Starting Out – Getting the Name Out
There!
By Des Shaw
27/01/14
This my first ever blog entry and let me tell you I am by no means a ‘Joyce’ or a ‘Wilde’ when it comes to writing but I think my blogs post will be legible and pass the grade for most. Also I want to state that I am by no means a ‘Mike Boyle’ when it comes to strength and conditioning or a ‘Brian Coady’ or ‘Mourinho’ when it comes to coaching either. My point is I am an aspiring coach trying to get started and get a business off the ground; I don’t know it all and will never claim to.
So a mentor of mine once told me, ‘Des you’ve got to do self reflection it’s an amazing tool for enabling self learning and growth.’ So I figured why not write a blog which will help me self reflect and also maybe help somebody else out there while I am at it, by sharing my ideas and experiences.
I am a graduate of a BA in Sports Management and Coaching, a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) Tutor, an ex inter-county hurler, an aspiring video analyst and a strength and conditioning coach. While I might not be an expert in any field yet, I am not a novice either. I have 10 years field coaching experience, 5 years strength and conditioning coaching experience and 1 year video analysis experience. But enough about me or I could bore you to death, back to the topic at hand.
I have been coaching for a long time but the majority of this took place
on my own free time and free of charge and I am finally starting to feel like,
"Hey you have acquired all these qualifications, skills and experience,
don't you think it’s time you start a career for yourself in this area?"
Being from a GAA background and having a deep passion for it, I suppose this
should and kind of does go against everything I stand for with whole voluntary
ethos of the GAA. But after observing the last decade, it’s apparent that a lot
of professional people are making careers from the GAA availing of their
services such as physiotherapists, strength and conditioning experts,
nutritionists, psychologists, coaches and the list goes on. So I am of the
opinion now with my experience both as an inter-county player and an amateur
coach I can carve out a career in this competitive sports industry and more
importantly I have a burning desire to!
So where to start??? I feel like any business, advertisement is the key.
‘Getting the name out there’ and ‘word of mouth’ more importantly are crucial
for any business to excel and particularly in the service industry.
Building a solid reputation is important because referrals from previous
clients are paramount to more offers and opportunities. I feel that I have some
reputation in the GAA circles already both locally and beyond but its more for
my playing days than coaching, which is the current predicament I'm in now. How
do I get my name out there as a coach and get my business off the ground
because people who know me will probably assume I’m still tied up with
putting all my efforts into playing.
So my plan of attack is to target these areas highlighted below to start
with:
Blogs are great for sharing your thoughts and opinions on whatever topic
you wish. All lot of top coaches in the sports industry use them to share their
experiences, knowledge, observations etc. in order to provoke thought, debate
and attract more followers or potential clients. A good blog can create an
online following and can give a further sense of credibility to your business.
Webpages are perfect for showcasing you and your business. It can
highlight what you can offer and allow you to differentiate yourself from
others. It can be used to showcase your recent achievements or keep viewers up
to date with what you have been doing. It can be used to promote your services
with online competitions or special offers, perfect for attracting new
customers.
2. Twitter
Twitter is a great social media site for generating more interest in
your business. It allows you to create a following for your page and allows you
instantaneous access to your followers via twitter posts or direct mail. It’s
perfect for sharing your ideas, videos etc. or other good articles which may be
of benefit to your followers. You can also follow and interact with Industry
leaders too. It’s a great tool for networking but I feel it’s best for both
sharing and gaining new ideas and information.
3. Facebook
Facebook is probably the most used social media website in the world and
although it’s primarily based for personal use or personal avatars it can and
has been used by businesses for promotional purposes. This medium can reach a
lot of people depending on how big your personal follower base is but your
business page can be distributed or shared to gain new followers increasing
your exposure. Pictures, videos, blogs, competitions, events etc. can be posted
and can promote your business to all your followers. However your material may
not always reach your target audience as your followers news feed are packed
with others posts and your information can be missed or overlooked.
4. Youtube Page
Youtube is a great tool for uploading your video. It’s perfect for
sharing your ideas through video because shooting and uploading your own video
is now relatively easy to do. People love visuals; personally it’s nice to read
great articles but sometimes it’s nice to use video to highlight your points
too. This is a must for the sports industry in my opinion. Good videos can
generate a bigger following for your business.
Networking is a huge aspect of business and always will be. Being able
to meet people in your industry and talk face to face can be hugely beneficial
to any business person. This can allow you to impress upon potential clients,
the type of personality you are (which sometimes can mean more than the product
or service your offering) and what you can offer them. This can also allow you
to network with industry leaders and perhaps get some advice from them too.
It’s a perfect opportunity to advertise yourself and your business by whatever
methods you can, be it just talking with people or handing out business cards
or flyers. Coaching conferences or workshops are perfect for this. With these
large audiences in one place you can reach out to large amount people within
the industry at the one time.
So it took some time and thought but I have finished my webpage ( I used
blogspot, it's free and easy to set up perfect for starting out), social media
pages, youtube channel and I am set up now and ready for action. I’ve have just
got to promote them like hell to get some followers or viewers (I will get
friends and acquaintances to 'share', 'retweet' and 'like' my material to
generate initial promotion). I will add a little advice here that i feel
it’s hugely important to keep in mind; keeping new content flowing on these
types of mediums is crucial because as a follower myself of other people in the
industry you want to see new material all the time or you can lose interest
very quickly in their material or lack of. Following this I had some business
cards and flyers created recently which I hope to use to promote my new venture
when I network at future coaching conferences and workshops (Another great
networking opportunity is playing against other sporting teams; introduce
yourself to the opposition manager, chairman, secretary etc. another opportunity
to work with them may arise in the future from this). These are very simple and
relatively cheap marketing tools but ones I feel will prove very beneficial and
will give my business a little more credibility and something for people to
remember me by.
So that’s it for the moment, I'm heading into the unknown now with the
determination to succeed and develop my business in the hope it can become a career
and not just a hobby or passion. I will continue to post here on Shaw Sport Performance Solutions and
if anybody out there has some helpful and constructive advice leave me a
comment. Lastly I hope this maybe of some help to others like me in the future.
Wish me luck!!
Do Everything Better!
Des Shaw
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