Sport to Start-up Programme open to GPA Members

For those involved in a full-time sports career, there is very little time for anything else. For many athletes they will reach the end of their career either by design or prematurely through injury, with no definite plan on their life after sport. Sports people possess highly sought-after traits such as drive, goal setting, determination, ability to perform in high pressure situations, all of which are transferable to the world of business.

The Local Enterprise Offices, which are funded by Enterprise Ireland and located in the 31 local authorities across the country, are introducing a Start Your Own Business course aimed specifically at full-time athletes to enable them to utilise these skills in business. More information can be found here.

Since their inception in 2014 the Local Enterprise Offices have been central to the creation of 18,000 jobs across the country and are the essential resource for anyone looking to start are business or a small business owner who wants to grow. They provide training, one-to-one mentoring and financial supports to entrepreneurs and business owners.

The Sport to Start-Up course will help participants to research and evaluate their idea and bring it right through to a viable business plan stage.

The course is not just aimed at those who want to start their own business but will give participants a grounding in how a business is set up which is beneficial for those that may look to invest or partner in a business in the future.

The course requires the commitment of 3 hours on one day per week for 8 weeks. At the end of the course the participant will have a viable business plan that they can implement and will receive mentoring on the next steps to take with their business if they want to pursue it.

Modules of the programme to include –

• Starting / Getting Started / The Idea
• Identifying, understanding and researching your target market
• Tax, law, HR and insurance
• Financial planning (pricing / costing)
• Sources of funding
• Promoting your business
• Smart tools and tech for Start-ups
• Sales and service
• Networking
• Basic bookkeeping
• Developing your business plan