Sand - Sports - Business - Opportunities

Let's bring back the good ol' days of sand volleyball in a whole new way! Part Eight: Discovery Day (if you have not read the previous blogs, please scroll down)

2012-03-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

Planning a trip to Omaha has turned out to be even more exciting than you originally anticipated; not only will you be able to finally meet the Thunder Beach company in person and tour complexes, you and your wife realized that the College World Series just happened to be in town at the very same time. The two of you consulted with Thunder Beach and arranged to take a Friday off from your jobs in order to participate in a Discovery Day. It will be a great opportunity for you to get a firsthand look at the franchise business and show them that you are serious about becoming a franchisee and take the final step.

Your bags are packed and ready to go on Thursday, and you catch a flight out of Phoenix at seven pm which arrives just before ten in Omaha. The flight was pleasant and the two of you enjoyed having the time to relax and unwind after a long week. After you have gathered your bags you are met by a Thunder Beach representative who takes you to the DoubleTree Hotel downtown and you check into a modest but comfortable room. You are both ready for a good night of rest before your big day, and after reiterating a few details about the trip you drift off to sleep.

The sun is shining through the edge of the window in your room and you are awakened by it. You are about to roll over and wake up your wife when you get a glimpse of her sleeping softly with a hint of a smile on her face. You think better of it and head to the shower, giving her a few extra minutes of sleep. You are on vacation, after all, and it's only right to let her enjoy a little extra sleep. Around 8:30 you are both ready to go and the representative takes you to a quaint little restaurant in the Old Market for a nine am breakfast with a member of the Thunder Beach executive team. You are there a few minutes early and wait in the lobby, and shortly before nine a tall and confident young woman arrives and introduces herself. Over the next hour, the three of you enjoy a lovely breakfast and conversation with the Thunder Beach member. She asks about your background and work experience in a polite way, and you are more than happy to share since you immediately sense a warm and welcoming vibe from her. She also shares some of the history of Thunder Beach, which you recall partially from the webinar you attended a few weeks back.

After breakfast, the three of you head to the Thunder Beach offices and are greeted by the CEO of Thunder Beach, Mr. Tim McCormack. He is pleased to meet you and give you a tour of the headquarters where you are able to see a number of employees working at desks, some of them taking calls. He explains the operation to you and introduces you to a few of his other representatives. Noon rolls around quickly and he offers to take you and your wife out to lunch. During your lunch as you are conversing with Mr. McCormack, you are growing even more certain in the decision that you have made to become a franchisee and join Thunder Beach. You once again exchange the familiar look with your wife, who understands and nods back in reassurance. The two of you are as ready as ever to do this.

The afternoon is spent touring a couple of complexes in Omaha and one in the nearby capital city of Lincoln, which you find very interesting and a fun way to see the kind of work Mr. McCormack has been doing over the last several years. You are most intrigued by one of the complexes in Omaha that has an exceptionally large and modern facility with eleven sand volleyball courts, and you envision one day owning a place of similar magnitude yourself.

As the afternoon draws to a close, it is time for the final step in the Discovery Day. You gather with your wife and Mr. McCormack at the Thunder Beach offices and sit down to review and sign the franchise documents. Your heart is pounding and the sweat glistening on your forehead as you take the last and most important step in becoming a franchisee, and you remember the first day you thought of this new and exciting idea and what it felt like, which has a calming effect on you. Your wife shows little emotion but you know that deep down she is just as excited and nervous as you are as you finish the last of the documents. You sign the Franchise Option Agreement and present Mr. McCormack with a check. Upon completion, he shakes your hand firmly and congratulates you on becoming a Thunder Beach franchisee. You know that while it is the end of one process, it is the beginning of a whole new one for you and your family as you venture out and grab hold of this unique and promising opportunity.

To be continued...

Look for the next blog and follow the life of a Thunder Beach franchisee!

Kari J. Sawyer, contributing author

Let's bring back the good ol' days of sand volleyball in a whole new way! Part Seven: Going over the franchise documents and details (if you have not read the previous blogs, please scroll down)

2012-02-28T11:01:00.005-08:00

It was just another day at the office and as you were about to pour your second cup of coffee the phone rings, nearly causing you to drop the pot. You are a self-admitted caffeine addict: yes, you actually have a coffee maker right by your desk. It is your loan officer on the line and he has great news: you are pre-approved for the loan! Immediately after hanging up with him you dial your wife to share the news, and she is also very excited and ready to continue the process. Later in the evening the two of you are watching your favorite program at home when your wife reminds you that you need to access the franchisee forms online and let Thunder Beach know that you are pre-approved for the loan. You smile and playfully nudge her for keeping you on your toes as she so often does, as she is a woman who likes to get things done quickly and efficiently.

The following morning you check your email and locate the link and password that Thunder Beach has sent you. You have some time in the afternoon to access the website, which has a more detailed franchise application and a nondisclosure agreement for you to fill out and then sign electronically. After completing both, you submit them to Thunder Beach and send a quick email letting them know that you are pre-approved for the loan. A couple of days later as you are checking your email you notice that you have received an email stating that you are now an official franchise candidate. It also contains another link and password to the franchise disclosure document, which you access and then sign off electronically that you have received it. The email informs you that legally, you have ten business days to read over the FDD, and Thunder Beach suggests that you read it a total of three times and take it to your attorney and/or accountant. The first reading should be to get an idea and general understanding of the document, the second to make notes of any questions, comments or concerns that you have and the final reading should be to try to answer some of your questions on your own. They let you know that will answer any remaining questions or concerns that you have via a conference call with Thunder Beach personnel at some point during the ten days.

The next evening you and your wife set about the task of reading and going over the franchise disclosure document; conveniently, it is a chilly and rainy night so you cozy up in the living room and begin the process. It is a lengthy task, seeing as the document is about 125 pages long but fortunately you and your wife in particular are excellent readers. By the end of the night you have the gist of the document and set it aside for a day.

It is bright and sunny as you stroll into your attorney's office with the document in hand; he has agreed to meet with you so you can go over it together. After you are both satisfied with the document, you decide to give it a couple more days and then do a second reading and make notes. Meanwhile, your friend has asked to meet you over drinks to discuss Thunder Beach. You meet at your favorite spot and catch up for a few minutes. His tone is more serious as he lets you know that his parents have agreed to front him the money if his SBA loan is not approved. The approval process takes anywhere from 60 to 90 days, he warns you, but either way he is your man. The two of you agree that at some point you will have a formal agreement drawn up stating the exact terms of your partnership, with your friend being a one third owner. You know that you can trust him because of the lifetime friendship that you have, but you are aware that things must be done correctly and legally regardless. You end the evening with a toast to Thunder Beach and your successful future together not only as friends but soon-to-be business partners.

