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Building your team will be one of the hardest things you do in your business, but also the most rewarding when you see the freedom, the lifestyle, the time and the brain space it gives you.
Whether you’re six months into your business or turning over a couple of million a year with multiple venues, one of the biggest questions Katie gets asked is about team. In this episode of Go Gold with Katie, former five-time British gymnastics champion turned seven-figure entrepreneur Katie Cannon shares 10 ways to keep your team motivated, focused and working towards the same vision.
Katie gets real about her own journey, including her early admin who did everything, and how she’d approach it very differently today. You’ll learn why your team need a north star, and why the goal isn’t just building a team; it’s building leaders who can think on their feet and grow your business without you in it.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Ready to grow your business with support? If you’re serious about building a team that gives you freedom, time and lifestyle, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
👉 Join the Gold Medal Business membership: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/membership
👉 Visit our website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
Enjoyed this episode? Follow Go Gold with Katie on Spotify or your favourite podcast app, leave a review, and share it with a fellow children’s activity entrepreneur who’s building their team!
Stay Connected With Gold Medal Business and Katie Cannon:
Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | LinkedIn | YouTube
Website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
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In this episode of Go Gold with Katie, former five-times British gymnastics champion turned seven-figure entrepreneur Katie Cannon shows you how to grow your student numbers using the database you already have.
So many children's activity and sport businesses pour time, energy and money into the front end (Facebook ads, funnels, leaflets, social media) and completely forget about the back end. That's the leaky bucket, and it's where so much gold is hiding. Katie walks you through four internal marketing strategies you can hand straight to your admin team this week: reactivations, referrals, upsells and customer care.
Whether you're running a dance studio, gymnastics club, football academy or preschool programme, this episode will help you fill your classes, grow your bottom line and stand out in a busy market without increasing your ad spend.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Ready to grow your business with support?
If you're serious about growing and scaling your children's activity business, you don't have to figure it out alone.
👉 Join the Gold Medal Business membership: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/membership
👉 Visit our website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
Enjoyed this episode? Follow Go Gold with Katie on Spotify or your favourite podcast app, leave a review, and share it with a fellow children's activity entrepreneur who needs to hear it!
Stay Connected With Gold Medal Business and Katie Cannon:
Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | LinkedIn | YouTube
Website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
Intro and Outro Background Music
Main Street by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of Go Gold with Katie, Katie sits down with Sean Conlon for a very personal conversation about football, entrepreneurship, franchising, mentorship, leadership and building a business that can scale. Katie and Sean have known each other for around 18 years. Sean was building his football business while Katie was building Backflip, and Katie even became a customer of We Make Footballers when her son started playing football there.
About Sean Conlon
Sean Conlon is the founder of We Make Footballers, a global football coaching franchise delivering elite, age-specific training for children aged 4–12 across the UK, USA, Australia, and the UAE. What began with his early coaching days at Chelsea FC's Academy has grown into a franchise model empowering local coaches to build rewarding businesses in their communities.
Sean also founded Project Footballer, a media channel and Spotify podcast featuring in-depth conversations with football greats like Frank Lampard, Paul Merson, Jamie Redknapp, Joleon Lescott, and Troy Deeney, exploring what it really takes to become a footballer. Alongside this, he works as a Pre-Academy Scout for Chelsea FC, having helped over 30 players get signed, with We Make Footballers now contributing over a third of Chelsea's current U7 Advanced group.
Sean's work sits at the intersection of sport, entrepreneurship, and social impact — driven by a belief that with the right systems, people, and mindset, football can change lives.
What’s In This Episode?
Want to Build a Bigger Children's Activity Business?
If Sean's story has got you thinking about what could be possible in your own business, you're not alone. Whether you're running a football academy, gymnastics business, dance school, swimming programme, theatre school or another children's activity business, the journey from coach or practitioner to business owner and CEO requires a different set of skills. That's exactly what we focus on inside Gold Medal Business. You'll get practical business training, support, resources and a community of children's activity and sports entrepreneurs who are working through the same challenges.
