By Ken Sain, Managing Editor
Lynsey and Drew Breivogel said they had no intention of opening their own business when they moved to Chandler during the pandemic.
It was a case of been there, done that.
However, those plans changed for the former Seattle residents when the chapter director for TGA Premier, a nationwide franchise offering tennis and golf lessons, notified all his parent-clients that he intended to sell his business and asked if any of them were interested in buying it.
“Not at all,” Lynsey said when asked if starting their own business was the plan.
“We were never set in stone on our career paths. As we’ve had kids and moved houses and moved states and stuff, we didn’t really have any one specific thing that we were tied down to, or that we said all we have to do this. So just having an open mind and seeing the opportunity and taking it has been just a huge blessing.”
The Breivogels had built from scratch a home improvement business in the Seattle area that was thriving. Then, the pandemic arrived and the price of lumber soared.
After relocating to Chandler, Drew took a job to be a golf pro at Sunbird Golf Club and the couple enrolled their 8-year-old son in TGA for tennis lessons.
That’s when they got the email about a business opportunity.
“We talked about it, and we had a price in mind,” Lynsey said. “And if it was, at this price, or lower, then we’ll consider it, and if it was above then it just wasn’t meant to be. So it was lower than what we thought and we went and asked about it, and a month later, it was closed.”
Drew said children can learn a lot from sports that they can take with them for the rest of their lives.
“We get to teach them the sport and most of them have never touched a racket or a club, but we also get to teach them the etiquette and the rules of the game,” Drew said. “Golf especially is very similar to life, right? Because there’s multiple holes, you’re going to make mistakes, right? It’s what happens when you make that mistake, don’t compound that error, right? Don’t make another mistake.”
So far business has been booming, so much that the couple are looking to hire more coaches.
Most of the business is teaching tennis and golf at schools in the East Valley. They work with the Higley, Gilbert and Kyrene school districts as well as charter and private schools. They also run a number of camps for students looking for more instruction.
Lynsey said they intend to expand, especially in offering private lessons. Drew said they’ve had some parents who have enrolled their children for multiple camps. As a thank you, he’s offered them a free private lesson.
“We hope to continue to do that no matter how big we get,” Drew said.
The big challenge now to growing their business is finding coaches. Lynsey said they will train anyone willing. Since they would be working with children, all coaches must undergo a background check.
Lynsey said working with TGA, which has chapters around the nation, has been great.
“[We’ve had] amazing support,” Lynsey said. “The CEO, or the CFO, I can text them. They’re an open book, they are there if there are any issues.”
Drew said now that he’s both started a business from scratch, and bought an existing business, the latter is a lot easier. However, there are still pros and cons.
“It’s like buying a house, right?” he said. “You know, and then being forced to live in that house for like three months. You can’t paint the walls, you can’t the trim, you can’t change the doors. You have to live in it like that for a little bit, which is fine.”
But they will slowly make the business theirs, Lynsey said.
Information: playtga.com/EastPhoenix
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