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

Hi Laura, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so one thing we think people don’t talk about nearly enough is investments – either time or money. What’s one of the best or worst investments you’ve made and what did you learned from the experience?

I have been in Sports Performance since before graduating college. At 23 I was working for a great company gaining valuable experience with NFL and NFL Combine, but little did I know I had moved halfway across the country to take a job at a business that was going under. I was new to Florida with no connections and what felt like little options. Scared and of course knowing nothing about running a business, I opened Stark Strong Performance. Over the next 4 years I would continue to learn under coaches, build my brand, and develop my own unique style with my athletes. Truthfully, my business survived only because I was a good coach who knew how to communicate. Nothing about how the business was run was efficient or scaleable.

In 2020, with Covid taking a hard hit on us all, I actually started to do really well. I moved our sessions to a park, and all my athletes were ready to train more than ever with the increased time they had. But early on, there were no answers. I always was worried if the next day we’d show up and the park was closed. If there were to be a covid issue even practicing outside with distance. As we all felt, there were a lot of “ifs” and “buts”.

I started creating an online model just to play it safe but didn’t push it much. I continued to do well in person, but then I had my first out of state athlete reach out to me. A dad of a high school soccer player had been following my work for some time and jumped on the opportunity to get his daughter training with our methods. My long time dream of having a wider impact on athletes started to finally seem possible.

As I refined our model, I found that our athletes were starting to get BETTER results than the athletes in person. I was able to ask for more commitment and streamline a more specific plan that got results like no other!

From there, I jumped in 100%. I invested in my first business coach which was hands down the best investment I could have made. After 3 months with her and more systems and processes in place then I even knew I needed, I opted in for another 6 months.

With results beyond what I imagined or ever could have achieved with my old model, I found a new 12 month program to join after that. Putting about $25,000 into mentorships has hands down been the best decision I have made. I continue to invest more in my business with hiring the right marketing agency, staff, etc. and look forward to all the doors that will open.

I had never been much of a risk taker before this, but over the past few years I have found that these risks (backed with research, a plan of action, and a quality product) produce the results I always wanted but never found playing it safe. Although there have been plenty of hiccups in the journey, I’ve found that doubling down on my vision no matter the cost has led me to greater paths towards my always growing goals.

Laura, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Stark Strong Performance specializes in speed development and injury prevention for middle and high school athletes.

We work with athletes and coaches 2:1 to set and exceed goals around speed development and injury prevention.

The Speed Enhancement Mentorship is designed to take the high level tools only seen at the pro level and then not only bring them to middle and high school athletes, but also to challenge each athlete’s perspective and mindset so they are making lifestyle changes sustainable beyond their time with Stark Strong Performance.

Built on education and purpose behind movement, this 12-week mentorship has helped athletes decrease their 40 yd dash time by .5 seconds, receive scholarships from their dream school, and earn a starting spot on the team two levels higher than before.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Any business starts with CARE. Do you CARE about your clients? Do you CARE that they have results delivered to them?

Care and results are at the forefront of our business. Anyone who comes into our program should leave feeling like they were delivered the best product from coaches who care about them not just now, but as they grow in their athletic career and beyond.

When you focus on a quality product, reputation follows.

The results are delivered by the correct training and staying up to date on the best tactics. We use simple and effective tools seen at the pro level and bring them down to middle and high schoolers in a way that they can understand and replicate. Communicating in a way that our audience understands and can build on has been something that we hear they can’t find anywhere else.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing a team is something that many people find to be the hardest aspect of business but should be the easiest.

In the book “Good to Great” he mentions that people are not your best asset, the RIGHT people are your best asset. When you find people who are eager and passionate about the results they can deliver, you should not have to micro manage but simply guide.

Of course this is easier said than done, however most businesses or people don’t take the time and effort to truly find the best team.

Although I am always searching for ways to be a better manager, boss, business owner, mentor, etc. I am so lucky to have the best team that LOVES seeing our athletes win and will do anything they can to help them earn results.

So to start, begin with understanding what each of your team members truly want. What they want now, and what they see for themselves long term. This will help you understand what drives them and how they can fit in best in your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://starkstrongperformance.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/stark.strong.performance?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachlaurastark
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-stark-00362263

Image Credits
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