What do tennis and business ownership have in common?
Well, more than you would think.
In my early days, just a few years ago (NOT), I played four different team sports (I loved volleyball especially) and they kept me busy year-round.
But as I got older, my knees told me to give them a break.
That’s when I discovered tennis. It keeps me active, makes me think and strategize, and helps me connect with incredible people.

That’s where business comes in.
Scroll down to find out the 3 key things that tennis and business ownership have in common (and why you should care).

1. Getting the fundamentals in place. In tennis, that looks like the swing follow through, making sure you move your feet to get into good position, finishing your shot into the court, and moving forward so you can take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.
What does that look like in business?
It looks like:

• Having good people on your team. First and foremost, you must develop a winning team of people doing the best work they can. Winning people equal a winning company.
• Having good procedures and processes in place that support the business along the way. Strong, effective processes and procedures allow your team to do the best work possible, as efficiently as possible.
• Putting your end goals in place. Solid financial goals, marketing goals, and sales goals, to name a few, make your business strong. Communicating those goals to your team will allow your company to prosper.

2. Creating the right team. In tennis, you need a doubles partner that complements your strengths. They’re an accountability partner, and you’re stronger together. In certain circles of tennis, it’s a team sport where you have to win a certain number of courts to get the team win.

The same goes for your business. You need people you get along with and trust. You’ve got to have complete confidence in their skills and abilities to execute the goals of the business. Just like teammates in tennis, you need to have an advisory team around you to help give you ideas for your business.

Depending on how big your company is, you may not need a full time CFO or COO. But you can have advisory personnel, outside consultants, or board members you can rely on for their expertise and guidance.

3. Developing an effective strategy. In tennis, strategy comes down to things like where you want to place your serve, how you help your teammate, pairing up with a partner that complements your skills and strengths, and building points to set the game up to finish with your strengths.

In business, this might look like conducting a SWOT analysis to show you where you should be competing and how to capitalize on your strengths. It can also look like creating an effective succession plan to close out your game on your terms.

How can you dominate the market? How can you use the strengths you have and your understanding of competitive threats to your advantage?
Think about…

• What’s working for you?
• What areas need improvement?
• What factors (think market position, or product placement) in your company come into play?

Other strategic considerations you must take into account to win in business are:

• Having a go-to-market strategy for expanding your business and product line
• Knowing what the competition is doing and where it is heading
• Understanding the direction of the market or industry, so you know that you’re not way off base as you are investing in a new product or service

Even if you’re not a tennis fan, I bet you have a favorite sport or hobby that’s taught you similar lessons of fundamentals, teamwork, and strategy that you could apply to your business. If you’ll keep those three at the top of your business list, you can dominate your market, command a higher price, set the pace and the direction of the market, and WIN in business.

Ready to take the steps into dominating your industry? I can help. Contact me here and let’s talk.