“The one thing I’ve enjoyed most from day one at Soccer Shots is helping individuals start small businesses and positively impact kids through soccer.”

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Soccer Shots is the premier provider of intro to soccer instruction for children 2-8 years old. Through Franchising, Soccer Shots serves over 100 locations in the U.S and Canada and 50,000 children annually. Their goal is to leave a lasting positive impact on the children they serve and to provide business opportunities for individuals that have a passion for teaching children.

MO: Can you talk about the origin of Soccer Shots and why it was originally founded?

Jeremy: I originally started Soccer Shots while playing semi-pro soccer for the Charlotte Eagles in Charlotte, NC. At the time, I was looking to generate income in the off-season, and the opportunity presented itself to coach kids at a few local daycares. The beauty of the concept was the coaching was during the day, not evenings or weekends, so that was very attractive to me. I also quickly realized there was a niche in the market that wasn’t being filled by the other soccer clubs in the area. As a result, I was able to land another half-dozen accounts during that first season and get the small business up and running.

MO: What influenced the decision to franchise the business and can you expand on the process of scaling and replicating the business accordingly? What were some of the challenges you encountered along the way and how did you overcome them?

Jeremy: My partner, Jason Webb, suggested the idea of franchising. After Jason was able to duplicate the Soccer Shots model in Harrisburg, PA, we had a couple of friends interested in running the program. Jason suggested franchising as an option to maintain the consistency of the program. There were a lot of challenges to franchising the concept but fortunately we were able to lean on the advice of several friends and mentors who have grown small businesses, including contacts that are involved in other franchise concepts. Justin Bredeman, now our 3rd partner, had worked with Auntie Anne’s and did a bit of consulting work to help steer us in the right direction.

MO: What are some of ways that Soccer Shots can benefit a community?

Jeremy: There are several tangible examples I can think of but I’ll just name two to keep it brief. At schools where we run our weekly clinics, I believe Soccer Shots provides opportunities for kids whose parents both work (or have single parents) the opportunity to learn a sport and get exercise without cutting into their evening activities. Instead of a parent rushing to the daycare to pick their child up and rush them to a practice, they can spend time together at home. The second example would be our park programs, which we specifically target to neighborhoods, so they are convenient for families to get to. We’ve found it’s a great way for families in the neighborhood to get to know each other and build a community feeling together. In fact, at one of our park programs in Charlotte, after every practice, the parents would have pizza delivered and hang out together. That was pretty cool.

MO: Can you provide some examples of how Soccer Shots is committed to equipping franchisees with the tools necessary to be successful at running a small business?

Jeremy: At Soccer Shots, we are committed to helping franchisees through every step of business development. From filling out the appropriate paperwork and getting a business formed, to the 4-day training we provide to help launch a business, as well as the ongoing development of our curriculum, technology and marketing tools, our goal is to work with a franchisee at each stage of their development. What’s been fun recently is helping many first-time business owners grow from a one-person show to forming a small organization with employees and office space.

MO: What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for you personally and/or professionally?

Jeremy: The one thing I’ve enjoyed most from day one at Soccer Shots is helping individuals start small businesses and positively impact kids through soccer. As I look ahead to the next two to three years, we have franchisees doing some really exciting work in their communities and I’m just excited to be part of that and helping in whatever way I can to make them successful.