Speaking on Coordinate Sport’s The Drive Phase podcast, Get Active Sports founder and director, Rob Sherwood, shared the story of how his business came to be, alongside some of his key leadership philosophies.
Talking all things business, childcare and coaching on the podcast, Rob shares the story of how Get Active Sports - from a chance meeting between three ambitious people and a six-week drive toward securing a first business deal - grew into an activity provider catering for 10,000 children a week, delivering over 9,000 activities a month.
Rob explains: “Get Active Sports began life as three companies which merged into one. The three founders each provide expertise from a different vantage point – something that we believe makes us far stronger than we would be apart. Ryan [White] is a qualified teacher who formerly taught in schools and Shaun [Grant] was previously a sports teacher. I worked for Southampton FC as Academy coach.
“We met at a sports conference in 2011 and realised that we were trying to provide very similar services in a similar geographical area.
"It probably took six weeks for us to get our first deal. We had no lawyers or solicitors, the three of us sat down, decided we would make this business massive, and we just went and did it."
Rob also speaks of Get Active Sports’ recognition that if children do not become involved in sport early on in life, then they are less likely to pursue it in their older years, and that therefore their service is focused on directing a lifestyle change for both parents and children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Going on to discuss his personal development as a business leader, Rob discusses the importance of organisation and shares his own mantra that “the early bird always catches the worm”. He also highlights a particularly key element of his own personal leadership style: the need to respect the people who work for you and treat them as equals.
Rob says: “You should always respect your employees. They do not work for you, and they are not your team. My biggest pet hate is introducing an employee as ‘he or she works for me’.”
Rob Sherwood’s full interview on The Drive Phase podcast can be found here.
