We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandon Wong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brandon, thanks for joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.
My first client’s name was Alex, an 11 year old, only child. A friend who coaches junior hockey referred Alex and his family. The family was asking for hockey coaching and mentorship for their son. It was in late 2017, where we met and worked on some off-ice skills. In the same conversation after asking some specific questions about what they wanted and what they had visioned. I also wanted to work with Alex on dryland training, something that brought myself to higher heights as a young kid. Not only physically but mentally as well! What a journey its been going into year 8.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
As I look back, I have been a hockey coach my whole life, just not in the position to coach. I was always a student of the game and thinking of ways to better my teammates or myself. Always talking about ways to break down the game or learn from others. I have always had a passion for ice hockey and I loved the work it took to become a better player to one day play in the NHL. I failed, to not play in the NHL, and was a step away. I learned a lot during the playing journey but realizing back through, I had so much knowledge and experiences to give back to the kids and parents.
I was lucky to start this business as a trainer and coming back from the KHL/VHL in Russia and China, and looking for a new hockey opportunity. While waiting, my first client and teaming up with Harry and the Uvic Hockey Team on a 2 week Spring Hockey Camp.
About myself-
My name is Brandon Wong. I grew up playing at the Victoria Racquet Club. I played 27 years of hockey, 4 years of junior hockey, 4 years of college hockey and 9 years professionally. I have 9 seasons professional and have played in the AHL, ECHL, and a number of different countries overseas. Teams to note, Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings), Hartford Wolfpack(New York Rangers), Kunlun Red Star (KHL), and Quinnipiac University(NCAA).
While at Quinnipiac University I was a 2 time Hobey Baker candidate, and All-American and also attended the Ottawa Senators training camp in 2015 and Vancouver Canucks Rookie Camp in 2008.
Some Notable coaches I have had-
Mike Keenan- NHL/KHL COACH/GM- Stanley Cup Champion/Gragarian Cup Champion
Curt Fraser- NHL/AHL COACH- Dallas Stars/Grand Rapids Griffins
Jim Paek-AHL COACH/Director of South Korea Hockey
Neil Smith- NHL COACH/GM- New York Rangers/New Jersey Devils
Jim Shoenfeld- NHL GM/AHL GM- New York Rangers
Jason Christie- AHL/ECHL COACH- Chicago Wolves/ Tulsa Oilers
Spencer Carbery- AHL Asst coach/ECHL/OHL Head Coach- Washington Capitals/Providence Bruins/South Carolina Stingrays/Saginaw Spirit
Rand Pecknold- NCAA COACH- Quinnipiac University
Please Follow and Share my Facebook and Instagram page.
Website- www.bwhockey.com
https://www.facebook.com/brandonwongskillsandcoachingdev/
BW Hockey, offers skills training sessions and hockey camps. Our team of coaches and community train all year long, and
offer a Fall/winter skills program along with our off season Spring and Summer Programs. As we evolve and grow up the island and into other areas, we continue to work on giving our players the best coaching we can offer. We also have a spring hockey team program named the WILDCATS HC. We have recently partnered with the IBHA, a similar platform with youth ball hockey.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
There’s been many times we have had to adjust, One time I remember is when our BW Hockey and the junior hockey team Victoria Grizzlies ended our partnership, and we were left with starting from the beginning and no spring team name. We urgently had to find a new name and Jersey for our players. We started with a name and logo contest with our community. After the contest, we were named the Wildcats HC, ordered our jerseys and apparel through the popular Bardown Hockey company and selected our teams and competed in tournaments.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy for growing our clientele is caring about the kids, working with them and their families. This results in a growing and solid reputation and word-of-mouth from our families. A lot of times in sports, athletes just become a number and we hope to continue the care and interaction with our athletes. Greater Victoria and the island is small and a very tight knit community. Word travels around quickly. Our coaches and managers care a lot about our players and families and I think that is recognized, the value of our program is a great product and value.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bwhockey.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonwonghockey
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bwhockeydev
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-wong-00a4a644
- Twitter: @bwhockeydev
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bwhockeyinc8015/