Join Gold Medal Business: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/membership
Learn more about We Make Footballers and find out about their franchise opportunities: https://wemakefootballers.com/
You can also connect with Sean on social media and follow Project Footballer to hear more from some of the biggest names in football:
Project Footballer: https://www.projectfootballer.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeMakeFootballers
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-conlon-75803214/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanconlon1/
Stay Connected With Gold Medal Business and Katie Cannon:
Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | LinkedIn | YouTube
Website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
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Main Street by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/
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Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of Go Gold Podcast, Katie breaks down the six things she looks at before deciding whether an entrepreneur is ready to launch another income stream or business. Because having a great idea isn't enough. You need the team, systems, structure, time and financial foundations to make it work without damaging the business you already have.
Katie shares lessons from her own entrepreneurial journey, including the early years when saying “yes” to every opportunity led to a lack of focus and how taking several steps back helped create the foundations for much bigger growth later.
What’s In This Episode?
The Biggest Lesson - Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do it right now.
Sometimes the smartest move isn't launching the new thing. Sometimes it's going back into your existing business, strengthening the foundations, building the team, tightening the systems and creating the space you need to grow.
If you want practical support to grow and scale your children's activity or sports business, join the Gold Medal Business community. You'll get access to practical training, support, resources and a community of entrepreneurs working towards their next level of growth. Join Gold Medal Business: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/membership
Follow Go Gold with Katie for more practical business training, real-world lessons and conversations designed specifically for children's activity and sports entrepreneurs.
Stay Connected With Gold Medal Business and Katie Cannon:
Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | LinkedIn | YouTube
Website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
Intro and Outro Background Music
Main Street by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What does it really take to scale a children’s activity business? For Amy Schweizer, it started with just 30 children, paper sign-up sheets, cash payments at the field and, at one point, coaching with a baby strapped to her while looking after her three-year-old. Fast forward 12 years, and Amy has built Tiny Troops Soccer into a multi-location children’s sports business operating across 17 states, with 50+ locations, 60+ staff and more than 30,000 children served.
In this episode of Go Gold with Katie, Katie sits down with Amy to talk about the journey behind those numbers, including the challenges, mistakes, mindset shifts and systems that helped Amy move from doing everything herself to leading a business that can operate without her being involved in the day-to-day.
What’s In This Episode?
About Amy Schweizer
Amy Schweizer is the founder and CEO of Tiny Troops Soccer, a children's football business operating across 17 states and more than 50 locations. Amy started playing soccer at 16, went on to captain at high school and college level and later played professionally for the Cincinnati Ladyhawks in the W-League.
She holds a B.S. in Finance and M.S. in Sport Management and launched Tiny Troops Soccer while stationed in Japan as a USMC military spouse.
More than a decade later, Tiny Troops has served over 30,000 children and employs more than 60 staff worldwide.
Amy is also the author of I'll Be Okay: Adventures of a Military Kid, a children's book inspired by her experience as a military family and created to help children navigate the unique experiences that can come with military life. The book combines storytelling, physical activity and practical ways for children to process change and build resilience. Amy also offers companies and individuals the opportunity to sponsor copies of the book for military children and families.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Will-Be-Okay-Adventures-Military/dp/1736031805
She has been featured in Sports Illustrated and Military Spouse Magazine and was named the 2021 Inspirational Leader of the Year by The Rosie Network.
Today, Amy combines her experience as an entrepreneur, business owner and coach to help other children's activity and sports entrepreneurs build, scale and lead their businesses.
Join Gold Medal Business
If you’re ready to stop figuring everything out on your own and want practical support, training, strategies and a community of other children’s activity and sports entrepreneurs, take a look at the Gold Medal Business Membership. Inside the membership, you’ll get access to:
Join Gold Medal Business - https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/membership
Stay Connected With Gold Medal Business and Katie Cannon:
Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | LinkedIn | YouTube
Website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
Intro and Outro Background Music
Main Street by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of Go Gold with Katie, Katie Cannon shares why playing the long game is one of the most important strategies for building a successful children's activity or sports business.
With more than 20 years of experience in the industry, Katie breaks down the four key areas you need to focus on for long-term growth: your learning, your team, your investment and your marketing.
This episode is all about stepping back, looking at the bigger picture and understanding that sustainable business growth doesn't happen overnight. It's built through consistency, strategic investment, strong leadership and keeping momentum even when the results aren't immediate.