A week has passed since you received the franchise disclosure document and you have just read it a third time and attempted to answer some of your questions and concerns. It is now time to arrange a conference call with Thunder Beach; over your lunch break you call their office and speak with a secretary who arranges the time for the call and before you know it you and your wife are on the line with Mr. McCormack and a couple of his close staff. You only have a few questions regarding the process of constructing a complex, how payments are made with purchasing and some of the technical details in the document like protected territory, expansion, transfer of the franchise, termination rights, increase in regards to fees, training and on going support. Your questions are answered promptly and succinctly, with no doubts remaining in your mind by the end of the conversation. The next step is to plan the Thunder Beach "Discovery Day," which is a day that you and your wife will fly to Omaha, Nebraska to visit the Thunder Beach Headquarters and tour some of the complexes that Mr. McCormack has built. It will be a chance to finally meet the owner and members of the company in person and sign the franchise documents. The moment you have been waiting for is about to arrive and you are both prepared mentally and financially to take this next big step in the process.

To be continued...

Look for the next blog and follow the life of a Thunder Beach franchisee!

Kari J. Sawyer, contributing author

Let's bring back the good ol' days of sand volleyball in a whole new way! Part Six: Looking for the financing to build your dream business (if you have not read the previous blogs, please scroll down)

2012-02-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

Anyone can have a dream, but only a few are successful because they have worked for it and wanted it more than anything else. They have visualized it, tasted it, lived it and breathed it day in and day out. Those are the ones who make it. Do you have what it takes?..You wake up suddenly, heart pounding and covered in a cold sweat. You aren't sure who it was in the dream who spoke to you but it was warm and familiar yet firm and unknown all at the same time. After shaking away the cobwebs you glance at the clock and realize it is time to get ready for your meeting with the loan officer. Your wife suggested that you both sit down and discuss the financial possibilities so that you will know whether or not you can proceed as a potential franchisee.

At nine o'clock sharp you find yourselves face to face with an experienced loan officer at your local bank and begin to explain your ideas to him. You go through some of the important information about Thunder Beach and the layout of your business plan to become a franchisee. He is immediately glad to hear that you are working with a franchise rather than starting a business on your own since this is your first venture as a business owner and the franchise has already been proven to be successful in the past. You tell him that you need to prequalify for a loan of around $150,000 in order to take the next step in the process and that you have already found several good locations that could possibly be used to build courts. He questions the two of you on how much research you have done and cautions you on the risks involved, but after you explain more details to him he is ready to get you started and has you fill out the loan documents. He goes over your credit, finances and options with you in the next hour and at the end of the meeting he assures you that he will have a response for you within a week after he meets with the loan committee. He is confident that because of your longtime membership with the bank and the assets you listed on the application it should be a go. The silent nod between you and your wife is all you need to know that you are on the same page and are equally ready to make the investment when the time comes.

Over the weekend you and your good friend drive out to three locations that you found to be promising on your first scouting trip and walk out the land with each step equalling about three feet. All of the locations meet the size requirements and you jot down the numbers to relay to Thunder Beach personnel later. You are most interested in the land next to a family fun center since you can envision it being a great place to bring your children and new grandchild. On the way home, your friend confesses that he met with a loan officer and will not be able to get a conventional loan so he submitted an application for approval of an SBA guarantee loan of $50,000, which he is waiting to hear back on. The two of you collaborate on the possibility of owning the business two thirds to one third and dividing up responsibilities accordingly. You are willing to work with him because he is someone you've always been able to count on and you know that he is just as passionate about the franchisee dream as you are.

Monday afternoon rolls around and you place another call to Mr. McCormack, who is ready as always to go over information with you. You let him know that you have walked out three potential buildout locations and give him the addresses and contact information for each of the businesses associated with the locations. After mentioning that you favor the family fun center location he agrees that he likes where you are going with that idea, as he is a family man himself. You also let him know that you met with a loan officer and are waiting for a response but that you are confident you will be prequalified for a loan of $150,000. He will be sending you franchisee forms to be filled out and explains that he will be contacting the businesses with the available land that you provided him to see if they are interested in the Thunder Beach franchise. If one of them are interested and you receive the go ahead from the bank, you will be able to submit the franchise option fee and a Thunder Beach team will meet in person with you and the business owner of the location in order to work out a negotiation and get the ball rolling. By the time you get off the phone you can barely contain your excitement and do a little victory dance in the breakroom, much to the amusement of your coworkers. Little do they know, you are getting closer every second to launching a hot, new franchise business and making your dreams come true.

To be continued...

Look for the next blog and follow the life of a Thunder Beach franchisee!

Kari J. Sawyer, contributing author

Let's bring back the good ol' days of sand volleyball in a whole new way! Part Five: Looking for a franchise location (if you have not read the previous blogs, please scroll down)

2012-02-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

There's nothing better than waking up in the morning refreshed and well-rested, and that was exactly how you felt the moment you opened your eyes the day after the webinar. Time for another exciting day in the life of a budding entrepreneur, you muse to yourself as you get out of bed. Over breakfast, you have a light discussion with your wife about taking the next step in the Thunder Beach process. You both agree that you will meet with a loan officer and discuss your options, but in the meanwhile you can't wait to start scouting around for possible franchise locations in your city. Your 9 to 5 is calling, however, so you reluctantly head to the office and settle in for the time being. During your lunch hour, a few doubts creep into your mind: I've never owned a business before, how will I pull this off? Is this really a good idea? Would I be crazy to leave my current job? On and on the doubts are piling up until you step back and remember last night's webinar. It's a "turn key franchise," they will guide me every step of the way. Do I really want to stay in this job? I'm tired of sitting at a desk and staring at a computer screen. This is a chance for me to get out there and make a name for myself, to love what I do for a living. You call your friend who had agreed to partner with you when you met with him for happy hour last week and bounce a few questions off of him. He is as eager as before and volunteers to go scouting for locations with you after you get off work.

You pick up your friend around 5:30 and begin driving around and brainstorming ideas, and you pass along some information from the webinar to him. By the end of the evening, you have a few possible locations in mind; there is a new club being built out west on a large plot of land with no sign of any sand volleyball or sand soccer courts in the making. There was also a driving range that looked very promising and a family fun center with a couple of acres nearby. Even the bar and grill you ate dinner at seemed to have potential since it had some unoccupied space adjacent to it. As you are about to drop your friend off for the night, he suggests that you go ahead and give Tim McCormack a call and ask him about some of the details on building a court. When you get home, your wife is in agreement with your friend's suggestion and you decide you will make the call soon.

