“You have to spend money to make money” is a common quote amongst business owners that can be a tad scary for small businesses and start-ups. As a pickleball club owner, when is the right time to invest money to make money? And where should you start? Through many interviews with clubs, PCM has been able to learn a few things about when it might be the right time to invest in your club for a stronger future.
When opening a club, many owners feel the best financial decision is to keep it small and for good reason. It isn’t uncommon for an owner/co-owner to do the marketing, scheduling, hiring and even work at the front desk. While this allows for some financial flexibility the ability to meet members and see firsthand how the club runs, it can also be quite taxing and at a certain point inhibit profitability.
Cody Conti, Vice President of Operations for Electric Pickle in Tempe, AZ, says due to circumstances beyond their control that kept moving the opening date, his staff was unable to presell anything. When the club opened, the interest was so great thanks to their early marketing it was unmanageable.
“We had one special events manager for two months and their entire day became responding to phone calls and emails,” Cody says. “They weren’t able to drum up new business and felt completely overwhelmed. We knew this wasn’t sustainable for our staff member and in the long run wasn’t going to be profitable. Especially once the long run included expansion plans.”
Even without expanding the business, Electric Pickle needed to remedy the situation to encourage growth. Cody expanded the sales team to include positions such as a regional sales director, a sales/special events manager and an assistant store manager who each serve different functions.
Assigning each role separate tasks keeps the Electric Pickle calendar filled.
The assistant manager helps on the floor a bit with operations but otherwise is out in the market daily with local businesses, checking with hotels to drum up foot traffic from their guests and makes cold calls for the special event team. That information is passed along to the special events manager allowing the assistant manager to get back to the task of finding new business. The special events manager can then focus on handling the events and ensuring each event goes off smoothly and delights the customer. Lastly the regional sales director provides structure for all and keeps the days on track.
“Having clearly defined goals and a structured day is the key to success,” Cody passed along. “A typical day for members of our sales team could look like answering emails until 10:30, then working on developing new business until noon, after a quick daily meeting check-in, it’s time for some grassroots marketing. After that, time to return calls and make packets for local groups to start all over the next day!”
With the understanding that every club might not have the budget or expansion plans to warrant a three-person team, Electric Pickle provides a great example of investing in extra staff to grow the business. Maybe adding a part-time dedicated salesperson can take off some of the burden and grow revenue. Is there a retired marketer or sales club member who would do some work in exchange for a free or reduced membership? Or do you have your sights set on franchising and really want to ramp up your efforts? Put an ad out in LinkedIn or even around the club and see what happens!
Another role that can lift a large burden from owners and the executive team is a club manager. Imagine being able to focus on your business while someone else handles hiring, ensuring court time is optimized for maximum profit and all the other day-to-day happenings that keep your club running smoothly.
While pickleball is a newer sport, many of the club operations are the same as a tennis club, Stephanie Keegan, pickleball program director for The Bay Club in Edmonds, WA. She recommends clubs, and new pickleball directors and club managers look to the tennis world for guidance.
“Running pickleball and tennis clubs are similar enough while not being identical,” Stephanie says. “It’s a great idea to talk to tennis directors and while it isn’t possible to completely model pickleball directors after tennis directors, clubs and new directors can learn some things from them or look to experienced tennis directors as potential pickleball directors.”
Whatever growing pains your club might be having, it’s important to take a step back, check your financial ledgers and consider if reinvesting in staff or structure can alleviate those pains. Whether it’s adding one dedicated person to sales, bringing on a club manager, or simply redefining internal roles, these changes can help take your club to the next level.
