationwide in communities such as ours. Studies indicate that even during recessions, parents continue to prioritize activities that they believe will help their children’s future.
The team at eSoft Planner is ready to help you make the most of your sports facility. We want you to be successful, and we can provide you with expert advice, whether you’re looking to start a new facility or considering adjustments to your existing business. Talk to our team today about how eSoft Planner can support your business
Get Your Clients to Pay 3x More by Offering Valuable Volleyball Services
Dependable revenue is key to your business survival. Which is why you give your members and players special treatment and do your best to keep them coming back year after year with your volleyball services.
But when it comes to keeping members happy and attracting new ones, most sports facilities offer the services they feel comfortable with rather than the ones a client needs.
Let’s say you have a volleyball club with a fantastic roster of coaches. You might think you offer “elite youth volleyball training.” But they need so much more to make sure their kid gets the best chance to play volleyball in college.
When you focus on how your services meet your clients’ specific needs, they will be inclined to pay you more. And that’s exactly what Momentum Volleyball Club in Centennial, Colorado, has done.
MVC understands that most of their players are aiming for the collegiate level, and that sports-specific training is just the first step. MVC also understands that their clients are willing to pay more for a package that guarantees their athletes’ success.
When you join a team at Momentum Volleyball Club, you receive great volleyball training. But you also get additional benefits that any college-bound athlete needs:
Speed and Agility Training. Being a truly elite volleyball player requires high endurance, a strong core and a high vertical jump. MVC has developed a partnership with a local speed and agility training company that works with their athletes on such fundamentals. The trainers have an office in the MVC building and work with the same teams all year long, building relationships with them and tracking their progress.
Yoga. MVC leaders know that you need every athletic edge to play at the elite level, including flexibility and mental focus. They’ve developed a great relationship with a local yoga instructor. This instructor is familiar with the flexibility needs of volleyball players and is dedicated to working with them long-term.
Recruiting. Not all MVC players will want to go on to play in college. But the ones who are interested will receive help with creating an attractive online presence for recruiters which showcases their best video clips. They also get assistance in proactively reaching out to college coaches across the country.
Conclusion
Because of the value players receive, Momentum Volleyball Club can justify a higher cost than competing clubs. Parents understand that they’re getting a great value for their money. Additionally, that their player will have everything they needs to pursue volleyball at the college level.
Momentum Volleyball Club uses eSoft Planner — our complete SaaS for easy management of all your volleyball services and packages. Click here for a demo of how eSoft Planner can fit your volleyball club’s needs.
If you own a big indoor sports complex, you know it has some high overhead expenses — such as uniforms, gear and your salaried staff. Add in seasonal cash flow changes, and business management becomes a complicated enterprise. So, making a profitable sports complex can be difficult.
Take for example Center St. Louis, which opened in a shuttered, bank-owned facility with eight volleyball courts, a fitness gym, and a 90-by-135-foot turf field. Such a facility would be difficult to manage with a large staff but for the three-person team of Center St. Louis, it required an almost devout level of hard and smart work to become profitable.
Here are four things they’ve done to maintain profits:
1. Get Anchor Tenants for Each Space
Center St. Louis has an impressive list of clients who call their space home.
Over time, they’ve landed contracts with a volleyball club, basketball trainers, a roller derby team, a few mixed martial arts organizations, and even a fencing coach — all of whom use the court space on a regular basis.
But they didn’t stop there. Center St. Louis worked to lease the entire fitness space to a personal training company. And, recognizing their limitations, they hired a consultant to help them start a baseball and softball academy in the turf field.
This diverse set of tenant relationships means Center St. Louis can fill their courts and turf more easily and not rely too much on any one income stream. They also work hard to keep their best clients, giving annual scheduling priority to the tenants who have rented the most space with them in the previous year.
2. Build Great Relationships with Neighbors
As they were opening, the Center St. Louis staff had conversations with neighboring businesses and residents to address any residual concerns from the previous owners of the complex. Then, they made efforts to fix those negative impressions.
