
22 Best Business Ideas For Athletes & Sports Lovers (2022)
To be involved in the sports industry doesn't always mean you need to be an active athlete.
There are a variety of business opportunities for those who have the experience and those that just have a love for the game.
Regardless of your experience, you may have an opportunity to turn your passion into a profitable business venture.
We put together a list of 40 business ideas for sports lovers and athletes.
Here they are:
1. Start an online fitness business ($15.8K/month)
Thinking of starting an online fitness business?
Online fitness is growing rapidly in popularity because it's convenient, affordable, and accessible to everyone. The best part is that you don't have to leave your home to start
Starting an online fitness business can be a great way to make money and help people. When you start an online fitness business, you don't have to worry about overhead costs like rent or maintaining a physical location - all you need is a computer and internet connection to get started.
Ryan Milton started TeamFFLEX, a online fitness business, over 8 years ago:
I was once just an out of shape, overweight guy with a goal to make a change. I started my health and fitness journey by losing 90lbs. The discipline and drive it took to go from never exercising at all to achieving such significant weight loss taught me a lot about goals and how to attain them.
TeamFFLEX is my online personal training platform that coaches athletes, Hollywood actors, professional musicians and everyday people all around the world. Starting with literally 0 dollars and a hell of a lot of drive I successfully built my business into the 6 figures in less than a year. Today, TeamFFLEX LLC does $48,000 a month and is growing continually month after month.
2. Invent a new sport
Greg Meade started CROSSNET, a volleyball net product, about 5 years ago:
Hello, my name is Chris Meade, and I’m the co-founder of CROSSNET, the world’s first four-way volleyball game. We have created a revolutionary four-way volleyball net where four players compete in a hybrid version of foursquare and volleyball in a competitive game to 11, win by 2.
We began working on our first prototype of CROSSNET during the summer of 2017 when I and our co-founders Greg Meade and Mike Delpapa moved to Miami to start our business. In 2018 we did $74,000 in revenue and just one year later we 30x’d our business in 2019 to $2,250,000 in sales.
3. Start a ticketing platform business ($125K/month)
Lars Helgeson started GreenRope, a website builder, about 14 years ago:
My name is Lars Helgeson and I am the founder of GreenRope, a CRM and marketing automation platform. Our company started in 2000 as an email marketing SaaS and in 2008 decided to focus on the challenges that businesses face in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations.
GreenRope has over 1,000 customers in over 20 countries, ranging from startups to universities and municipalities.
4. Start a sports podcast ($30K/month)
Sean Green started SGPN, a podcast, almost 11 years ago:
My name is Sean Green and I’m the co-founder of The Sports Gambling Podcast Network and co-host of The Sports Gambling Podcast. In 2011 I hosted the first episode of The Sports Gambling Podcast with my partner Ryan Kramer. At the time I didn’t realize I was starting a business, I just thought I was talking about betting on football with my buddy.
In the following ten years, we’ve grown it from two guys recording their conversation in a garage to a legit sports gambling media empire. We have over 15 shows under our brand, multi-million downloads per year and have reached $30K/month in revenue.
5. Start a sports betting website
Sean Green started SGPN, a podcast, almost 11 years ago:
My name is Sean Green and I’m the co-founder of The Sports Gambling Podcast Network and co-host of The Sports Gambling Podcast. In 2011 I hosted the first episode of The Sports Gambling Podcast with my partner Ryan Kramer. At the time I didn’t realize I was starting a business, I just thought I was talking about betting on football with my buddy.
In the following ten years, we’ve grown it from two guys recording their conversation in a garage to a legit sports gambling media empire. We have over 15 shows under our brand, multi-million downloads per year and have reached $30K/month in revenue.
6. Start a sporting goods store ($7.5K/month)
Alan Barker started INFINITE DISCS, a sporting goods store, over 9 years ago:
I’m Alan Barker, founder of Infinite Discs - the largest direct-to-consumer disc golf retailer in the world. I’m a 42-year-old father of five with a primary focus on faith and family. I am very conservative and don’t consider myself a risk-taker, but the last time I worked for someone else was my sophomore year of college. I have been fortunate to find opportunities and then act on them.
Disc golf is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States and our entry into the industry 9 years ago couldn’t have come at a better time. We became the largest disc golf retailer by creating the most user-friendly website with more information, more inventory, more brands, and unique disc artwork. Our website achieved a competitive advantage when we listened to the requests of our customers and gave it the ability to display “individual pictures” of every disc.
