Module 1 Know your customer and market 4 hAnalyse
Every sound business in sports begins with one clear customer and one clear problem. In São Paulo and the wider state, demand is real but crowded, so a small, well-described customer group wins before a broad one.
- In sports: Players, parents and clubs want progress, safety and fun; set goals per group.
- Write the customer in one sentence: a player, club or school. Add the place, the moment of need and what they use today.
- List five rivals or substitutes within reach. For each, record price, strength, weakness and how people reach it.
- Interview at least eight real customers with open questions. Record exact words, not your summary.
- Count the market in units: how many sessions could one area buy in a month? Use two public sources and your own count, then take the lower figure.
- Choose one first segment and say why the others wait.
Worked example. Weak: 'Everyone needs a coaching, event or facility service.' Strong: 'Our first customer is a player, club or school within 8 km of the centre, who today pays R$ 99 per session and complains about delay. We target 180 sessions a month by month three.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: ten customers are interviewed for sports. Seven say price, two say speed, one says trust. Question: which first message do you write, and which interview record backs it? Model answer: lead with the session price and speed promise, keep trust proof as the second line, and cite the seven price answers by date.
Activity. Write the one-sentence customer, a five-row rival table and eight interview records. Share them with a peer for a challenge round.
Standard to meet. Define a specific customer, build a rival table with prices, and trace every claim to an interview or a source.
Module 2 Rules, registration and data duties in Brazil 4 hUnderstand
Brazil asks every trader to be visible and accountable. Know which register, tax regime and sector rules apply before the first sale, and check each against the current official text.
- In sports: Coaches should hold the relevant registration and first-aid training; check venue rules.
- Choose a legal form: micro-entrepreneur (MEI) only if your activity appears on the official MEI list, or a company registered with a CNPJ. Regulated activities need their sector authorisation first. Check the current limits and lists on the official portal.
- Learn the tax regime that fits your size and write down which taxes you will collect and pay, and when.
- Find the sector rules for sports: licences, inspections, professional registers. List each with the office that issues it and the renewal date.
- Personal data of customers falls under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). Collect only what you need, say why, keep it safe, and name who answers questions.
- Consumer law gives buyers clear rights on information, returns and complaints. Put your terms in plain Portuguese.
Worked example. Checklist for a new sports trader: 1) legal form (CNPJ, or MEI only if your activity is on the official list); 2) city operating licence; 3) sector licence or register; 4) tax set-up; 5) privacy notice; 6) written terms. Each has an owner and a date.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a neighbour says registration can wait until the first R$ 450 of sales. Question: what do you do? Model answer: do not delay; write the compliance table first, confirm the register, tax and sector licence with the official office, and start only where the table shows no open blocker.
Activity. Build your own six-line compliance table for your first location. Mark what is done, what is pending and who confirms it.
Standard to meet. Cite an official source for every line, assume nothing, and date every pending item. Local law always wins over this course.
Module 3 Design the offer 4 hCreate
An offer states what the customer gets, how well, by when and at what price. For a coaching, event or facility service, the offer must make the quality visible and the next step easy.
- In sports: Offer a season plan with sessions, tests and feedback.
- Describe the core offer in three lines: what is delivered (a coaching, event or facility service), the standard it meets, and the time it takes.
- Add one proof for each promise: a sample, a test result, a guarantee or a customer record.
- Price from cost upward and from customer value downward, then pick a price inside both.
- Write a simple one-page terms sheet: what is included, what is extra, how to cancel.
- Create two options at most, so choice stays easy.
Worked example. Offer: 'A coaching, event or facility service, delivered within agreed time, checked against a written standard, price R$ 90 per session. Proof: a dated record the customer can check and sign. Changes or cancellation by written agreement before work begins.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a customer asks for a discount from R$ 90 to R$ 81 per session. Question: decide with numbers. Model answer: contribution falls from R$ 55 to R$ 46 per session; offer an extra of value (for example faster service) before cutting price, and accept only if the lower contribution still clears break-even.
Longer notes. Pick a sport, an age group and a level, such as beginner futsal for ages eight to twelve, and write the aim of the programme in one line. Test sessions with a small group, timing each drill and noting injuries or boredom. Create a twelve-week plan with warm-up, skill block, game and cool-down. List equipment and the hire of a court or pitch. Prepare a health form asking parents about conditions and emergency contacts, and stock a first-aid kit. Set a monthly price from hire, equipment and coach time. Ask your insurer what it requires for coaching minors, and confirm coach registration before the first session.
