We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zia Sheik a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Zia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I grew up playing snooker in India. It was a huge passion of mine since I was in school. When I moved to the US in 2014, I discovered that not only was the game not popular hear, but most people have never heard of it. There are handful of places in the US where we have snooker clubs and only couple of them have the top-notch equipment. Participating in monthly competitions and playing alongside some of the nation’s top competitors rejuvenated my love for the game. I won multiple tournaments at the clubs and played in the Pan American tournaments and US & Canada tournaments.

When my wife and I relocated to the Nashville area in 2018, I found myself in a snooker desert. When I looked for a snooker club in Nashville, I couldn’t find one. Not only was Nashville without a club, but there wasn’t a club within the entire state of Tennessee! I decided then that I would buy a professional grade table and start my own private club in our home as a start-up. The best option was to take baby steps; buy 1 professional snooker table and spread the word in the hopes of growing the snooker community in Nashville.

Planning and execution took 3 years, and I am proud to offer the First Private Snooker Academy of Tennessee that provides the same playing conditions the pros enjoy. We have 1 Xingpai Professional Star Tournament snooker table fitted with Strachan #10 cloth, a professional predator arena snooker light, and a professional digital scoreboard. Nashville Snooker Academy also offers to coach beginners.

Our mission is to promote snooker and introduce the younger generation to this beautiful game. My goal in creating Nashville Snooker Academy was not only to have an outlet in which I could play, but also to spread the word and introduce more individuals to the game. Sharing this passion with others allows me a new level of enjoyment and through coaching and instruction, perhaps one day the World Snooker Champion will be from the US.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a corporate employee by day, serving as the Senior Director of Operations for a firm specializing in staffing and consulting. I have 18 years of work experience in Operations. I have worked for top tech, healthcare, staffing, and consulting companies. The creative solutions, strategic planning, and precision I apply to my day job intertwine with my approach to snooker, and the two complement each other, allowing me to utilize a similar skill set in each arena.

Snooker is growing in popularity in the US and new snooker clubs are opening across the country, which is very encouraging. The United States Snooker Association is continuously working towards growing the snooker community. Enthusiasts across the country are working to promote the game and having clubs to play in is a key part of this. If we continue to grow the snooker community, we can expect to see the US hosting the World Men’s & Women’s Snooker Championships and there’s no reason the next title champion shouldn’t come from the United States.

Our hope is to expand awareness and provide an outlet, one table at a time. The goal in the formation of Nashville Snooker Academy in middle Tennessee is to help spark interest in the game and provide a space for those familiar with the game to play and to coach people who are new to this game. I am currently focused on growing my business and spreading awareness about snooker in Nashville. Nashville Snooker Academy provides top notch equipment, instruction, a playing facility, and competitive environment to help elevate one’s game.

I’m continuously looking for like-minded people interested in investing in Nashville Snooker Academy to help grow the snooker community and create new snooker champions from Nashville.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

As a start-up, I don’t have the luxury of an advertising budget or ability to hire a social media person to promote the business. I handle all the social media promotion on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. In college, I did a course in Multimedia and have leveraged those skills to create an online presence. We are part of Facebook groups dedicated to our key demographics where we post about our tournaments and sponsors. That’s how we gained traction and built strong social media audiences. Currently we have 200+ followers on Facebook, 200+ followers on Instagram and 80+ subscribers on YouTube.

There are many apps available that can give a professional look and feel to attract followers. I strongly recommend new entrepreneurs utilize these apps to make a strong social media statement.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

It’s very important for new businesses to keep customers engaged. I have put a nominal annual membership fee in place, which allows priority booking and participation in the tournaments. We try to conduct tournaments monthly which keeps our members excited and encourages them to book the table for practice and coaching ahead of the tournaments. We have a Whatsapp group in which members share thoughts about the sport, discuss ongoing championships and other snooker related content. This keeps members engaged within the academy group, fosters friendly competition and allows players to coordinate practice times.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nashvillesnookeracademy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nashvillesnookeracademy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nashvillesnookeracademy/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgw8nfCOpmKl0rYWzSKNb5Q