November 2019, marks a decade ago when I began the Onyx Squash Academy and it has been a hell of a journey.
Originally, I initially set up a project as a platform to make a change in the world of Squash and collaborate with our friends Sprintz Leisure Ltd in an effort to tackle social inclusion, using Squash as a learning tool; plus promoting Squash to the young residents of Darlaston.
So far in our journey in bringing about community cohesion we have promoted the awareness of Squash on a global and unearthed some nations that are emerging onto the Squash scene.
Despite this, our journey has been eventful but see this as a journey to greatness in making the Onyx Squash Academy the most sought-after organisation in tackling youth-related issues through sport.
An unjustified obstacle
If anyone thinks it has been an easy journey in setting up this business, well it hasn’t – I came across a few obstacles along the way namely with a West Midlands base associate causing us the worst kind of pain, with no justification which could have resulted in the business being closed before it had a chance to reach the marketplace.
Despite this, I was able to proceed with the project thanks to help from a close friend (also an affiliate partner) and one of our advisory board members who helped in sourcing a great website host as the first one was slightly expensive and aligned with a lack of technical support.
You may be thinking why do obstacles come about? Well, if there is one thing I have learned in business is be careful of who you tell your plans – especially when they operate a business and have the means to undermine your dream.
Building a challenger brand
In light of the obstacles, as one of the founders, I decided to focus more on building the Onyx Squash Academy brand with a robust marketing strategy.
Needless to say, I have been a marketing professional for over a decade and had to turn down very good offers from external agencies to help build the website, and digital marketing services, notably SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), social media, and website development.
As a result of my marketing efforts, as the founder, I created a decent-looking website; which is doing well on Google.
When it came to partnership, because of my website developer efforts, the website attracted some welcome attention from some of the key people in Squash, from places I did not expect.
Following a number of emails, I managed to rope them in the capacity of associate with a deal of appointment of a Squash coach at a venue.
Persistence leads to new areas and contacts
In 2017, I finally made our partnership with Sprintz Leisure Ltd secure but then it fell through due to circumstances out of my control that had a negative impact on me, as the founder, overall I was very too be upset about it and came to close to putting the project into liquidation.
Regardless, I am very persistent (a trait I inherited from a much-loved family member), and our platform is going with the welcome addition of three advisory board members and a Squash professional.
Furthermore, my team and I have built up a platform for our affiliate partners to provide assistance on business matters, and soon Squash players to do guest blog posts with a Squash angle.
In light of the number of setbacks, many people (friends) asked me why I believe that Squash is a viable sport to make as a business venture – My answer is I looking at the business side and taking a different approach to marketing Squash overall.
The only thing that is stopping it from becoming a sport of great popularity is the local provision and an ambitious sports promoter – who has a vision of getting venues and other stakeholders to work together with limited resources.
So many people have asked, what are my plans for 2020?
Well, there is going to be a change and more coverage of the Onyx Squash Academy, with an emphasis on strategic collaboration and a lot more blog posts and perhaps a video.
Blog post by Jermaine Ranger MCIM Chartered Marketer
