When we started Elevate in 2016, we had NO idea what we were doing. We had zero business experience, Danie was a full-time teacher, and Ari was a business school drop-out after 2 years. We’ve learned a few things along the way and are now offering license opportunities with Elevate! Of course, there is nothing stopping you from starting your own small ultimate / disc golf business by yourself 🙂 Here are 4 steps to get started.
- Figure out your WHY
- Assess your situation
- Start small
- Scale
1. Figure out your WHY
Starting a business takes money but more importantly, your most valuable asset: Time. There are a million things you could be doing right now and if you aren’t doing something that lights you up and aligns with your core values and life mission, it can make life pretty difficult.
Why do you want to start an ultimate / disc golf business for kids? What about that excites you? Is that reason something you’d be willing to work hard for? Would you be willing to spend your money and time on getting kids active and healthy?
While there aren’t exactly “wrong” answers, there is a reason why this is the first step. If your why is just about making money or just because you love playing ultimate, those might not be strong enough to get you through the inevitable tough and stressful days of owning a business.
2. Assess your situation
Knowing that starting a business takes time and money, assess your situation…do you have time and money? Are you taking 5 classes in university right now or working from home as a freelancer? Do you have a bit of savings in the bank or are you living pay cheque to pay cheque? How much time can you afford to spend to get the business off the ground?
Once those are figured out, what is your network like? Are you a well known ultimate / disc golf player or coach in the community that parents and kids could get excited about? If not, do you know people that are?
Lastly, assess your entrepreneurial spirit in the past. How well do you follow through on projects? How do you work on a team? How much do you like the creative process?
3. Start small
The #1 mistake you can make here is trying to get 200 kids into your program before you get 5, or even 1. Start small to hone in your curriculum and style, and communication processes. Can you organize a few private lessons for kids in your community? Can those private lessons turn into semi-private lessons? Can those semi-private lessons turn into a 10 week program with 8 – 10 kids? Start small and learn what it’s like to get paid to coach ultimate / disc golf!
4. Scale
Once you have a solid base of returning customers, re-invest the profit to scale. Take out small ads in popular parenting blogs, spend some money on facebook ads, create referral programs, and talk to schools. Don’t be afraid to do some free demos to get the word out!
Well there you go! It’s of course barebones, but should be enough to get you started.
If you would like to skip over the hundreds of mistakes we made in the early years and have our support in marketing, sales, and curriculum, we have some options for you!
If you are interested in learning more, download our free business overview report to get an inside look into Elevate Ultimate! (Scroll to bottom of page)
Learn our vision, mission, and values
Understand our general business model
What parents have to say about us
Next steps