Center St. Louis added 150 parking spaces to keep visitors out of neighboring business lots, built a privacy fence, and began picking up litter after large events.
When you’re a new business trying to establish your brand, these types of details make a difference. A positive name in the community only means more and better business over time.
3. Take the Slow Season Seriously
Space books up months in advance for the winter months. The summer, of course, is a different story. To boost activity in those months, the Center St. Louis staff offers camps and clinics throughout the week and bigger events, such as tournaments, on the weekends.
However, even with a full event schedule, they know that cash flow will dip during the slow season. To prepare, they save surplus cash from busy months in an interest-yielding money market account. These funds can be used to cover operating costs during the off-season.
A profitable sports complex needs to prioritize their operating cash. This means resisting the temptation to sink money into the physical infrastructure right away and waiting to spend it when you truly understand what it’s like to run the facility through all the seasons.
4. Create Multiple Uses for Each Large Space
Each space in your complex should have multiple uses.
One big change Center St. Louis made was to add six new batting cages to their turf field. The cages can be retracted when the full field is in use. This has added flexibility and revenue potential to the turf field.
Their courts also offer flexibility. In addition to being able to host standard volleyball and basketball activities, the courts can be combined to host bigger events, like roller derby games and MMA tournaments.
Center St. Louis uses eSoft Planner to manage the weekly scheduling of their turf, courts, and staff.
The staff uses the software to clock in, clock out, and easily view the complete daily schedule for the entire facility. Because eSoft Planner is web-based and updated in real-time, it also prevents any chance of double booking.
If you’d like to see how eSoft Planner works, click here and fill out the form to request a free demo.
This is the fourth in a series of posts on creating a business plan for a sports facility – sports facility financial strategy.
Now that you’ve thought out the details of your products, staff and operations, you can use that information to estimate your business’ finances.
We’ll do that by estimating your revenue, comparing it to your expenses, and determining if you’ll make enough profit based on those numbers.
Step 1: Monthly Revenue Estimates
First, you’ll need to review the marketing plan you created, including your plans for busy seasons, major events and promotions. Then, estimate how much revenue they’ll bring in, based on your pricing.
You should be conservative in your estimates. It’s always better to exceed expectations than to come up short, especially when trying to attract investors.
Here is an example of how you might chart out your revenue estimates for your various services:
Step 2: Monthly Expense Projections
Now it’s time to get totals for all your business expenses.
Check the operations section of your business planagain and add up all the monthly costs for your building and equipment. This includes utilities, monthly payments plus interest on any equipment that you’ve financed, rent costs, and any other regular building costs.
Add up the monthly cost of any other ongoing expenses, such as taxes, accountant’s fees, insurance, internet and phone, scheduling software, cleaning and maintenance, and security. Larger, one-time or semi-regular annual expenses, such as legal fees, should also be split up into monthly amounts and added here. Even if you paid certain expenses upfront, you should still account for them in the month they’re due, so you’ll have the money ready when the expenses come up again next year.
Total all of your expenses to get a final monthly number. If your costs and revenues vary on a monthly basis, it’s OK to list each month’s expenses separately.
Step 3: Calculate Your Profit Margin
The profit margin is a handy figure that lets you know what percentage of your revenue is going to profit. Best practices for target profit margin depend on what kind of business you have, but it is a good idea to aim for 30% minimum.
You can find the profit margin by dividing the expected profit by the total expected revenue.
Step 4: Troubleshoot and Adjust
If your profit margin drops below 30% consistently, it’s time to make some adjustments to your financial strategy.
First, determine your least profitable piece of equipment and get rid of it. Is there a less profitable area of your building that you can eliminate? Do it. What about your staff — can you justify each staff member’s pay based on the revenue they’ll bring in? Maybe you should switch to a commission-based pay structure.
Your sports facility financial strategy is the meatiest part of your business plan and incorporates all the previous steps. If these numbers don’t look right, you NEED to fix them before you move forward.
