Living in the Bay Area is not a lifestyle for the weak. With the poverty line just above $100,000 for a family of four, according to BBC.com, finding a decent paying job is of top priority.
At times these jobs require a great amount of skill but lack the passion or room for creativity that some people desire. For Rudy Ragland, a father, husband and avid basketball fan, a good paying job just did not satisfy his appetite for creative outlets.
Ragland, a former Inventory Control Manager at the Office Depot Distribution Center in Fremont, decided that starting his own business was a better opportunity than working in a warehouse. Together with co-founder Donte Hudson, the two created Pivotal Training LLC., a basketball enrichment program aimed at developing the motor skills of children from ages 2-6 years old.
Upon entry into the center, you are welcomed by a group of kids with the biggest grins on their faces imaginable. Children driven by curiosity and creativity, ready to take in the knowledge presented before them. A very organized chaos that from tender care and nurture comes the foundation for the future. This was the scene at Genius Kids in Dublin, a preschool daycare center that has recently decided to partner with Pivotal Training.
Genius Kids specializes in emphasizing the importance of academics, and like many preschool and kindergartens does not offer any introductory sports programs. This is why one of the founders of Genius Kids, Sheena Dhillon, was excited to have a program like Pivotal Training operate within her business.
“A lot of times in schools they offer maybe piano or math classes, but they don’t really offer sports. I think that’s why we had such a great outcome of parents signing up their kids up for this program because they really want their kids to have that outside exercise while at the same time learning a sport,” said Dhillon.
The idea for the program came from a mixture of the co-founders’ love for the game of basketball and capitalizing on a market that has been untouched before. California mandates at least 200-400 minutes of exercise over a 10-day period for kids in grades 1-10, but the state has no such requirements for children in kindergartens, according to ShapeAmerica.org. Ragland and Hudson seek to take advantage of this opportunity and help kids develop their fine and gross motor skills.
The two founders of Pivotal Training started off doing one-on-one sessions in 2013, but just this year have decided to take things to the next level and start their business.
“We decided the end of last year (2018) to make this more of a business.We started with our first school in February with 15 kids, and now we’re in May and are projected to be in 15 schools working with about 220 kids” said Ragland.
Payment for this program comes from parents who decide to sign up their children, and the schools receive a percentage of the proceeds based on number of kids that are enrolled. This is beneficial for Pivotal Training and the schools that decide to host their program.
The new business is off to a hot start showing a tremendous amount of growth just within three months, and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Teachers and parents alike have been very pleased with the service and have been eager in expressing their support of the program.
“This will be great for the kids in developing themselves outside of the academic and social realm. They get to learn. Sport and have the opportunity to be more physically active” said Dhillon.
Things have been going well so far for the Pivotal Training team, but the success of a business doesn’t come without sacrifice. Ragland had some comments to make about what it takes to run a business.
“More time than anything. I have three boys so having to take time away from them is hard, but it’s necessary to get this thing going and get people to buy into our program” said Ragland.
Pivotal Training is a business with a bright future. Despite all of the struggles that come with starting your own business the founders have managed to find their niche and are doing their best to keep on growing. The Bay Area is full of potential and finding your market will be key in the success of whatever business opportunities you decide to take part in.