Extra worked example. A group of 15 children, a worked-example size, attends 4 sessions in the month, which is 60 paid sessions. At R$ 90 per session the income is 60 x R$ 90 = R$ 5.400. Coach time, court share and equipment cost R$ 35 per session, or R$ 2.100, which leaves R$ 3.300, or R$ 55 per session. Against R$ 8.000 of fixed cost a month, break-even is R$ 8.000 / R$ 55 = 145,5, so 146 sessions. Present the three costs to parents so they understand the price.
Activity. Write the offer card, the proof list and the terms sheet. Test them with three customers and note every point where they hesitated.
Standard to meet. Check that promise, proof and price are consistent, fit the terms on one page, and record three customer reactions.
Module 4 Run the work step by step 5 hApply
Good operations make results repeatable. For sports, write each step so a new person could follow it on their first day, and measure each step.
- In sports: Plan each session: warm-up, skill, game, cool-down, record.
- Map the process from first contact to paid and closed. Typical stages: enquiry, quote, preparation, delivery of the session, check, payment, follow-up.
- Name the key resource at each stage: a safe space and a qualified coach. Note what happens if it is missing.
- Write a one-page standard procedure per stage: who, what, tool, time, record.
- Choose three measures: speed, quality (errors per 100) and customer rating. Review them every week.
- Fix the cause of a defect, not the symptom. Ask 'why' five times and record the answer.
Worked example. Stage record: 'Prepare. Owner: lead. Time: 30 min. Tool: checklist. Record: signed sheet. Defect found on 1 of 75 sessions last week; cause: missing check on a safe space and a qualified coach; fix: add check at start, review next Friday.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: of 300 sessions last month, 18 had a defect traced to a safe space and a qualified coach. Question: what is the defect rate and what is your first action? Model answer: about 6 defects per 100; stop the cause (add a check at the start), correct affected customers, log the cause, and re-measure next week.
Activity. Draw the process map and write procedures for the two riskiest stages. Run each once and time it.
Standard to meet. Write procedures a stranger can follow, record weekly numbers for each measure, and trace one defect to a root cause.
Module 5 Safety, quality and risk 4 hEvaluate
The most serious risk in this field is an injury from poor load or a wrong drill. A calm, written risk routine protects people first and the business second.
- In sports: Injury risk from overload; set age-appropriate load and rest.
- List ten things that could go wrong. Score each for how likely (1 to 5) and how serious (1 to 5). Multiply and sort.
- For the top five, choose a control: remove the hazard, replace it, guard it, train people, or use protective gear, in that order of preference.
- Write who does what in an emergency, and rehearse it once a quarter.
- Keep an incident and near-miss log. Near-misses are free lessons.
- Check that insurance and legal duties match the risk you actually carry.
Worked example. Risk row: 'Hazard: an injury from poor load or a wrong drill. Likelihood 3, severity 5, score 15. Control: written check before each session, trained staff, log sheet. Owner: site lead. Review monthly.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a near-miss occurs: an injury from poor load or a wrong drill nearly happened but no one was hurt. Question: what do you do in the next 24 hours? Model answer: make safe, record the event, ask the five whys, add or tighten one control, brief the team, and set a review date; near-misses count as lessons, not blame.
Activity. Build a ten-row risk register and a one-page emergency plan. Run a ten-minute drill with a peer and note two improvements.
Standard to meet. Rank controls by preference for the top risks, run the drill, and start the log. Where a regulation applies, follow the official rule.
Module 6 People, skills and service 4 hApply
People deliver the promise. Define roles, train to a standard and give feedback in the open.
- In sports: Train coaches in safeguarding children and basic life support.
- Write a role card for each person: purpose, five tasks, the standard for each, and who to ask for help.
- Train by showing, doing with support, then doing alone with a check. Record sign-off per task.
- Set service rules for answering customers: reply times, tone, how to apologise and fix.
- Hold a ten-minute team check each day: yesterday's problem, today's plan, one risk.
- Build a growth path: what a new person can do in week 1, month 3 and month 12.
Worked example. Training record: 'Task: process a complaint. Shown 2 May; done with support 4 May; done alone 8 May, checked: apology, fix, follow-up call. Signed by lead.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a new hire completes training but a customer complaint shows a skipped step. Question: whose gap is it? Model answer: first the system: check the role card, the training sign-off and the checklist; then coach the person and fix the document so the step cannot be skipped.
Longer notes. Build the coaching staff: head coach, assistant and a volunteer for registration and water. Write a code of conduct for adults and athletes covering language, photos, changing rooms and never being alone with a child. Run a session where assistants practise leading a drill while you time the changeovers. Teach basic first aid: stop play, assess, call and write an incident note. Make a rota so every session has two adults. Show coaches how to give each player one correction and one word of praise per session. Meet parents for ten minutes each month. Keep a roster with contacts and absences.
