Alan Dean from Sportzing – Australia’s Largest Tennis Court Maintenance Company
Eden Exchange recently spoke with Alan Dean who is the General Managing of Sportzing Court Care Services. Alan talked to us about his franchising journey as well as his experiences growing the Sportzing business.
Sportzing Court Care is a unique Australian franchise specialising in servicing, cleaning, maintaining and installing tennis courts. Founded in 1994, Sportzing has grown rapidly in recent years and looking for new franchisees around Australia.
Approved by Tennis Australia, Sportzing is now positioned as the foremost franchise in the field and focuses on using unique specialised machinery and world-class systems to service its customers and their tennis courts.
Why did you get into franchising? What were you doing prior to Sportzing and how did you first get involved with the company?
After obtaining my builders licence in 1980, for five years I was the owner and director of a successful conservatory specialist construction company in Sydney. Following that, I became the principal and co-founder of Star Business Brokers.
I moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2011. My wife and I had built several houses before the financial crisis and wanted to get into a business that wasn’t so affected by the ups and downs of the economy.
We had friends running a resort in Caloundra who recently had their tennis courts cleaned. They knew the operator was selling and that we were looking for a new venture. They told us about a business for sale maintaining tennis courts and I was extremely interested. After reviewing the company over a few days we purchased the Sportzing Court Care North Brisbane territory which we have now operated for just under five years.
In March 2015 we purchased the Sportzing Court Care Head Office and moved out of servicing last year.
Sportzing currently has franchise territories available all over Australia. Which areas are you particularly focusing on? What are some of the key factors that make running a Sportzing business unique?
Sportzing is not your average franchise system. There are limited territories available. We have undertaken extensive research and built very large territories to ensure there is sufficient profitability for franchisees to prosper. Due to the size of the territories, we only 14 new areas available in Australia.
Operating a Sportzing franchise is unique as it has a niche clientele. The franchisees stay in the business for long periods of time, several have been operating for over 15 years. Most importantly, Sportzing has been integral in revolutionising the synthetic grass maintenance sector and is a recognised brand in the tennis industry.
What advice do you have for someone looking to own a franchise for the first time? What is the key message you tell new franchisees?
A new franchisee needs to be aware that they will be running their own business. They need to take care of all aspects of the business including the finances, sales and the work. To own a Sportzing Franchise a candidate needs to enjoy building a strong clientele, is friendly with a great attitude and enjoys working hard in our great Australian environment. Sportzing is a lifestyle business so the key message is “you need to love what you do, and then everything else will fall into place”.
What type of background and experience does a Sportzing franchisee need to have? What makes for a successful owner?
A Sportzing franchisee doesn’t need a particular background or experience to be successful. Currently we have franchisees who were salesmen, marketing executives, flooring specialists and golf professionals. Our training module covers every aspect of the business including; sales, marketing, small business management, administration systems, the Sportzing techniques, machinery operation and everything to do with tennis court maintenance.
The most important things are to enjoy working outdoors and to enjoy building your business.
What type of support does Sportzing provide once a new franchisee has opened its doors?
We provide ongoing support because operating a Sportzing franchise is an ongoing learning experience. We guarantee a franchisee has all the information and is competent in all the techniques required. Initially we carry out a 2-week training period, followed by a 12 week Get Start programme. This ensures that all important parts of the business become habitual over time.
We are always reachable by phone or email, provide new franchisees with an extensive operations manual and travel to site when needed. We strongly encourage and facilitate ongoing networking between the franchisees and also hold national conferences to discuss our Company direction and market trends.
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What are some key industry trends you believe franchise buyers and owners need to be aware of? What’s your take on where your industry is heading?
Sportzing has been around since the early days of synthetic grass tennis courts and we’ve seen both the sport surfaces industry as well as the Australian franchise industry mature and grow. There are also over a million people in Australia now who list tennis as sport they are active in. Sportzing is positioned in an exciting industry to be doing business in and I can only see this industry becoming bigger in the future.
What are some of the major achievements you are proud of at Sportzing? On the other side, what challenges have you faced to get the business where it is today?
Sportzing has been operating since 1992 and I believe we are the only company to ever achieve Tennis Australia’s approval for our synthetic grass maintenance system. We are an Australian family owned company and we manufacture our own machines here on the Sunshine Coast, so they are Australian made and manufactured.
Whenever Sportzing introduces a new procedure, technique or machine, we ensure it has undergone sufficient testing to guarantee its success and provides only benefits to our clients. It is our vision to provide the highest standard of synthetic sport surface maintenance and tennis products throughout Australia. We are well on our way, along with the support of our committed franchisees, to achieving this.
A challenge over the past years for Sportzing as a company has been to continually build the Sportzing brand. It is our goal for Sportzing to become the leading brand in the Australian Tennis Industry.
What are the strategic priorities of Sportzing? Where do you see the company in a year from now?
This time next year, we anticipate having new franchisees set up in WA, SA and Tasmania, and also expanding our existing territories in Victoria and NSW.
We are currently expanding Sportzing’s product range to include umpire chairs, tennis nets, tennis posts, winding units, Sportzing pressurised tennis balls, and more – watch this space.
What’s the best part of your job?
It doesn’t really feel like a job as we love what we do. Having said that, watching and helping people operate their own successful Sportzing franchise is the best part. When franchisees are able to achieve their ambitions and goals it is extremely satisfying.
Thanks for your time Alan
Great speaking to you
About Sportzing
Sportzing Court Care is Australia’s foremost franchise specialising in servicing, cleaning, maintaining and installing tennis courts. Sportzing is now recruiting new franchisees around Australia. To view their latest franchise opportunities please click here or call Call 1800 818 894 for a confidential discussion.