A couple of days later you reach Mr. McCormack and discuss a few of your questions. Exactly how much land is needed for a court? How much would it cost to build five courts? He answers that ideally, the size of the court should be 80x50,' but it could also be 70x40' and there should be more space on the side and at the ends. The cost of building five courts would be approximately $75,000, and this includes cutting in the drainage system, buying a sand raking machine, installing outdoor showers, fences and other such details. You inform him that you are very interested in becoming a franchisee, you have started looking for locations and that you plan on talking to a loan officer in the near future. He suggests that the two of you set up a meeting to go over more information and for you to fill out a Thunder Beach franchisee application. As the very pleasant and beneficial conversation comes to an end, you thank him for his time and assure him that you will get together soon. You are fully aware that things are about to get serious - and you can hardly wait.

To be continued...

Look for the next blog and follow the life of a Thunder Beach franchisee!

Kari J. Sawyer, contributing author

Let's bring back the good ol' days of sand volleyball in a whole new way! Part Four: A franchise information webinar (if you have not read the previous blogs, please scroll down)

2012-02-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

The possibility of becoming a franchisee has consumed you ever since the first moment you stumbled across the Thunder Beach website on a dreary Monday morning and your heart began to beat a little quicker. You were caught up in daydreams of your youth, remembering the fun you had and the beginning of a romance when fate came knocking at your door in the form of a sand volleyball franchise opportunity. Now it is all you can think about, your every waking moment is full of questions and at night you dream of owning a franchise - you can feel the excitement and you can hear the laughter of the enthusiastic players who have gathered at your complex. Your wife has been gracious enough to give you a reality check and make sure that the two of you ask all the right questions, however, and for that you are most thankful. She is a wise and savvy business woman who is willing to explore the possibilities but not without examining all the important details. You were able to find some good information on the Thunder Beach website, but you both know that there is more to learn. It is Tuesday evening, the night of the Thunder Beach webinar, and you have both finished dinner and are preparing some questions ahead of time. You received an email last week after filling out the request for information form on the company website, and it contains a link that you will need to click on 15 minutes prior to the start of the webinar, which is 7:30 PM Central time. You glance at the clock and see that it is already 6:45 so the two of you get right to it. You decide that the most important questions you have that need to be answered are really just logistics: How much will it cost? How long does it take to build out a complex? How do you find locations, who leases the property, and of course - how much money can you make? You compile your list of questions in no time at all and are ready to click the link at the appropriate time. The webinar begins with Tim McCormack, the CEO of Thunder Beach, giving an opening speech.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our Thunder Beach webinar. Tonight's presentation is to address how you can achieve your personal goals by becoming a Thunder Beach franchisee. We all have personal goals; some of us want to control our own destiny, others want to earn a good living, and still others want to become a VIP in their community. While I wish that we could wave a magic wand and achieve all of those things, we can't. It should be understood that whatever we choose to do as our work, it takes commitment, time and dedication. Anyone who has these attributes has the possibility of becoming a successful Thunder Beach franchisee. I'd like to now turn the presentation over to the Thunder Beach Marketing Director and Trainer who will navigate you through the steps in becoming a franchisee and answer any questions that you may have."

You look at each other and nod in a familiar and understood way: so far so good. The trainer begins with the history of Thunder Beach and some general information about becoming a franchisee. At about 8 o'clock, she invites those listening to submit their questions, so you send her the list that you and your wife created. She begins to answer in no time at all.

"Those are some really great questions, and I imagine that many of you tonight have similar ones so I will address these to the whole group right away. Your start up cost can be anywhere from $37,000 to $175,000 depending upon the number of courts you have in your complex. It takes on average three to six weeks to build out a complex, and there are two ways to find a location: if you find one yourself, it must meet Thunder Beach requirements, and for that we have a 24 point checklist, of which your location must meet 17 of the 24 points. The other way is that we can help you find a target location, and those are usually driving ranges, golf courses, family fun centers, water parks, softball complexes, bowling centers, sports bars/restaurants - and any place with a liquor license that has land next to it, so as you can see the possibilities are endless. After a location has been found and approved, Thunder Beach leases the property and then subleases it to you, the franchisee. The most important question that you have as a potential franchisee candidate is of course how much money you can make. Everything depends upon what area of the country your complex is located in; that will determine how many seasons you can run your program and how you divide up your weeks of operation into seasons. In the Midwest, there are three 10-week seasons, but if you were in Arizona, for example, you would have the possibility of six 8-week seasons. The amount of money you make also depends on how many hours a night your complex is open and how many days you operate. Usually we suggest that you operate seven days a week, four hours a night and on Saturdays and Sundays begin programs at 9 AM with sand soccer throughout the evenings. The average cost to play per team also depends on what area of the country you're in and what local sports activities such as golf and softball leagues charge, but the normal estimate is $200 for a volleyball team and $300 for a sand soccer team, since there are more players on a soccer team and the sport takes up more courts."

You are relieved and excited to have your list of questions answered, but as you turn to your wife for approval, there is one last question that she still has and wants you to submit. How did you personally get involved with Thunder Beach?, directed at the trainer herself. She answers in a warm and pleasant voice, and you can almost imagine her smiling.

"When I was a senior in college, I had the opportunity to intern with Thunder Beach during its start up phase and see first hand how the business worked. I started as a marketing intern and writer, but was later promoted to my current position as Director and Trainer. Working as an intern, I quickly realized that Thunder Beach was a brilliant franchise idea and saw how much money franchisees could make, so after graduating I became a full time employee and member of the organization, and I love what I do. I have the privilege of informing and training franchisees so that they will be able to successfully own a Thunder Beach franchise, and it is very rewarding."

The trainer then answers a few last questions and the webinar comes to a close with an invitation for interested candidates to sit down and assess their financial situation, and if they are ready to make an investment they should begin to consider target locations in their area. As you and your wife get ready for bed, you talk about your reactions to the webinar and your financial situation. You are both tired and agree that you will have a more in depth discussion the next day. For now, your mind is temporarily at ease and your anxious thoughts subside as you drift off into a very deep and peaceful sleep.

To be continued...

Look for the next blog and follow the life of a Thunder Beach franchisee!