I started this business as a side project just after I started playing disc golf in 2012. The business began as a hobby and an excuse to test out new disc golf products. I was hoping to make a few bucks back to cover the costs I spent on product testing. I never imagined that I would be able to make a living from this business. I could not have fathomed that I would one day have more than 50 employees on the payroll.
7. Become an online fitness coach ($42K/month)
Online fitness coaching is the use of live video or recorded video to offer fitness classes to an online audience at a fee. To become successful in business, online fitness coaches should possess the following personal qualities:
- Stay focused on clients’ needs and goals
- Be ready to walk the talk
- Ask the clients questions
- Focused on educating the client
- Adjust to a language clients understand
Increase in number of internet usersand more hours spent online, online businesses will keep thriving.
Therefore, fitness coaches looking to expand their businesses or venture into new markets can consider starting an online fitness coach business.
Ryan Milton started TeamFFLEX, a online fitness business, over 8 years ago:
I was once just an out of shape, overweight guy with a goal to make a change. I started my health and fitness journey by losing 90lbs. The discipline and drive it took to go from never exercising at all to achieving such significant weight loss taught me a lot about goals and how to attain them.
TeamFFLEX is my online personal training platform that coaches athletes, Hollywood actors, professional musicians and everyday people all around the world. Starting with literally 0 dollars and a hell of a lot of drive I successfully built my business into the 6 figures in less than a year. Today, TeamFFLEX LLC does $48,000 a month and is growing continually month after month.
8. Start a gym management software ($300K/month)
Dan Uyemura started PushPress, a gym management software, over 5 years ago:
Hey everyone, I'm Dan Uyemura - CEO of PushPress.
To date, we’ve bootstrapped our business to over $100,000 MRR. We’re especially proud to be the only platform in our space who serve the best interests of our clients first, having no investors to answer to.
9. Start an athletic clothing line
Paul Dickey started Spuds, a athletic clothing line, almost 5 years ago:
Hi, my name is Paul Dickey, I'm 23 years old, and I am the founder of Spuds, a men’s performance apparel company currently based out of the Monterey, California area.
Spuds is in the very early stages of formation, starting less than six months ago. I am the sole founder and still currently the only employee (looking to changing that soon!). I am currently focusing our efforts on our production/product development, as well as marketing efforts to start gaining momentum.
10. Start a sports coaching business ($4.76K/month)
Sarah Wolfer started Girl Boss Sports, a sports coaching business, over 3 years ago:
My name is Sarah Wolfer and I am the CEO and Founder of Girl Boss Sports. I have been playing soccer since I was 4 years old and coaching soccer since I was 14. I played collegiately and semi-professionally and have coached at all levels from ages 2-22 including at the collegiate level. Most recently I switched sports and have begun playing professional tackle football with the Oregon Ravens who are part of the Women’s National Football Conference. I am also a licensed mental health therapist part-time as I build up my business.
Since starting Girl Boss Sports, I have hired over 20 women to become soccer coaches in the Greater Seattle area - this clearly shows that the common myth that “there are no women interested in or qualified to coach” is in fact false. In addition, we have brought in an average of $4700 of revenue per month over the last 6 months, partnered with over 10 other companies or organizations to work toward the same 2 goals mentioned above, and have worked with hundreds of athletes and teams in the Greater Seattle area.
11. Become a sports blogger ($11.2K/month)
Tyler O'Shea started Joker Mag, a niche blog, over 4 years ago:
Hello! My name is Tyler O’Shea and I’m the founder of Joker Mag, a media platform for inspiring underdog stories in sports. Through original articles that celebrate the underdog mentality, our mission is to inspire athletes, coaches, and sports fans to conquer obstacles and overcome adversity.
We currently receive an average of 25,000 monthly visitors, which generates roughly $250 per month in revenue. But given the size of the market for this kind of content, I truly believe the sky is the limit.
In case you’re still wondering, he got his name from the black spot around his eye that’s reminiscent of the infamous Batman villain!
12. Start a facebook group
Facebook is one of the oldest and largest social networking sites out there. Facebook offers its users a Group feature where one can join a community of people with similar interests. As per statistics, around 1.8 billion people use Facebook Groups each month.