You'll learn:
Episode Summary
Katie shares why entrepreneurs need to move away from the constant pursuit of quick wins and start building the skills, systems, teams and strategies that will support their business for years to come. She breaks down four essential areas of long-term business growth:
Katie also shares lessons from her own business journey, including what happened when she grew too quickly without having the skills and foundations needed to sustain that growth.
If you're building a children's activity or sports business and want to create something sustainable, scalable and capable of growing without you doing everything, this episode will help you think differently about your next move.
Resources & Next Steps
This is NEW to our Gold Medal Business community! If you're serious about building your children's activity or sports business for the long term, come and check out what we're building inside Gold Medal Business.
Our membership gives children's activity entrepreneurs access to weekly training, support, strategies and a community designed specifically around the challenges of growing a business in this industry. Join the Gold Medal Business Membership
Want to find out more about Gold Medal Business and how we can support you? Visit Gold Medal Business
CONNECT WITH US
If you enjoyed this episode:
✔ Follow Go Gold with Katie
✔ Subscribe so you never miss a new episode
✔ Share this episode with another children's activity entrepreneur
✔ Come and join our Gold Medal Business community
Stay Connected With Gold Medal Business and Katie Cannon:
Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | LinkedIn |Youtube
Website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
Intro and Outro Background Music
Main Street by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of Go Gold with Katie, Katie Cannon gets real about why investing in your business, your skills and the right support can be one of the biggest catalysts for growth. Drawing on over 20 years as an entrepreneur and her experience of working with mentors throughout her own journey, Katie challenges you to look at whether you're truly treating your business like a business or still approaching it with a hobby mindset.
What you'll learn:
Episode Summary
In this episode, Katie explores the relationship between money mindset and business growth, challenging the common belief that you should wait until you have the money before investing in the support you need. She explains why this approach can create a cycle where you stay stuck because you're waiting for the results you need before making the investment that could help you achieve them.
This episode is about learning to make strategic investments that create a return—whether that's through increased enrolments, improved profitability, stronger systems, better leadership, or saving yourself years of trial and error.
If you're serious about growing your children's activity or sports business, this episode will challenge you to rethink how you view investment and whether your current money mindset is helping you move forward or keeping you exactly where you are.
Resources & Next Steps
Ready to stop figuring everything out on your own? Explore the Gold Medal Business mentorship, created specifically for children's activity and sports entrepreneurs who want expert guidance, accountability and proven strategies to grow and scale.
Explore our mentorship offers: Gold Medal Business Mentorship Offers
You can also visit the Gold Medal Business website to discover more training, resources and support for children's activity entrepreneurs: Gold Medal Business
If this episode gave you something to think about:
Stay Connected With Gold Medal Business and Katie Cannon:
Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | LinkedIn |Youtube
Website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
Intro and Outro Background Music
Main Street by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Many children's activity business owners believe the answer to growth is adding more classes, more services, more products and more ideas. But what if the real answer is doing less better?
In this episode of Go Gold with Katie, Katie Cannon shares why simplifying your business is one of the most powerful ways to unlock your next stage of growth. Drawing on nearly 20 years of experience, she explains how overcomplicating your business can slow your momentum, reduce profitability and make scaling much harder than it needs to be.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Episode Summary
In this episode, Katie shares the lessons she learned from building her own children's activity businesses and explains why simplifying your business creates stronger foundations for long-term growth. From refining your product offering to streamlining your systems and removing distractions, she shares practical strategies to help you build a business that's easier to manage and far easier to scale.
You'll also learn how to recognise when you've diversified too early, why successful brands stay laser-focused on their core offering, and how regularly reviewing your business can create more profit, more capacity and more freedom.
If your business feels busy, complicated or harder to manage than it should, this episode will help you simplify with confidence and focus on the activities that generate the biggest results.
If you enjoyed this episode:
Questions? Email our team at [email protected]
Stay Connected With Gold Medal Business and Katie Cannon:
Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | LinkedIn |Youtube
Website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
Intro and Outro Background Music
Main Street by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of Go Gold with Katie, Katie Cannon shares how to create true autonomy within your team so you can step out of the day-to-day operations and focus on growing your business.
