If there is one thing Australia is renowned for it is our love of sport.
Today, Australian entrepreneurship is on the up, while our enthusiasm for football, cricket, rugby, tennis and all the rest remains undiminished.
So in the midst of all these national pastimes now lies a great opportunity for smart entrepreneurs to unlock great business success.
Here, we take a look at ways in which entrepreneurship and a love of sport can be combined and lead to a successful business.
Develop your blog
Running a sports blog might sound like something you do in your spare time and monetise for a little extra cash. But the success of sites like ForeverNetwork show just how big, and lucrative, a sports website can become.
The key is to understanding your audience and establishing yourself in a unique nice. Sport has become a global business, and Australian fans log on to sites like Twitch or the Unibet sportsbook to follow and back events across the globe. ForeverNetwork started in the basketball niche, for example and has grown from there.
Sell your photographs
If you have a passion for sport and a talent for snapping great action photos, a sports photography business could be right up your street. Taking truly memorable photos is not a matter of luck. It demands skill, concentration and an in-depth understanding of the sport to know where you need to be focussing to capture that unique image.
For example, remember that superhuman catch by Ben Stokes in the 2015 Ashes? Most photographers were focusing on the fielder, but it was Matthew Impey who zoomed in on bowler Stuart Broad’s reaction and his is the image that has gone down in sporting history.
Trade memorabilia
This is another business that might have seemed like small beer a decade or so. However, the internet has turned that on its head and the sports memorabilia industry will be worth an estimated $15 billion by 2021. That is a large pie, and now could be the perfect time to get a slice of it.
While you could, of course, set up a physical store, it makes sense to start online through an ecommerce platform and keep overheads to a minimum, at least until your business has become established in the virtual world. The key to success is to understand what you are dealing with, so make sure you focus on the sports and teams for which you have a genuine passion.
Start a sports bar
If hospitality is more your area of expertise, you can still work in a sporting angle. Sports bars are growing in popularity across Australia, and those streaming and broadcasting options we mentioned earlier mean there are more events than ever you can cover.
Provide a great environment for fans to enjoy the game with great company and good quality food and drink, and you have the ultimate lifestyle business.