Groups allow the members to have organic discussions, post content, and share their valuable experiences & knowledge with each other. The shared knowledge helped startups, business owners, freelancers, and professionals with their social media growth, lead generation, and customer acquisition.
DShawn Russell started Southern Elegance Candle Company, a candle business, over 6 years ago:
Hello! My name is D’Shawn Russell and I am the founder and CEO of Southern Elegance Candle Company. I started the company 4 years ago as a side hustle to make some extra money on the weekends and to get me out of the house. But it quickly grew to much more than I expected.
You can check out our brand story video here: Southern Elegance: Candles Crafted In The South
13. Start a sports PR business
Jay Fuller started Athlo agncy, a branding agency, ago:
My name is Jay Fuller, I’m one of three co-founders of athlo agncy. – a personal branding startup for the anonymous college athlete navigating NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness). Our flagship product is a personal branding workshop, pre-recorded in a MasterClass-like format. Facilitated by my other two co-founders – Aly and Isaac Nauta (brother and sister).
The “Brand on Purpose” workshop and core product that we’re offering, officially launches this summer. Leading up to the launch, we’ve done a few one-off branding projects to cover costs; while forming alliances with strategic partners in the NIL space, creating a college athlete ambassador team, and focusing on grassroots marketing initiatives such as podcasts and free experiences for student-athlete teams to generate brand awareness.
We’ve been able to add athlo ambassadors, participate in an event with UGA baseball and a sports accelerator, and have two on-campus workshops scheduled this summer with two different universities.
14. Start a gym bag brand
Matt Dawson started Ironmaster, a fitness equipment company, almost 19 years ago:
I am Matt Dawson and am the President of Ironmaster. We manufacture and sell our brand of home gym fitness equipment domestically and in more than 20 International markets. Ironmaster specializes in strength training gear, primarily of our proprietary designs. Our primary market is individuals who want to have their gym at home.
Ironmaster is a multi-million dollar company with a rock-solid reputation as an innovator, top-level service, and one of the longest established fitness equipment manufacturers in the world.
15. Become a physical therapist
Samantha Varnerin started Snuggle with Sam, a professional cuddler, almost 6 years ago:
Hi there! My name is Sam Varnerin and I created Snuggle with Sam, my independent professional cuddling practice, while I was still working full-time as a construction engineer.
Here’s all of the contributors on the panel at CuddleXpo in Chicago presenting how we came up with the Code of Ethics for Professional Cuddling. Back left to right: Maryelen Reid, Madelon Guinazzo, Samantha Varnerin (me!), Samantha Hess, Jean Franzbleau, Fei Wyatt, Janet Trevino. Front left to right: Keely Shoup, Lisa Meece. Photo credit Rellian Chen Merrin
16. Start a fitness equipment manufacturer
Are you searching for a new business opportunity that will enable you to utilize your design and construction skills? If so, perhaps you should consider starting a business that manufactures fitness equipment. The main requirements for succeeding in this type of manufacturing business is to have a well-equipped workshop, design and construction experience, and good marketing skills.
The fitness equipment manufactured can include weight benches, weight stands, and squat stands, just to mention a few. Once the fitness equipment is constructed it can be sold on a wholesale basis to national and specialty retailers, or directly to the public via a factory direct showroom, or over the Internet.
Matt Dawson started Ironmaster, a fitness equipment company, almost 19 years ago:
I am Matt Dawson and am the President of Ironmaster. We manufacture and sell our brand of home gym fitness equipment domestically and in more than 20 International markets. Ironmaster specializes in strength training gear, primarily of our proprietary designs. Our primary market is individuals who want to have their gym at home.
Ironmaster is a multi-million dollar company with a rock-solid reputation as an innovator, top-level service, and one of the longest established fitness equipment manufacturers in the world.
17. Become a bicycle manufacturer ($1M/month)
Ben Sarrazin started Yuba Cargo Bikes, a eBikes business, over 15 years ago:
Ben Sarrazin, Founder, and CEO of the Yuba Group, designer, creator, distributor of load-carrying bicycles (bikes to carry things, passengers, sports equipment, tools, pets).
Over the past 15 years, Yuba has put over 50,000 cargo bicycles on the road. That is a lot of happy families.