Extra worked example. With 15 children and two adults, each adult supervises 7 or 8. Suppose the assistant adds an invented R$ 6 per session to the R$ 35 variable cost, so the cost becomes R$ 41 and the margin falls to R$ 49. At 300 sessions, profit falls from 300 x R$ 55 - R$ 8.000 = R$ 8.500 to 300 x R$ 49 - R$ 8.000 = R$ 6.700, a drop of R$ 1.800. A first-aid course for the staff, assumed at R$ 210 once, costs far less than that monthly drop.
Activity. Write two role cards and a training plan for one new hire. Role-play a hard customer conversation twice and review.
Standard to meet. Write role cards with measurable standards, show the sign-off steps in training, and write the service rules in plain words.
Module 7 Money: cost, price and break-even 5 hAnalyse
A business lives or dies on a few numbers. Know your contribution per unit, your fixed costs and the volume you need.
- In sports: Cost per session includes space, kit and coach; track attendance.
- Contribution per session = price minus variable cost. Fixed costs are paid whether you sell or not.
- Break-even units = fixed cost divided by contribution. Plan to pass it by a safe margin.
- Make a 12-month cash plan. Cash timing matters as much as profit: customers may pay late, suppliers may want money first.
- Keep money for business and money for the owner apart.
- Test the plan: what if sales fall by a quarter, or cost rises by a tenth?
Worked example. Worked example, all figures in reais: price R$ 90, variable cost R$ 35, contribution R$ 55 per session. Fixed cost R$ 8.000 a month. Break-even = R$ 8.000 / R$ 55 = 145,45, so 146 sessions a month. At 300 sessions a month, profit = R$ 55 x 300 - R$ 8.000 = R$ 8.500. These are teaching figures that belong to this example only; later examples and the case study use their own figures. Use your own.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: sales fall to 225 sessions a month. Question: what is the monthly result? Model answer: R$ 55 x 225 - R$ 8.000 = R$ 4.375; compare with break-even of 146 sessions and decide whether to cut fixed cost or raise volume first. Teaching figures only.
Activity. Build your own table: price, variable cost, contribution, fixed cost, break-even and a downside case at 75% of sales. Show it to a peer or mentor.
Standard to meet. Calculate correctly, give every figure a source or mark it as an assumption, and show a downside case.
Module 8 Grow, measure and renew 4 hEvaluate
Growth should follow proof. Measure, learn, then add; and keep returning to the customer.
- In sports: Grow through community events and visible player progress.
- Pick one growth lever at a time: new customers, a higher repeat rate, a better price, or a new offer.
- Set one measurable target for 90 days, such as 'raise repeat customers from 20% to 30%'.
- Ask each customer how they found you, and record it. Spend more where the record shows results.
- Review monthly: numbers, defects, complaints, cash. Write three decisions each time.
- Plan the renewal of licences, equipment and skills a year ahead.
Worked example. 90-day plan: 'Lever: repeat customers. Action: follow-up call after every session. Target: repeat rate from 20% to 30%. Check: weekly count. Review date: day 45 and day 90.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: you can add 60 sessions a month by one of two levers: a follow-up call to past customers or a price rise of R$ 9 to R$ 99. Question: how do you choose? Model answer: test the cheaper reversible lever first (the call), measure for 30 days, and only then try the price change, so you can tell which one worked.
Longer notes. Measure progress with attendance, skill tests and how many players return next season. Test every player in week one and week twelve with the same three drills, such as a 20-metre sprint, passes in a minute and balance on one foot. Compare the averages and share the improvement with families. Watch for injuries and note training load. Find which time slot fills best. Add a second group only when the waiting list can fill it and a coach is trained. Plan a friendly event at season's end where every child plays. Keep individual results private to each family.
Extra worked example. In this worked example, average passes in a minute rise from 14 in week one to 21 in week twelve, a gain of 7, or 50%. A second group with an assumed R$ 1.700 added to fixed cost a month has break-even of R$ 1.700 / R$ 55 = 30,9, so 31 sessions. The waiting list has 8 children, who would attend 8 x 4 = 32 sessions, so it only just reaches that line. The scores and waiting list are invented. Open the group once a few more names join.
Activity. Write a 90-day plan with one target, three actions and a review date. Present it in five minutes and take questions.
Standard to meet. Set a measurable, dated target, break the actions down small enough to start this week, and put the review date in the calendar.