Next, you’ll need to consider and plan your exit strategy — a particularly important aspect of your business plan if you have investors or partners. We’ll look at that next month.
The team at eSoft Planner has experience helping businesses like yours be more profitable. If you’ve run your numbers and found lower profit margins than you’d like, talk to us about scheduling, marketing, and package ideas that can improve your financial performance.
Beginning the Process to Start a Volleyball Facility
Running a facility with multiple indoor courts requires a relatively large space. Because of this, most volleyball clubs start out practicing on the rented courts of school gyms, health clubs or multi-sport complexes.
But if you have a club that is well-established and have the capital, you might consider finding a more permanent location.
The Benefits of Volleyball Facility Ownership
For many volleyball club operators, owning their space can be appealing. Among the benefits:
More control.When you have exclusive ownership, you have the power to manage your facility’s schedule, noise level, cleanliness, accessibility and more. But the main appeal for many club owners is the ability to customize the space for your own needs.
Better branding.You can use club colors and logos throughout your facility’s decor and signage, which helps make your volleyball club look more professional when you begin your marketing and recruiting efforts. You can also create your ideal atmosphere for players and their families, which can boost player retention.
More ways to make money.When you have full access to a reliable space, it’s easier to provide additional services. You might consider offering private lessons, skill-specific training, team parties or even retail sales. The extra money might even allow you to hire full-time coaches, which can improve your club’s quality.
Easier to add teams.Relying on rented court space can limit the number of teams you can host each year. Your club might even grow more easily if you have your pick of scheduling hours and courts.
More consistency for your players.If you remain in charge of your space, you won’t be at the mercy of last-minute schedule changes, closings or price changes from your landlord.
These benefits don’t come cheap. In addition to a big upfront investment, you’ll have to cover overhead costs every single month. We often advise new volleyball clubs to hold off on property investment for as long as possible to make sure they are able to keep their doors open.
Research and Planning for Your Volleyball Facility
When you start a volleyball facility, to avoid cash-flow problems and make sure your volleyball facility remains viable, you need to create a business plan.
The facility will need a lot of scheduled activities for as many hours as possible each day. For that reason, many businesses choose to rent their space to local teams and other sports, or change their business model for more customer appeal.
If you’ve finished your business plan and are confident that you can cover your monthly costs, you can begin to estimate how much money you’ll need upfront.
How Much Capital Do You Need?
To determine your upfront costs, you’ll need to estimate how much money you’ll need for your property. This depends on whether you decide to build new, buy existing, or lease a building and install the courts and other infrastructure.
You’ll also need to estimate the cost of:
Office furniture and computers
Spectator seating
Signage
Plenty of volleyballs
Netting
If you plan to sell retail from your pro shop, keep in mind that distributors typically have a minimum order requirement. You’ll also need operating cash. For facilities focusing on seasonal sports in seasonal climates, we suggest beginning with nine months’ worth of operating cash.
Adding up all these estimated costs (space, equipment, operating cash) will give you an idea of the finances you’ll need to get your volleyball facility operational. You can then start looking for specific locations in your price range.
Hunting for Your Volleyball Facility Location
Finding the perfect location to start a volleyball facility can be tough. The facility needs to be wider and taller than boutique fitness and training facilities. This issue might limit the club to industrial parts of town, which lack curb appeal and easy access.
You might not get the perfect location, but you’ll probably find one that more than fits your club’s needs. Plus, the downsides of an out-of-the-way location can usually be overcome with strong marketing tactics.
Once you’ve found a location and you have general approval from members and staff, you should adjust your business plan with the new numbers. You can then use that plan to recruit potential partners and investors.
No business plan can predict all the operational challenges that you’ll face. Business plans are living documents – so you’ll have to constantly adapt to the environment. Don’t be afraid to challenge assumptions, get creative and rework your business plan now, before you’ve invested thousands of dollars and years of your life.
If you want to discuss how eSoft Planner can help streamline your volleyball facility’s scheduling and cash flow, contact us for a demo today!