18. Start a sports consulting business
Jay Fuller started Athlo agncy, a branding agency, ago:
My name is Jay Fuller, I’m one of three co-founders of athlo agncy. – a personal branding startup for the anonymous college athlete navigating NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness). Our flagship product is a personal branding workshop, pre-recorded in a MasterClass-like format. Facilitated by my other two co-founders – Aly and Isaac Nauta (brother and sister).
The “Brand on Purpose” workshop and core product that we’re offering, officially launches this summer. Leading up to the launch, we’ve done a few one-off branding projects to cover costs; while forming alliances with strategic partners in the NIL space, creating a college athlete ambassador team, and focusing on grassroots marketing initiatives such as podcasts and free experiences for student-athlete teams to generate brand awareness.
We’ve been able to add athlo ambassadors, participate in an event with UGA baseball and a sports accelerator, and have two on-campus workshops scheduled this summer with two different universities.
19. Start a discount golf equipment business
Alan Barker started INFINITE DISCS, a sporting goods store, over 9 years ago:
I’m Alan Barker, founder of Infinite Discs - the largest direct-to-consumer disc golf retailer in the world. I’m a 42-year-old father of five with a primary focus on faith and family. I am very conservative and don’t consider myself a risk-taker, but the last time I worked for someone else was my sophomore year of college. I have been fortunate to find opportunities and then act on them.
Disc golf is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States and our entry into the industry 9 years ago couldn’t have come at a better time. We became the largest disc golf retailer by creating the most user-friendly website with more information, more inventory, more brands, and unique disc artwork. Our website achieved a competitive advantage when we listened to the requests of our customers and gave it the ability to display “individual pictures” of every disc.
I started this business as a side project just after I started playing disc golf in 2012. The business began as a hobby and an excuse to test out new disc golf products. I was hoping to make a few bucks back to cover the costs I spent on product testing. I never imagined that I would be able to make a living from this business. I could not have fathomed that I would one day have more than 50 employees on the payroll.
20. Become a sports app developer
Sean Leary started Sports Thread, a sports app developer, almost 6 years ago:
My story starts as a high school baseball player. I was invited to try out for the USA National Baseball team as part of the National Team Identification Selection (NTIS) program and through that process and playing travel baseball I won a scholarship to attend Pepperdine University. I had dozens of other opportunities to play D1 sports but felt that Pepperdine was the right choice for me.
I went and played JUCO ball for legendary coach John Altobelli at Orange Coast College. While at OCC I performed on and off the field and started working on getting my next D1 opportunity lined up. I was spending hours a day researching contact information for D1 coaches and emailing them with videos of myself playing. The only other option at the time was to pay an agent thousands of dollars to promote me to colleges. I felt that the process was antiquated and wanted to do something to help athletes network with college coaches without having to pay such a heavy fee.
I came up with the idea to start a social networking platform that would connect athletes to college coaches. I signed on to play at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK, and moved out there to pursue my baseball career, degree and to flush out the idea of my new company. While at ORU, I wrote the initial business plan and spent the summer between my Junior and Senior year at home raising money to start the company.
21. Become a toy maker ($200K/month)
Mat Hofma & Erik Polumbo started Mini Materials, a woodworking business, over 7 years ago:
My name is Mat Hofma, and I created Mini Materials. We sell miniature masonry and woodworking supplies like cinder blocks, red bricks, pallets, lumber, and even molds to pour your own cinder blocks.
Since then we've expanded to different styles of mini masonry and even kits to build models.
22. Start a sports promotion business
Jay Fuller started Athlo agncy, a branding agency, ago:
My name is Jay Fuller, I’m one of three co-founders of athlo agncy. – a personal branding startup for the anonymous college athlete navigating NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness). Our flagship product is a personal branding workshop, pre-recorded in a MasterClass-like format. Facilitated by my other two co-founders – Aly and Isaac Nauta (brother and sister).
The “Brand on Purpose” workshop and core product that we’re offering, officially launches this summer. Leading up to the launch, we’ve done a few one-off branding projects to cover costs; while forming alliances with strategic partners in the NIL space, creating a college athlete ambassador team, and focusing on grassroots marketing initiatives such as podcasts and free experiences for student-athlete teams to generate brand awareness.
We’ve been able to add athlo ambassadors, participate in an event with UGA baseball and a sports accelerator, and have two on-campus workshops scheduled this summer with two different universities.
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