Indoor Golf Simulator Makes for the Ultimate Man Cave
For the folks in Augusta, Georgia seeking the ultimate man cave, they needn’t look any further than the Men’s Refinery BarberSpa. In addition to the barbershop, the space also includes another small business. In December of 2014, Brad Pond established The Inside Drive, LLC. The Inside Drive offers a realistic golf simulator within the confines of the barbershop, making it a one-stop shop for those looking to get a more polished image and improve their golfing statistics. The game offers 50 different courses, and you can use your own golf club as a controller.
“Golf is my passion, and I wanted to make it more accessible to people,” Pond says of the partnership. “We’re creating a culture within our team that focuses on high tech, high touch, and just phenomenal customer service.”
What Pond enjoys most about small business ownership is the journey that comes with seeking startup success.
“I love the spirit of entrepreneurship — having to fix problems along the road and address new challenges daily. Although I feel I wrote a great business plan, you don’t find out what works until you put the pedal to the metal and just go for it,” he admits.
The Inside Drive is one of the only small businesses providing golf simulators in Pond’s region, so he is confident he has an edge over his competitors.
“We have the first mover principle in our area of the southeast. The model we have created would be seen more in the northeast and in Canada. There is not much competition for this style of golf simulator, especially the pairing with the men’s barber shop,” Pond says.
The Inside Drive shares a common goal and demographic with the established Men’s Refinery. This partnership lessens the risk typical of startups to attract clients, but also allows both to explore new demographics by playing off each other’s strengths. The Inside Drive has a website, as well as pages on Instagram, and Twitter.
Challenges of Small Business Ownership
Every small business owner will face challenges at some point, especially in the startup stage. In a partnership, those challenges can be doubled. Pond has preparedness on his side, and didn’t go full-speed ahead with the business until the time was right and the goals for both The Inside Drive and Men’s Refinery were clearly defined, and in alignment with each other.
“The challenges have been refining the business model to something where the funding made sense. I partnered up with Men’s Refinery a year ago, and we wrote a business plan to fit our model. So the biggest challenge has been getting the economy and the bank on the same sheet of music so we can go full throttle with the business,” Pond explains.
Despite the inevitable challenges, Pond insists that startup success makes jumping over the necessary hurdles worth it.
“Being an entrepreneur is a very rewarding task, so it’s a matter of understanding your own risk profile, and it’s finding people who support you and teaming up with others,” he advises.
Testimonial for 1-800Accountant
Brad Pond is a very satisfied client of 1-800Accountant and recommends the nationwide accounting firm for other small business owners looking to achieve startup success.
“I’ve been overwhelmed. I’ve been really blown away! I’ve been really nervous about the bookkeeping setup, the tax implications, and one afternoon call really addressed all of the things I was concerned about in a way that made sense. It allowed me to focus on the startup of the business and not worry so much about the accounting side. Get out there and do what you do really well. Bookkeeping will not make you money, so turn those things over to 1-800accountant,” he says. “I don’t need to be an expert on the accounting side of things – they’ve got my back!”
Photo credit: The photograph of the indoor golf simulator is used courtesy of www.insidedrivegolf.com. The logo was provided by The Inside Drive, LLC and is used with permission.
