Play Ball!

When Curtis Nelson left a high paying job in the public sector as a Business Analyst to create Silversmith Sports Inc., many people thought he was crazy. Why would a person leave a secure employment position to set out on a journey of building a business where success was not guaranteed? The answer to that question was quite clear to Curtis – because it was needed.

Silversmith Sports Inc. is an athletic and life skill training company aimed at providing children aged 9-17 with a real opportunity to develop the necessary skills to succeed in life, through the sport of basketball. As a former scholarship post-secondary varsity basketball player, Curtis recognized that athletics could be used as an effective vehicle to teach kids about cooperation, communication, courage, respect, accountability, responsibility, hard work and dedication, among other things. “This year has been a resounding success” stated Curtis. “I couldn’t be happier with how things have worked out”.

This year, Silversmith Sports ran a spring league, two elite spring and summer teams, four different summer camps and six weeks of fall clinics. Registration numbers were better than expected, including one summer camp that nearly sold out. Revenues were also better than anticipated, and the demand for their unique programming has gone through the roof. So much so that in addition to their upcoming programs, Silversmith is currently working on acquiring their own facility to run their programming out of.

One of the key lessons learned was that sound financial planning is one of the keys to ongoing success. “Having a great business team around you really helps, but as the director you really need to have a good handle on the business happenings, especially the finances. All small businesses have cash flow problems at some point but if you can foresee the problems then you can be proactive” Curtis stated.

“One of the best surprises was that both the kids and their parents loved our programming, which is unusual in this day and age” Curtis indicated. “Usually if the parents like it, the children are lukewarm to it and vice versa, but with Silversmith everyone seems to enjoy it. We seem to have a formula for success, but the challenge now is to ensure that more people find out about our programs and what they offer to the kids”.

Through the ongoing development of strategic partnerships with other businesses, and more grassroots marketing, there is no doubt that Silversmith Sports will continue on its road to success.