EntrePinoys Atbp.

If you love sports and want to start a business, why not combine the two?

There’s a lot of potential customers—if you own a sports and recreation business, that is. Depending on your area of interest, the possibilities are endless. For instance, if you’re an exercise-inclined entrepreneur who dreams of the day you can run your own business, then why not aim for the sports buffs? There are millions of them nationwide.

There are at least a hundred sports and recreational activities, so there isn’t much shortage of what shape your dream business could take. But first you have to back away from the couch. Turn off the TV. And put away those chips.

What’s Out There

Intimidated because you think the big corporations like Nike have already conquered the sports and recreation world? Don’t be. There are more than enough opportunities out there. So much so that even Nike would probably encourage sports- and recreation-minded entrepreneurs to “Just do it.” You’re only limited by your imagination, so arm yourself with some statistics, and we’ll try to help you brainstorm.

According to the Outdoor Industry Association, young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 participated in at least one human-powered activity in 2001, which was a modest increase of 3.6 percent. Human-powered activities? That would include pastimes like kayaking, canoeing and backpacking, which were all part of that 3.6 percent. And so you could start a business that’s involved with manufacturing or selling kayaking equipment, paddles or backpacks—and, hey, if backpacks interest you, you could offer a product line that appeals to everybody from the rugged mountaineer to a 12-year-old who has too many textbooks for his two arms.

Echoing our thinking is Mark Beal, one of several partners at New York City-based Alan Taylor Communications, the country’s leading sports marketing and public relations company. “Sports is not the three or four major leagues,” says Beal. “It’s the amateur level, the professional level, the grassroots level. There is a lot of opportunity out there, and if you have blinders on, and you just think of professional baseball, basketball and football, you’re missing a lot of opportunities, many of them in your own backyard.”

So start looking in your backyard, and start thinking. Yeah, so? Well, if one of these rail trails is near where you live or where you’d like to live, you could rent bicycles to these people. Or if you just like bicyclists but don’t want to rent cycles or repair them, you could feed the cycling crowd, with a chain of snack shacks offering everything from power energy drinks to ice cream sodas. (Families ride on these trails, too, you know.) Or think of the nearby skateboarding parks that might offer an entrepreneur some business opportunities—selling skateboards, repairing them, selling bandages, you name it. These are all ideas worth thinking about, but: “You have to be in love with the market you serve,” says Ray Pelletier, a motivational coach in Miami Lakes, Florida, who specializes in motivating coaches and players on the university circuit—which, hey, is another area of sports, or another type of career, that you could be thinking about.

“Sports is really branching out into a lot of different areas,” notes Beal. “You see it with extreme sports, and a lot of adventure racing and endurance sports. If you think back to the 1970s, you always had your mainstream sports, and those are still very strong—tennis, boxing and basketball, for instance. But there are newer things that have sprouted up, and they’re not going away.”

Coaching

“Those who can’t do, teach,” goes the old saying. Teachers around the world probably wince every time they hear that, especially if you’re Melissa Dostis, who spent 15 years in competitive ice skating and now runs Total Body & Soul Inc., having started it just after graduating from the University of Delaware. She’s using her skills as the foundation of a coaching business. She focuses on ice skating, but she understands the importance of diversification, having trained football, soccer and lacrosse teams. Depending on the time involved, and the beauty of coaching is that your start-up costs are virtually nonexistent. You’re selling knowledge, not fitness equipment.

Dostis, who will be 25 in December, opened her business right out of college, in 1999. It’s still in the start-up phase—Dostis has no employees, but she insists she will. She says her business is growing at about 20 percent each year—and it’s lucrative.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned about this business is that it is a business. You’re doing something you love, and working with kids, and it is very personal, but it is a business.” And does Dostis ever wish she were carrying a briefcase to work every day? Doesn’t sound like it. “Honestly, stick with what you love,” she says. “That would be my advice. I have so many friends who are in jobs that they don’t love. I love going to work every day, I look forward to spending time with everybody I work with.”

Teaching

The differences between coaching and teaching are subtle, but they’re there. A coach is generally working with somebody who knows what they’re doing but needs to know how to do it better. A teacher is often working with complete beginners.

Run Your Business—Literally

Anton Villatoro, 32, and Chuck Trujillo, 36, are the founders of the Mile High City Marathon, in Denver, of course. You wouldn’t think of a once a year event like a marathon as a business, but it is. For three years now, Villatoro and Trujillo, marathoners themselves, have spent all their energy and time on making sure they pull off a race of a lifetime. It can be a profitable business, but a challenging one, admits Villatoro.

“Expenses are relatively fixed,” said Villatoro in a hurried e-mail two days before the big race. “Various costs [are] attached to the runners, [which they pay for], including race T-shirts, time services and race numbers.

Cash flow—flooding in before the race, not so much after—is tricky, admits Villatoro, who ironically can never run in his own marathon, since he and Trujillo are too busy putting in on. Ultimately, Villatoro and Trujillo intend to create spin-off marathon events throughout the 12 months to generate more excitement and income, and they envision duplicating their eventual success in other cities. If they can pull that off, their business should have a nice, long run.

It can’t be said enough, with any business that you plan to begin: Love what you do. Otherwise, when you fumble and stumble, or when you hit that low point, you’re going to hate your business—and your life. “It’s incredibly competitive,” says Pelletier, thinking of the university level of sports. “It’s as competitive off the field, to do a sports business, as it is on the field, playing the game. It’s a big business, and it can be easy to get disillusioned with the business side of sports.” But if you love what you do, you’re less likely to be disillusioned.

Find Your Niche

If you’re still hurting for sports and recreation ideas, here are some ideas to consider:

• Publish a local sports or recreation magazine.
• Start a graphics design company that specializes in sports.
• Find a baseball or football stadium and open a business where the people are.
• Focus on the relaxing part of recreation, as not all recreation is active—like sunbathing.
• Tap into your medical background, if you have one, and start a business that handles sports-related injuries.
• Find an underserved but beloved sport or recreation with an unfulfilled need, and you probably have the makings of a successful business.
• Organize and manage amateur sporting events for enthusiasts.

Don’t Fumble

Before you get too excited about going into a sports or recreational business, here are some key things to remember:

• Most sports and recreation businesses are seasonal, so you’ll likely always have some downtime in your business.
• Making contacts is important, and knowing when to approach them is, too. If you want a coach to try your product, reach him before the season begins, not in the middle of it, when his or her pressure is the highest.
• While you need to love this sport, others do, too. The stranger the sport or recreation, unless it’s growing, the more difficult it’s going to be to make money.

About the author: Geoff Williams is a freelance journalist based in Loveland, Ohio. Maybe it was his binocular-sized glasses or his dweeb-like wardrobe, but as a kid he was almost always picked last to play on teams in gym. Originally published in the November 2002 issue of Entrepreneurs Start-Ups magazine (www.entrepreneur.com) photo from muralsforkids.com

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