Kari J. Sawyer, contributing author

Let's bring back the good ol' days of sand volleyball in a whole new way! Part Three: A heart to heart discussion of the franchise opportunity with the significant other (if you have not read the previous blogs, please scroll down)

2012-01-31T10:11:00.000-08:00

Several days have passed since your discovery of the Thunder Beach USA website and your idea to become a franchisee; you consulted your friends and were given the green light, and even more exciting was your close friend's unexpected offer to join you in your new venture. There is only one more person that you need to talk to before you move forward in your plans, and she holds the greatest influence on the final decision since after all, you have been married for 28 years and she is your most trusted partner. Friday arrives and as you drive to the airport to pick her up, you rehearse your speech in order to sound more convincing and build your confidence. As always, you are both overjoyed to see each other after a two-week absence; her job requires her to travel on a regular basis, but for the most part she enjoys her work and your time together is sweeter. On the way home, you suggest that perhaps you grab a bite to eat somewhere and have a few drinks so she can unwind after a long flight. After you have both finished the main course and are savoring a Pinot Noir, you decide that it is time to discuss your idea. Much like you did with your friends, you start off with an introduction that work has been less than satisfying and then reveal the facts you have gathered about Thunder Beach and becoming a franchisee. She is quite surprised, and raises her main objection: how is it even logical to own a franchise, financially speaking? We are living in some of the worst economic times, she reasons, and it just isn't safe to be a franchisee. Besides, she adds, what do you even know about running a business? Fortunately, you were prepared for her reaction and begin to explain some of the differences between Thunder Beach and other franchises. You list off some of the main advantages for the franchisee: Zero Rent in a prime location, no Triple Net Lease, Zero utilities and maintenance costs, the Buildout costs are substantially lower than average, the Franchisor handles the ordering of equipment, construction and provides training as well as continued support. In essence, it is a "Turn Key franchise" meaning that the franchisee is taken through the franchise process and buildout of the franchise, step by step. They are given a proven and successful program as well as the years of experience that the Franchisor has to offer. You finish your spiel by describing the uniqueness of the opportunity and how you could be among the first to offer both sand volleyball and sand soccer at one location, and explain to her just how lucrative it could be. While she still has her doubts, after hearing your initial presentation she is willing to at least hear more and is open to the possibility of Thunder Beach depending on how the webinar that you are scheduled to attend goes. What impresses her most is not the business facts and numbers, but rather your passion for the whole idea and desire to strike out on your own and revolutionize your life and hers as well. She admits that she hasn't seen you get this excited in a long time, and it reminds her of the way you were when the two of you first met. You look across the table and smile, knowing that whatever happens she will be right there by your side, supporting you all the way.

To be continued...

Look for the next blog and follow the life of a Thunder Beach franchisee!

Kari J. Sawyer, contributing author

Let's bring back the good ol' days of sand volleyball in a whole new way! Part One: Looking for a franchise opportunity

2012-01-24T10:50:00.000-08:00

Remember a time not so long ago when you and three of your best friends were looking for something to do on a hot summer day? You all crammed in to that 1970 pickup truck and took off down the road blasting the radio to the latest rock and rolled on in to the corner store for a cold one. It was just a dusty old flyer stuck on the wall but it changed your life forever; sand volleyball was exactly what you needed to jumpstart your summer and open up the door to limitless fun. You and your friends joined a team and embarked on what was to be the best summer of your life, as you enjoyed great sport, team spirit and rekindled a high school romance. Now as you look back and reflect on days gone by you can't help but wonder if something is missing; your kids are grown and out of the house, your wife is often out of town on business, and your own career is empty and unfulfilling - what would it take to bring back the glory days, to put a spring in your step again, give you a reason to get out of bed early in the morning? As you shake away the foggy memories of your youth and glance over your favorite website, an unfamiliar ad catches your eye: Thunder Beach USA Franchising, Sand Volleyball and Sand Soccer. Your heartbeat quickens, your palms begin to sweat as thoughts begin to fill your mind - could it be done? Or better yet, should it be done? You know that you have the desire and preliminary finances necessary, but you're not sure how you feel about the idea of sand soccer. I mean seriously, this is the midwest, and how many people do you see playing sand soccer? But just as you're about to dismiss the whole idea, another thought jumps in and takes over: that's the point, nobody is playing sand soccer, so this could be the start of something entirely new and revolutionary! I could do this, you reason, I could be among the first to offer sand volleyball and sand soccer at one location! In your excitement you almost forget to submit your daily morning assignment, but then all of a sudden it doesn't seem quite as important as you once thought it was. As you furiously peruse the Thunder Beach USA website, you quickly grow more confident in your new idea, and you realize this may be exactly what you were looking for to revitalize your all too comfortable and stagnant life, the passion you need to get out of bed in the morning and do whatever it takes to make the dreams of your past a reality. You glance over at the phone, take a deep breath, and decide to take the initial plunge, and as soon as you hear the pleasant and confident voice on the other end of the line, you know you've made the right decision. You arrange a meeting with Mr. McCormack, and take the first step towards a bright and successful future.

To be continued...

Look for the next blog and follow the life of a Thunder Beach franchisee!

Kari J. Sawyer, contributing author

Let's bring back the good ol' days of sand volleyball in a whole new way! Part Two: Consulting friends about the idea of a franchise opportunity

2012-01-24T10:39:00.000-08:00

You awake to the all too familiar sound of your alarm going off. It's six in the morning, and time for you to begin your day. Just as you are about to hit the snooze button, you remember the events of the day before, and your new idea to become a Thunder Beach franchisee. While the initial buzz may have worn off, you feel a new energy come over you and head straight for a hot shower. During breakfast, another thought occurs to you, and it is slightly daunting: at some point in the near future, you have to tell your wife about your new idea. You are immediately overwhelmed with a feeling of panic; after all, what if she doesn't like it, and totally dismisses the whole idea? This only serves to stengthen your resolve that you must find a way to present your plan in a detailed and well thought out manner, and it might not hurt to mull things over in advance with a couple of your friends and coworkers. At the office, you are finding it difficult to focus on your assignment; you keep replaying a scenario of telling your wife in your head until you can't take it anymore and call up a couple of old friends to meet you later for happy hour at your favorite spot. Five o'clock couldn't have come fast enough, but soon you find yourself sitting with two of your friends and a coworker who you invited to join at the last minute. After a few drinks, it is time to get down to business, to reveal the reason why the four of you were anxiously gathered together on a seemingly average Tuesday evening. You start off with the admission that you haven't been satisfied with your work lately, that you have found it rather static and unstimulating to say the least. You admit that you have in fact even considered calling it quits and pursuing an entirely different career, which then quite nicely segues into your discovery of the Thunder Beach USA website and subsequent decision to set up a meeting with the owner in order to discuss the details of becoming a franchisee. Initially, your friends are shocked and their mouths hang slightly open. While they were somewhat aware of your overall dissatisfaction with your current job, they were unprepared for your very new and shocking idea. You go on to explain the basics of how it would work, and direct them to the website. Most importantly, you emphasize the originality of your idea, and stress your realization that you could be among the first to offer sand volleyball and sand soccer at one location. As you continue to show them your confidence and enthusiasm, they slowly start to come around and accept the idea as not only logical but also as having the great potential to be extremely lucrative. Coincidentally, one of your friends has also been unhappy with his work in the last few years and as you were talking, the wheels in his head were turning. After you have finished your spiel, he surprises you by asking whether or not he could possibly partner with you in this new venture. He has been one of your closest friends since childhood, and was a member of the sand volleyball team you played on as a teenager, so without much thought you happily accept his offer and breathe a huge sigh of relief. Perhaps talking to your wife about your new idea won't be so bad after all.

