By keeping an eye on their business goals, Cotton Mill Pickleball Club in Tupelo, Mississippi is finding success and looking forward to the future in the short time they’ve been in business.
Since opening in February of 2024, membership and offerings have grown steadily due to their smart business practices and focus on what matters to them as a club.
“We started with the idea that as long as we can pay the bills, we’re happy,” Co-manager and part-owner Julie Halbert, said. She and the other investors started the four-court facility to give them a place to play out of the elements when needed. With air conditioning and heat, Cotton Mill Pickleball Club does just that.
Before opening the club, Julie put her accounting background to work and researched a variety of financial scenarios. What will their fixed costs be? How many members do they need to break even? When might they earn back their investment? Which booking and financial systems are most popular and why?
She also contacted other clubs of similar sizes to learn what payment and court reserve systems they use, and how they attract and keep members.
“Before building our website, I looked at other sites so we didn’t have to recreate the wheel to offer a user-friendly site,” Julie stated. She also researched membership pricing to ensure it lined up with their demographics. “The pickleball community is more like a family than competitors which makes the start-up process a bit easier,” she says.
After a solid six months in operation, Cotton Mill Pickleball started to get a good feel for monthly operating expenses. Julie noted it is important to get costs under control and cash flow what you can for the health of club finances. Through member feedback and operational observations, they prioritized upgrades to help with growth and implemented them in phases starting with nets. Then TV’s were added. As the club’s popularity grew a remote door lock system was installed along with security cameras. Next on the docket is better lighting.
She advises learning the demographics of your potential member base to ensure dues are affordable and will still generate income for the club. “A lot of our members are retired teachers which we’ve found to be some of the best members b/c they love to help!” The club priced its dues accordingly and is now up to 130 members in only 10 months.
Looking ahead at possible challenges to the pickleball club world Julie notes many people are building pickleball courts at home now for convenience and access to playing time. These factors make it even more important to find the sweet spot for court time and give members a reason to visit – and pay for – a club by offering amenities.
“Our members book court time through the Court Reserve app which also interfaces with our door lock system allowing members full access to all of our court times,” she says. CMP also offers instructors for private lessons and has had IPTPA-certified instructor and Senior Professional Player Stephanie Lane to the club along with other professionals which keeps members involved.
Julie says the clinics have been very successful. “We keep the costs reasonable for members and non-members alike. It’s a great way to get people in the club and our members have increased their skills!” The clinics are open to the public thereby creating more membership opportunities.
Another service that can set clubs apart and be a revenue stream is through paddle and accessory sales and demos. CMP currently sells Selkirk and says it has been very successful. She also noted the company has been great to work with as a first-time retailer.
A wise location choice is also instrumental in a club’s success. Tupelo is growing and CMP is in the heart of it. The city plans to put a walkway/trail nearby and a restaurant is being built next to their courts leading the owners to discuss adding more playing spaces and dream about what’s next.
“By listening to our members and making connections with others in the pickleball community we have our eye on growth and are excited about what’s to come for us!”
