We recently connected with William Jackson and have shared our conversation below.
William, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
I was a Business Management major in college, and my professor kept asking me what type of business did I want to own, and I never knew the answer to that question. I couldn’t imagine at the time what type of business I would want to own, how I would run it, or what products/services I would offer. That was until I decided on August 9th, 2019, that I was going to open up a Fitness Training and Athletic Development business.. I have always played sports growing up, whether it was football, basketball, or baseball, and I always had a passion for the game and helping other people out. In addition, I always had friends who wanted to workout with me, so I figured I would put my idea into action.
With the help of my sister, she walked me through the process of opening my business through Legal Zoom. We set up meetings weekly to discuss what services I would offer, which location will I have my services, and what my logo would look like. Over the next couple of months, I slowly developed my business by setting up the proper systems to allow people to schedule their sessions.
William, 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?
My name is William B. Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Impact. Promises. Legacy. Athletes. I have played sports for majority of my life, whether it was football, basketball, or baseball. I had the opportunity to play college basketball at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, MD. In addition, I was blessed to be able to manage, and have some coaching duties while I attended Montgomery College and Bowie State University.
I am blessed to have been in business for three years. Over the years, I have created new products, services and partnerships into the business such as, Fitness Training, Athletic Development, Recovery Revitalization, Meals & Nutrition, Guided Meditation, and Sauna Services, and Merchandise. Our Company has been blessed to participate in basketball summer camps like the Bowie City Basketball Camp, the Nike Elite Basketball Camp, and the Junior Wizards Basketball Camp. However, our greatest accomplishment has been the ability to travel to Bermuda to teach the game of basketball to students at Impact Mentoring Academy.
I.P.L. Athletes prides itself on our values: Integrity, Prayer, Character, Family, and Legacy. Our mission is to make a positive impact in someone’s life through helping them achieve the goals they set for themselves. We are your accountability partner, but also your friend. Once you entrust in our business to go with you along this journey, we become family. We push each other to be the best we can be, yet we meet you where you at in your journey.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I.P.L. Athletes has gone through its trials and tribulations. When our company first started in August 2019, we were starting to build something great. We had clients booking sessions, and the noise about I.P.L. was growing. However, in March of 2020, the pandemic hit, and we had to close our doors. All of our sessions were in person, so we had to figure out a way to engage with the clients in virtual sessions, which some clients didn’t want to attend. In addition, a lot of fitness instructors were offering free workout sessions online, which caused our new business to not be able to grow financially. Furthermore, months went by when exercise equipment was either sold out or extremely expensive. Therefore, our company had to pivot and find ways of how to be creative during those months, through virtual sessions, and before it was safe enough to resume sessions in person.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
“Before you can build a strong personal brand, you have to FIRST build a strong personal character,” says Rory Vaden, MBA. People will forget about what product or service you sell, but they will never forget how you treat them. And that is what is most important for our company. Whether we workout for a day, month, or year, we want to make a positive impact in your life. In addition, we consider you family. Which is why we are grateful that we have clients who consider themselves I.P.L. Athletes for life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iplathletes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iplathletes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iplathletes/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-jackson-05353511a
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/iplathletes
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYS9Q2v6-_6c2B8VuPhNPaQ
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/impact-promises-legacy-athletes-bowie?osq=impact+promises+legacy+athletes
- Other: https://g.page/r/CX7ageV2IYanEAg/review https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-v-report-interview-with-entrepreneur-william-jackson/id1268414615?i=1000517177840