To be continued...

Look for the next blog and follow the life of a Thunder Beach franchisee!

Kari J. Sawyer, contributing author

Hoz and Crank Tournament Day : Trouble with the net .

2011-11-29T14:16:00.000-08:00

At one of my complexes a player who stood about 5'5' always had a way of solving the problem with not being able to spike the ball when the net was at regulation height. . He and his partner who we shall call Crank ( because he always carried a net crank ) always showed up early to practice on the day of a tournament. Since we had a lot of courts, Hoz would always ask if his pool could play on the back courts. Come to find out that the reason he wanted to play on the back courts was so that he could lower the net so he could spike and hope no one would catch him

Looks are deceiving.

2011-11-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

Lesson: You can't judge a book by its cover : Here is another day in the life of Hoz and his friend Crank.

Hoz is the guy who arrives at the beach in a hot car with hot chicks and at the beach he puts on a pretty good show. Away from the beach he doesn't really have it all together.

Sometimes people do stupid things to try and impress the babes on the beach.

2011-10-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

Fun at Thunder Beach

2011-09-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

To find out more about Hoz and his friends, read below, and be sure check back weekly!

Back in high school, just a few years ago, I had the distinct pleasure of sitting behind a very talented artist. This wasn't art class by the way, I believe it was either history or language. Anyway, this gentleman was an exceptionally smart person who was a quick study type individual who was light years ahead of the rest of us in the class. Instead of taking notes like the rest of us, he drew sketches, cartoons and poster art. Teachers were not thrilled with his art work but the students loved it.

The name of this gentleman is Larry Loftus. Larry is now a very successful architect at a very prominent architect and engineering firm.

Anyway, I was thinking about how to spice up this blog and so I called my friend and I asked him if he would help me out with my blog by drawing a cartoons depicting some of the characters I had the pleasure of dealing with during my 24 years of building, recruiting and running sand volleyball complexes. Larry told me he hadn't drawn cartoons for over 40 years ( does that tell you how old we both are) and that he wasn't sure he could do it. I begged and pleaded and Larry , being the nice person he is, relented and said he would give it a try.

Let me set up the scene of Larry's first cartoon. All of us that have owned businesses before have those people that we deal with that think they are God's gift to the world. These people will not only tell you how important they are and why you should treat them special, they will act the role when they come into your business.

Let me set the scene for you . The character in our first cartoon stands about 5' 7" . He is a a body builder who no doubt did roids, he was in love with himself, and thought everyone else should be as well. Let's call this person Hoz. Hoz had an entourage consisting of two really good looking scantily clad young ladies and three or four friends . The ladies were for show, and Hoz's friends were there because Hoz bought a lot of food and drink for everyone . Hoz's best friend was a young man he called Stretch. Stretch was an odd duck, tall and thin as a piece of cheese on a restaurant cheeseburger who had a very large snoz. You might say Stretch was Hoz's gofer. Hoz would say : "Stretch go order the pizza" and Stretch would go order the pizza. Hoz would say to Stretch: " Go order a pitcher of beer" and Stretch would go order a pitcher of beer.

In the first cartoon, you can see this cockey, little , muscle bound, person sitting out by our courts with his friend Stretch. Everyone else was asked to come inside the clubhouse due to lightening strikes that preceded a fast approaching thunder storm. Being the difficult individual Hoz is, he's chosen to stay outside by the courts and his friend Stretch is wondering why? Stretch asks Hoz: " Why are you wearing your sun glasses when it's starting to rain and there isn't any sun " and Hoz , the cocky person he is, says: ( check the cartoon for the answer)

In the next cartoon, we will introduce you to Ali , Sam and Crank.

Ali and Sam (Samantha) were two hot chicks that Hoz likes to be seen with. Crank is Hoz's
doubles playing partner.

Do you have any good stories about your experiences at the beach? We would love to hear them and then present them here for others to read. Send your stories to timmccormack@thunderbeachusa.com.

Business Opportunity Testimonials

2011-09-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

Business- Opportunites From Batting Cages to Driving Ranges

2011-09-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

If you are new to this blog read the first two paragraphs below. If you have been reading this blog skip to the third paragraph.

In my past two blogging articles I covered problems I had with getting additional financing when the economy went south and interest rates went from 6% to around 20%. I talked with you about trying to run a business and making your loan payments when the economy went from 4% unemployment to close to 11% unemployment. I then related to you a problem I had to deal with in the construction of my first complex ( I built 9 other complexes) when I hired non-union employees to help me build out my first complex. I also mentioned how I started my first business with one business plan and how I had to adjust and change my business plan when income was deplorable and costs were out-of-line.

I also covered the problems I had with my business growing from 50 team to over 300 teams playing each week and the parking problems that resulted. I also mentioned how I tried to help alleviate the parking problems by staggering my starting times for each hour of play and how the movie theater across the street offered to buy the property where my complex was located and how it came to a point where I was either going to have to purchase the property or move.

Since I did not have a million and a half dollars, the movie theater bought the property and I was going to have to move. After a lot of discussion with my landlord and the movie theater (the new owner of the property) everyone agreed to allow me to complete running my programs for the year after which I would move. This wasn't a great solution for me, but it was workable. I could fulfill all my obligations to all the teams that had registered and paid, and once my program was finished for the year, I could look for a new location for next years programs.

My second location in Omaha was as an add on to a driving range in northwest Omaha. The driving range was a little run down and the owner was looking for something that would breathe a little life back into his business. I signed a 3 year lease and I proceeded to design the new layout.

Since my leagues the last year were full with 7 courts, I wanted to expand the number of courts from 7 to at least 8. In addition to building out the courts, I was also going to have to build a new concession stand.

After submitting my plans to the Planning Department and getting them approved, I had my
contractor start digging out the courts. Then it happened, 2 feet down we ran into water.
The driving range was in a flood plane and everywhere we went to start digging the courts, we ran into water. Instead of digging out the courts, we laid drain pipe and then built up the courts
on top of the existing land. The problem exasperated itself when we went to dig the holes for the volleyball standards and put in our 40 ' light poles from Valmont and put up our sports lighting from Musco.