Drawing on nearly 20 years of experience building and scaling children's activity businesses, Katie explains the difference between hiring assistants and developing leaders, why many business owners accidentally create dependency within their teams, and how changing the way you recruit and lead can transform your business.
Whether you're building your first leadership team or refining an established organisation, you'll leave this episode with practical strategies you can implement immediately.
What You'll Learn:
Episode Summary
One of the biggest reasons children's activity business owners struggle to scale isn't because they don't have a team; it's because they don't yet have a team that truly leads.
In this episode, Katie shares how she transformed herself from doing every job in her business to leading multiple businesses with strong department leaders who take ownership of their roles. She explains why autonomy isn't created by simply delegating tasks; it's created by recruiting the right people, setting clear expectations and developing leaders who think independently.
You'll learn how to identify where your time is really being spent, recognise the roles that still rely too heavily on you, and create simple systems that allow your team to make decisions with confidence.
If your goal is to build a business that can grow without depending on you every hour of every day, this episode provides the practical leadership strategies to help make that happen.
Resources & Next Steps
Ready to build a business that doesn't rely on you for every decision? Our Gold Medal Business mentorship programmes help children's activity and sports entrepreneurs build stronger leadership teams, better systems and businesses that scale with confidence. Inside our mentorship, you'll receive:
Explore our mentorship opportunities here: https://goldmedalbusiness.org/mentorship-offers
Questions? Email our team at [email protected]
Stay Connected With Gold Medal Business and Katie Cannon:
Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | LinkedIn |Youtube
Website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
Intro and Outro Background Music
Main Street by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Do you feel like you're spinning too many plates in your business? If you're answering emails, teaching classes, managing your team, posting on social media and trying to grow your business all at the same time, this episode is for you.
In this episode of Go Gold with Katie, Katie Cannon shares one of the biggest mindset shifts every children's activity entrepreneur needs to make: learning to work in your Zone of Genius. Katie explains why delegation isn't about doing less; it's about doing more of what only you can do to grow your business. You'll discover practical strategies to free up your time, build a stronger team and step into the role of CEO with confidence.
Whether you're a team of one or leading multiple venues, this episode will help you create more capacity, reduce overwhelm and build a business that doesn't rely on you for every decision.
What You'll Learn:
Episode Summary
One of the biggest reasons children's activity business owners struggle to scale isn't because they lack ambition; it's because they're trying to do everything themselves. In this episode, Katie shares her proven framework for identifying your Zone of Genius and explains why spending the majority of your time on high-impact activities is essential if you want to grow a sustainable business.
She walks through a practical delegation exercise that helps you identify which tasks only you should be doing, which responsibilities can be delegated, and which activities shouldn't be on your plate at all. Katie also explores how to structure your team, measure return on investment for each role, and develop a leadership style that empowers people instead of creating dependency.
As we head towards autumn, this is also the ideal time to start thinking ahead. Katie explains why October is the perfect opportunity to begin reviewing your business, refining your systems and putting the right team and leadership foundations in place before the year ahead.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed, stretched too thin or trapped inside the day-to-day running of your business, this episode will help you take the first steps towards creating more freedom, more focus and a business that can grow without relying on you every minute of the day.
Resources & Next Steps
Ready to spend more time working on your business instead of constantly working in it? Our Gold Medal Business mentorship programmes are designed specifically for children's activity and sports entrepreneurs who want to build stronger teams, better systems and scalable businesses. Explore our mentorship opportunities here: https://goldmedalbusiness.org/mentorship-offers
Stay Connected With Gold Medal Business and Katie Cannon:
Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group | LinkedIn |Youtube
Website: https://www.goldmedalbusiness.com/
Intro and Outro Background Music
Main Street by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
From the publisher's feed
5X British Champion turned 7-figure entrepreneur Katie Cannon (and mum of 3) has been in business for over 20 years and has a wealth of experience in the Leisure, Sport, and Children's Activity…
Katie's mission is to help you turn your skills and passion into a business and then give you the skills to become a CEO, ensuring your business can thrive WITH and WITHOUT YOU.
Tune in to hear foundational business strategies, real-life examples, the good and bad in business, and how you can build business and life together.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.