Week One: Setting a Timeline

February 19, 2016
     Throughout this week Claira and I began setting our deadlines for this project. The 20% project is due in May and to make sure we meet our deadlines we have created a calendar. Also, we have started composing our research on where to strategically place a volleyball club, so that it benefits the company and athletes.
     The majority of my research revolved around researching the numbers of volleyball clubs (if any) per state. Claira and I benefit from this so we know who and how much competition we will be facing. My partner, Claira, found that the most competitive volleyball states were California, Kentucky, Indiana, and Colorado. This information benefits Claira and I because we now know that building a new club in these states would be difficult due to the fact of minimal promotion. To strategically place a volleyball club we need to find states that have smaller, less competitive club teams so we can start our club off small and progress form there. To become a successful volleyball program we first have to have athletes and a coaching staff, then places to practice, and then uniforms. These are all expenses that will have to be covered, and to be able to get athletes we will have to be impressive and have a winning record so girls/boys will want to play for us.
     Claira and I plan to make a club and place it in the southern region. From my personal experience playing, the majority of clubs are in the south, which means there are many athletes that live in the south. The southern region seems like a great market, while also benefiting Claira and I since it will be close to our homes. We can also look deeper and place our club in a major city so we have access to gym space and could then expose our business to surrounding schools, colleges, etc. This also benefits us so we could have college students coach our teams, so now we have taken care of gym space, athletes, and coaches. We would make great directors/owners of a volleyball club due to our experience with other volleyball clubs and our marketing experience.
     I am so excited to continue to study how broad and diverse volleyball is becoming. Living in the south, there is probably a volleyball club within twenty miles of your own house. Claira and I can now use our timelines and research to be able to create a successful volleyball club, while just being young entrepreneurs. Next week we plan to start our interviews and speaking with different coaches.