To resolve these problems, the power company came out and they foamed in our poles. It was amazing how well that foam worked to hold the poles and for our volleyball standards.

The complex looked great! Eight outdoor lighted courts with a great concession stand and a pavilion with a smoke pit to do pig roasts. Things were looking up. I had sold 4 hours of play, 6 nights a week (we did not have leagues on Saturday due to the fact that the driving range shared a parking lot with a large catering hall next door ) and everything was full. Zero openings!

On opening night everything went well. No glitches! Volleyball players started coming early to use the driving range prior to playing volleyball and people were staying around after their games to hit golf balls and play miniature golf. My outdoor pavilion was packed with people staying around listening to the music and having a beverage and a sandwich with their friends. The place was packed!

Each night of the week it was the same scenario until Friday night. My Friday night leagues were full and when people started arriving I thought nothing of it until 7:00 pm when the gentleman who owned the catering hall next door came walking into my complex, wanting to see me.

I had met him once before when I was looking at this place for a possible location. When I had talked with him originally, he didn't have a problem with what we were doing. However, tonight he had a problem! He never thought our leagues would be as big as they were and he never thought there would be a parking problem. Tonight however, there was going to be a big problem. He had a wedding reception and we had volleyball.

How did we resolve this? I agreed to park my players out on the street and since the catering hall always had an off duty police officer for his wedding receptions, it was agreed that the police officer would stop cars coming into the drive and if they were a volleyball player, he would ask them to park out on the street for that night. Volleyball players cars were parked on both sides of the street for about six blocks.

Obviously, there were a lot of unhappy volleyball players. On that Monday, I scheduled a meeting with the catering hall owner, the driving range owner and myself. During this meeting
the driving range owner and I agreed to grade and put in asphalt on a small piece of land that
was sitting empty behind the catering hall if our customers could use it every night of the week
so that it would eliminate the parking problem. The catering hall owner turned down our offer.
In fact, he went a step further and he put up a fence that further divided the driving range and my volleyball courts from his catering hall.

How did the driving range owner and I resolve our parking situation? Down the street about 5 blocks was a sports complex with about 10 soccer fields. We parked the volleyball players there and we bused them into the volleyball courts and driving range once our lots were full.

The following year, we took out two courts which brought our courts down to 6 and we graded more land on the side of the driving range. I sent out my league information the second week of January of the next year and people who did not get registered by the end of January were simply out of luck. When people could not get into my leagues, a couple new volleyball complexes sprung up in other parts of Omaha.

My second and third years of operation at the driving range went off without a hitch. Each year was full and both the driving range owner and I were very happy with our programs.

At the end of the third year my lease was coming up and it was now time to negotiate a new one with the driving range owner. In the next blog I will tell you how the negotiations went.

Until then have a good weekend.

( I have a lot of stories about construction and court building since I built 10 complexes in three different states ) If you have questions or you would like to tell me a few of your difficulties with building out a complex, I would love to hear them ( timmccormack@thunderbeachusa.com)

Business : Business Start Up Headaches

2011-09-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

In my past two blogging articles I covered problems I had with getting additional financing when the economy went south and interest rates went from 6% to close to 20%. I talked with you about trying to run a business and making your loan payments when the economy went fro 4% unemployment to close to 11% unemployment. I then related to you a problem I had to deal with in the construction of my first complex ( I built 9 other complexes) when I hired non-union employees to help me build out my first complex. I also mentioned how I started my first business with one business plan and how I had to adjust and throw out that plan when income was deplorable and costs were out-of-line. I mentioned how my business grew from very few teams to over 300 teams participating in my leagues. It seemed like success had arrived and that the good times were rolling.

Today, I want to visit with you about some of the problems you should be concerned with when your business is on the rise . While there are a number of concerns from hiring additional employees and training, buyind additional equipment to handle service your players , their families and friends, and I will address all of these concerns in later blog articles, today I want to talk with you about Parking problems.

When I built my first complex, I had a small parking lot that could accommodate 60 cars. I also shared a lease with a 10 screen Movie Theater across the street from my complex that was owned by my landlord. When my batting cage business was the only business at that location, the 60 car parking lot was plenty of parking, but when I added the sand volleyball complex on to my batting cage business I never gave a thought to having parking problems. The lot that I shared with the movie theater was huge and It could park a couple hundred cars so why should I worry?

Well, when I added on the sand volleyball program , I also included in my layout a very large outdoor beergarden. In fact, the beer garden could hold approximately 1,000 people. I never dreamt that I would ever fill that space, but when I changed my the way I recruited and ran my sand volleyball programs, I also changed the prices on my food and beverages that I sold. In addition, I added a nightly disjockey with a number of different entertaining contests that were geared to keeping people around after their games to eat and drink. When I went from a couple hours of play a night to 4 solid hours of play a night and a couple nights with 5 hours of play, the number of people staying after their games and sitting around the beergarden became mind boggling. Not only did my customers fill my lot and the lot that I shared with the movie theater, we had people parking up and down the streets in the neighborhood. Business was good! No, it was great ! My new, unique progam of sand volleyball and the nightly entertainment programs and contests had saved the day!

While business was good for me, the movie theater across the street began to complain to our landlord ( again, we shared that lot) that their customers had no place to park . Since we had people arriving around 5:30pm most of the parking places were taken by the time the movie theater's crowd arrived for the 6:15 shows. Problems started to show up and the movie theater that loved us when we first opened, now became disgruntled and unhappy with the parking arrangement.

To show the movie theater across the street that I wanted to be a good neighbor, I changed the start times for leagues so that for those people who wanted to attend the shows, there would be some parking when the people playing volleyball who weren't staying around after their games left. This seemed to work for about a year and then one March , just as I was preparing to open the batting cages and get the volleyball courts ready for the spring leagues . I got a terrible a message.

I was working in the concession building when a gentleman walked into the business. I knew this person, he was an old coach who tried to recruit me to play ball for a local college. We exchanged plesantries and then the hammer fell. He was representing my landlord and he was there to let me know that the movie theater across the street had made an offer to buy the land that my business occupied. This gentleman was there to give me the opportunity of the right of first refusal that was listed in my rental agreement with the landlord. I aske him what had happened to Judge Murphy, the person I had been dealing with over the last 4 years for the landlord and he told me that Judge Murphy had gone to Europe and that he died of a heart attack; and that he was now representing the landlord.

What was I going to do? I had a going jenny and things were looking great. My sand volleyball leagues were completely sold out ! Every night and times had been filled. I asked him how much he was talking about to buy the property and he told me about a million and a half. There was no way I was going to be able to raise that type of money in a down economy with the banks not lending, or lending at 20%. He said so I guess you will be moving. I will tell you the rest of that story and what I said to this gentleman in my next blog.

