It was a real honour to be recognised for the Thames Valley Business Awards as Young Entrepreneur of the Year last month. It is often difficult to appreciate from the inside with the late nights, big decisions and new challenges to conquer, just how far we have come in the last two years.
While the award may say Charlie Hiscox (after I swapped with the joint winner and got the correct trophy!) it has been entirely a team effort. For those who attended the awards night with me, I have nothing but gratitude and appreciation to pass on to each of them.
My Mum and Dad have taught me so much, not only in business through their own ventures, but also to become the person who I am today. They have taught me to set my goals high, to work hard for what I want to achieve and to make sure I continue to balance this all with other aspects of my life. My Dad gave uSports a perfect opportunity to share his office space with him which allowed us to grow far quicker than if we were trying to create a team with no central base. This allowed me to provide new opportunities to my coaches and to develop my central office team. It got a little busy in the Litenow office with the blue invasion which eventually led to us getting our own office but this initial stage was invaluable.
Danielle has worked with the Hiscox family since 2014, first with Litenow and then joining the uSports team! Danielle has been a massive part in the coordination and running of uSports so it seemed fitting that she joined me on the awards night! Danielle really has been there since the start. She shares her story of me coming into the Litenow office saying I had no idea what to do for the future with my coaching and uSports began to emerge. For Danielle to now be coordinating the delivery of over 200 sessions a week as the Operations Manager, there is a lot to thank her for! Danielle's positive attitude, her amazing organisational skills and of course her stories of the girls antics make the office a lovely place to be.
Steph and I have been together for around 7 years with many experiences and adventures. uSports is something which we have really grown together. From the first days when I was deciding what it was that I wanted to do to now, Steph has been there every step along the way. Initially, Steph was there to hear every new idea and every new problem which was arising and helped to find the right path. As uSports grew, Steph reduced her days at work to come on board with uSports more formally to help me to rein in the crazy ideas but also to push me to take those that seem a little daunting!
Owen, Connor and Isaac have all grown so much since starting with uSports and are all invaluable members of the team. It makes it so much easier to run and grow a business knowing that there is such a solid base of head coaches behind our sessions. Each of them has taken on new and developing responsibilities since joining the team and show entrepreneurial spirit themselves in our weekly and monthly meetings by providing me with feedback and new ideas for the business. They have all taken great responsibility in acting as mentors for the self-employed coaches to ensure that the uSports philosophy is filtered down through every avenue of the business.
The Part Time Coaches are of course so integral to every decision which I and the team make in the business. Alongside our head coaches, these are the coaches leading every session, inspiring every child and helping me to achieve the goals which I have made.
Schools and Parents are at the route of our business and it is with the loyalty, belief and trust that these individuals put into uSports that the business has been able to grow to where it is today. We know there is lots of competition out there and we really do appreciate every single booking that is made!
Thank you to everyone for your support to allow myself and uSports to achieve this award and we hope to be able to share with you more exciting news as the years progress!
Charlie Hiscox
Director
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