Take These Early Steps to Make Your Business Recession-Proof

By Dave Allen

Rising inflation costs and fears of an impending recession have many golf instructors wondering if it’s time to start cutting back on expenses, and saving all of the money they accrued during the Covid-driven golf boom of 2020 and 2021. But that kind of thinking is not going to protect your business and allow it to thrive when things do inevitably slow down, warns Lorin Anderson, Founder of Proponent Group, a career and business consulting service for teaching professionals.

“You can come off a peak, and still have a really nice business,” said Anderson, who also served as Golf Channel’s Vice President of Instruction from 2017 to 2020. “But the idea that you’re just going to be sitting there filling up your books at the current pace is unrealistic. You need to be prepared. Do you have good marketing in place? Do you have good content? Are you doing all of the things so that when things do slow down, you can keep your book full? The idea that you can just coast going forward is a mistake, and that’s a mistake a lot of instructors are going to make.”

The Covid-19 pandemic helped revitalize the game of golf, as golfers new and old flocked to golf courses around the country to enjoy a relatively safe, social outdoor activity. People couldn’t wait to get outside, and golf became one of the primary escapes. NBC Sports Next booking engines, led by GolfNow, booked an all-time record 27 million golf rounds in 2020 and again in 2021, an increase of more than 61 percent from 2019. So popular was the game that many teaching professionals started having waiting lists of six weeks or more for lessons, says Anderson.

“Indications are that peak Covid has passed for the golf industry,” said Anderson. “But we won’t revert to the mean. We’re still in a good place, but we’ve got to come off the peak and we’re probably going to keep coming off that peak.”

Golf instructors have basically been given a “free ride” the last two years, says Anderson. They’ve been busier than ever, thanks to Covid. But for that to continue, he says, you have to start taking steps to protect your business in the future. That means developing new, enticing programming and creating engaging content that is going to increase your visibility in your local market.

“The word I always use with my clients is visibility,” said Anderson, who as a former Managing Editor for Instruction at Golf Magazine helped developed such respected editorial franchises as the Golf Magazine Top 100 Teachers list and the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame. “Everyone thrives when there are golfers looking for lessons all over the place, but when they start to become a little more selective you need to have the visibility to be able to stand out and separate yourself from the competition. The teachers who are good at marketing themselves are able to do that.”

What also makes now a good time to invest is that there’s a surplus of money sitting in many consumers’ banking accounts, says Anderson. A combination of pandemic relief funds and money not spent on family vacations and other destination trips means that consumers AND businesses have money to burn. Why not invest that money in your business? Anderson points to comments recently made by JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon, who suggested that people still have about six to nine months to spend this surplus of funds before the economy returns to normal.

“The time to create great marketing content is now, when the cash is there, not six to 12 months down the road when it’s not and you can’t afford to do it,” said Anderson.

Anderson also points out that much like the stock market, there’s money to be made in the long-term if you buy, or invest your money wisely, while the market is on the way down.

“There are always ways to make money and grow your business,” said Anderson. “You just have to be better than the guy down the street. You have to be more creative, you need to have a better reputation, and you must have better marketing. If you have all of those things in place, you’re going to win, even in a recession.”

If you’re looking to upgrade your marketing efforts and boost your visibility, look no further than Golf Content Solutions. We provide a number of high-quality content services for golf teaching professionals, including the very best in video instruction, email marketing, social media marketing, website development, copywriting and more. Whether you’re looking to expand your video presence on YouTube or Instagram, film tips for your online lessons library or create your own subscription-branded content, or you need someone to manage your social media and email accounts, we can help. We have the experience and the technology to help you grow your business and keep your lesson book full for years to come.

For more information and pricing, please contact Dave Allen by calling or texting 407-717-4677, or emailing him at dave@golfcontentsolutions.com.