Just-Make-it-Fun-Business-Opportunities

2011-09-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

In my last blog post I mentioned my experiences in starting up my business and securing financing and then having to go back and get additional financing to pay my bills when the economy went south and interest rates went from 6% to 20% and unemployment went from 4% to close to 11% . I mentioned my run in with a Machine Operators, Union Rep, when I hired out of work constructions workers, plumbers and electricians and the problems that resulted from my discussion with this person.

Today I will tell you the rest of that story. It's a story about almost shooting an individual . It's a story about having to make drastic changes to my business plan in order to survive and it's a story about perseverance.

Here we go again.

After the new concession building was completed and the new 7 court , lighted, sand volleyball complex was built; we began our sand volleyball program with a disappointing 50 teams. I had done everything that the high school and college coaches had told me to do. The complex was beautiful but the program was miserable. The refs were making more more then I was and no one was having fun . No one was staying around after their games and buying food or drinks. And so, as the first season wore on, I became a little despondent.

I was still staying out at the complex in my friends trailer situated out of sight behind the fence and after I turned the lights off on the sand volleyball courts and batting cages, I retired to the trailer.

One night around 3:00am, I was awakened by a car that pulled in on my gravel parking lot. I jumped up out of bed, I grabbed my shot gun and I quietly walked behind the concession building until I reached the far corner of the building. I peered around the corner and I saw a man starting to kick in my front door. I stepped out from behind the fence and yelled --------------------------------- if you kick that door one more time, you are a --------------------------------. When the people in the car saw me with the shotgun, they took off leaving this person behind. When I walked over to see who this guy was, I was shocked to find a kid about 19 years old. He pleaded with me not to shoot him. He told me someone gave him $50 bucks to break in and ransack the place and he begged me not to call the cops. For one reason or another, I kind of felt sorry for this guy and I told him to tell his friends that the next time I'll shoot and ask questions later. When I told my friends this story, they all said they would have shot him or at least, called the police. One thing, I never had another problem with any union reps.

Now on to the sand volleyball program.

I had a couple of brothers who owned bars, very popular bars and of course, they already had a few teams playing in my leagues. I went back to both of them and asked for more help and they told me that they had more people that would play, but they didn't want to hear the refs blowing the whistle every time they touched the ball. They said they would get me more teams if I could put in a league for people who just wanted to play cabin volleyball. I asked them what cabin volleyball was and they said the type of volleyball that was played at someones cabin on a holiday. Just get the ball over the net , play for an hour and then go drink a few beers or pops and eat a hot dog or burger.

I fired the refs, I instituted three levels of play : The Stars League ( Cabin Volleyball) , the Superstars League ( those people that wanted to play competitively but were not ready for prime time,) and the masters league ( those people that either played volleyball in the City competitive leagues or that played in high school or college) .

My brothers put the word out to all of their friends in bar business asking them to help me out and they did, they sponsored team for my leagues. In addition, I decided to hire someone to run the complex and I went out and recruited all day at various businesses, churches, neighborhood associations, etc. My numbers for teams jumped from 50 to 300.

The changes included: honor volleyball , 2 rules: If you are going to say anything to anyone regardless if it's your wife, husband, good friend, best friend or someone on the other team; it must be positive !!! The second rule was : Everyone watches and plays at their own risk so don't chase the ball outside your court lines (everyone followed this rule except the doubles players).

For the next five years at this location, we were completely full. If you wanted to play in our leagues, you had to sign up by the end of January for the up coming leagues beginning in April or you didn't get into our 6:15,7:15, 8:15, leagues Monday - Friday. You could only get in our Monday- Friday 9:15, 10:15 or Midnight leagues. ( yes, we had midnight leagues and we filled them two nights a week). At this location we did not have Saturday leagues, we did corporate parties and picnics or once a month tournaments. Sundays we started play at 4:00pm with doubles play, then high school leagues at 6:15 with Church leagues Sunday night at 7:15,8:15,9:15 with a doubles tournament beginning at 10:30
and getting over at 1:00am . We ended up with around 400 teams in two out of the three sessions we had each year at this location.

Building on the Sand Volleyball complex on the vacant land next to my batting cages turned out to be a great idea and a real money maker. Unfortunately, as we grew in popularity , this created an additional problem. Parking ! I will discuss this situation in my next blog, next Tuesday. Until then, good living to you.

Blogger Buzz: Blogger’s fresh new look

2011-09-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

Blogger Buzz: Blogger’s fresh new look

Love the new look. I can't wait to change my blog look

Sand-Sports-Business-Opportunities

www.thunderbeachusa.com

Business- Opportunities- Shooting- It- to -You- Straight:

2011-09-06T04:02:00.000-07:00

I was talking with one of my interns the otherday and I told him that I was going to begin writing a business blog. I had alot of things I wanted to tell people about leaving an existing job to join theranks of owning their own business, but I was unsure of what to write about andhow to do it. This young business student told me : "Shoot itstraight!"  Don't sugar coat it! Write from your heart! Give people a real look at what the trials, tribulations, challenges andrewards a person wanting to become a business owner can expect and thepeople will love it .

Great advice! So here we go!

Upon graduating from college, I became a teacher and later a principal. I loved education, but as you know, educators are not the highest paid professional people. I wanted something more...I wanted the big house, the fancy car and I wanted to control my own destiny. I wanted to own my own business.

I am not really sure that anyone who goes into business for themselves really understands all the challenges they will face. Speaking for myself, I thought I was well prepared! I had been planning my exit from my job as an elementary school principal for a couple of years. I had done my homework, my research and I had read all the information out there on the business I was planning to start. I thought I was prepared to make the transition from educator to business owner. I was ready to make the big money!

Over the next 24 years I ended up building 10 different sports related businesses in three different states.

This post, while a little lengthy, contains interesting details of problems I encountered and how I handled them.

My first business was an outdoor batting cage business:
One day, I picked up the newspaper and read an article about a new business development that was
going to replace the only public batting cage business in our city. Instead of trying to find another location for the batting cage, the owner mentioned he was going to shut down instead. Here was my opportunity!

There were always plenty of people at the cages when I went with my father, my coaches and my friends.
This was something I knew, so I sent for information on the pitching machines and batting cage facilities and began to look around for a location.

Wow! I was impressed with the numbers this business prospectus showed a person could earn! I was stoked! I was going to be a millionaire and if everything went the way this business prospectus said it would, I would be living the high life very soon.

I found a location, drew up a business plan and went to the bank with my business plan. Much to my amazement, I received my loan.

Shortly after receiving my loan and building my complex, the economy went into the dumps! Jimmy Carter's Presidency took unemployment from 4 percent to 9 percent locally, and up to 11 percent in other areas of the country. I had not planned for this! Interest rates went from 6 percent to 20 percent, and people weren't spending a lot on unnecessary luxury items.

My first year of operation was nowhere near the income numbers that had been projected. My business was going down the tube and I was unsure how to stop it. I went to every little league, high school and college coach I could find and pleaded with them to use my batting cages, and a lot of them did. However, I had to cut them a lot of deals and instead of significantly increasing my revenues, I had simply increased the number of hours I was working.

My original goal of starting a business was to be my own boss, earn a significant income and build a better lifestyle for myself and my family. None of this was happening. Instead, I worked all the time and I missed a lot of family activities.

No one plans on to deal with an unemployment rate of 9 percent or more. No one plans to deal with
interest rates of close to 20 percent. It was nightmare!

I went back to the bank to get a small loan of an additional $20,000 to keep my business from going under, but the banker turned down my loan. I went to my family and talked with my mother and father and asked them to help, and they did. My father cosigned a note for $20,000 and helped me fight off foreclosure from bankers who just a year earlier were thrilled to have me as a customer and today just wanted their money and their outrageous interest.

Getting through that first year was heartbreaking! I couldn't help but think about everything my family had given up. I never dreamed that this would happen.

Once winter arrived, and the batting cages were closed . I began to assess my options. I was either going to have to close the business or I was going to have to come up with another way to make money.
I looked at all the possibilities and suddenly realized that I had land next to my complex that I was paying rent on, but not using.

What could I put on this land that would complement my existing business? Where was I going to get the money even if I found something? I already had my dad cosign on a loan so I could fight off the wolves at the bank, and I just couldn't go back and ask my parents for anything else. What was I to do?

It's a whole another story on how I came about choosing to put in a sand volleyball and I will address this in more detail in future blogs. Suffice it to say that when I mentioned to people that I was going to add on a sand volleyball complex to my batting cage business people thought I was nuts! Sand (beach) volleyball  was played only on the coasts. People laughed at me for even thinking about it, telling me nobody was playing it inland and no one was doing it as a business.
In October, I wrote all the Churches, singles groups, the high schools and colleges and asked them if they would support an activity that promoted fun, exercise and excitement. I told them I was planning on adding on a 7 court outdoor sand volleyball complex to my batting cage business and if I got enough support, would have it open this next spring. Of course everyone said they would love to play and yes, they would support it.

This time, I went to my friends and I asked them to lend me the money I needed . They agreed, but asked for part ownership (sounds like venture capitalist doesn't it) and I agreed.

Working with a very limited budget, I hired out-of-work electricians, plumbers, and construction workers to help me build the new addition. One day while one of my construction workers was using the backhoe digging the trench for the plumbing, he came running up to me with a nervous look on his face and said, "There's a man down by the tractor that wants to talk with you."

I went down to meet this person thinking that he was some type of building inspector or a sales person wanting to sell me something and I got the surprise of my life. No, it wasn't Warren Buffet handing out money, it was the local operators union rep. telling me that unless the person on the backhoe had an operators license, he couldn't dig the trench for my plumbing.

I told him I didn't have the money to hire a union operator and that I was damn lucky to even be open for business at all. I asked this union rep if there weren't larger jobs that he could focus on since I was just putting in a small concession building. I told him of my problems and that I was just trying to put food on the table for my family, but he didn't care what I was doing it for.

He advised me that if my help got back on that tractor I would regret it. Telling him where he could go, he simply told me I would be sorry. I ignored the threats this man made and I started digging the trench myself. At the end of the day the trench was done and the building the construction workers had framed that day was looking pretty good.

The next day I drove around picking up my help and as I was heading down the street to begin work, I looked over at where the framework for my building stood. All I could see was twisted lumber. Someone had tied tire chains to the corners of the framing for my building and they had torn it down. My help asked me what I thought, and I told them it was time to get back to work and to build this son of a bitch back up! One person left the job and the two others stayed.

Instead of doing the framing, my crew and I purchased 8 ' panels of wood fencing and put up a fence.  I borrowed a friends pop up trailer and moved it onto the business property. There I slept with a shot gun by my side until the complex was finished.

(There's more to this story, but it would take a book to tell it, so I will just have to leave it up to your imagination as to whether you think that was the last run in with the union . You're right, it wasn't my last run in with the union. What you don't know is how I handled it. I'll tell you in another post)

Remember now, I told you that in addition to the desire to become an entrepreneur, one of the other traits a person wanting to get into business must have is the ability to persevere. Well, I wasn't kidding. Prior to building out the new sand (beach ) volleyball addition, I had contacted the churches, the singles groups, the high schools and colleges and asked them if they would support my program if I were to build it, and they all said they would.

In addition, I asked the high school volleyball coaches and the singles groups that played indoor volleyball what type of program they would support, and so I built, developed my complex and established my sand volleyball programs according to the wishes of these groups. It was now time for everyone to sign up to play in the leagues.

Almost no one signed up to play! I contacted each group and I asked them what the problem was and their answer was. "I didn't think you wanted us to pay to play."

You've got to be kidding me? How the hell was I going to pay for the improvements? How was I going to pay for the officials? I had 7 beautifully lighted sand volleyball courts but just 50 teams, and most of those were doubles teams. Can you say bankruptcy?

After the first spring session, I needed to do something drastic. My friends who lent me the money to do the improvements were screaming for a return on their investment and my family was feeling the pressure from bill collectors.

I decided to scrap the existing sand volleyball program. Instead of people having fun, they were complaining about the refs. Instead of people coming to the complex and buying my food and beverages, they were sneaking in water and energy drinks in their sports bags. Problems were piling on top of problems.

I will cover in my next post how I turned things around. The take away from this blog is: Regardless of how well prepared you think your business plan is, plan for the worst scenario and make sure you understand that regardless of what business you get into, there will be trying times. Be prepared for a few headaches and the fact that it will take you a little longer then you think to be successful.
The question is ...what do you think that question is? I'll tell you in the next blog.

Keep the faith. I built 10 complexes in three different states and I have a number of interesting stories about building, recruiting, running and selling these businesses that can help you in your pursuit of becoming a successful business owner. Here's to good living for you and yours.

Tim McCormack
Thunder Beach Franchisor

This Weeks Question for you?

2011-04-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

When is the Best Time to Start a New Business ? What things
should you take into consideration when starting a new business?

Athletic Quote:

2011-04-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

" The difference between a successful person
and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack
of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will."

Vincent T. Lombardi