ATP FINALS: Andy Murray beaten by Kei Nishikori

Check out the whole article at BBC BBC SPORT

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Wilson Optimus String Review

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Day 3 of the Racket Stringing Business Program

DAY 3: Ok before we move any farther we need to start learning how to string, I wanted this program to begin all the way at the beginning as if you have never strung before. Don’t stop reading yet, this will also be good for those of you that already know the basics because you will learn short cuts, best practices, tips and just good advise as you continue learning your craft. The next step is to get supplies together so we can start stringing, and I will show some short video’s to help you along the way. It is probably going to take us a week or more to get our machine, tools, string, etc. I plan on ordering the same thing in order to be working right aside you as you learn. While we wait for the materials to arrive we will get our business cards together and discuss what we need there and that way we can keep moving forward and not waste time waiting for our machine to arrive. So for today I just want to you to think about the basic items we need to get started. Tomorrow I will talk about each, what I would recommend and where to buy. If you already have than you are one step ahead, also feel free to email me regarding any questions. LIST: 1. stringing machine 2. string to practice with 3. basic stringing tools – awl, clippers, pliers, starting clamp 4. tennis racket to practice with. Tomorrow I will go into depth about each of the items listsed above and than figure out the best deals to get our needed equipment. If you have some of the items listed above, get them out and find a place that you will use to set up your stringing business! See you tomorrow - Patrick

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Day 2 of the Racket stringing program - Get Started Today.

DAY 2: So on to day 2 of our stringing program, I did not have a chance to submit material over the weekend but we are going to get a fresh start for this week and get Monday off to a great start. So I hope you got something down on paper for Day 1 assignment, I will try to give a few assignments throughout the week to get you engaged in making this a reality. Let us break down the various parts of what you need to get your business started: 1. Understanding your goal. 2. Meeting a need in your community. 3. Knowledge of Tennis, Racquet Technology, Strings and Racquet Stringing. 4. Understanding your target market. 5. Physical requirements–marketing, product, equipment and place. 6. Understanding your limitations. 7. Know where to go to access help and support. The above listed 7 items are general and we can discuss each over numerous pages of material and I plan on doing so as we progress in our course. For now, however I would encourage you to write down some things before we move forward. We will do more research later but for now try to describe what strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats that you see for starting this business (S.W.O.T). This little exercise will help you think about your business more. The second part of DAY 2 is to start learning about tennis strings and stringing. One resource that I always direct students too is Tennis Warehouse. If you play tennis at all you are probably aware of this Giant Online Retailer. You will find helpful information about string technology, racket technology, information on strings and just a great resource for getting up to speed on what is new. It is important to know about as many of the technologies, string compositions as possible because it pays to be informed and to be able to address questions when your clients ask. Stay one step ahead of your clients with information and be a valuable resource for them. So get started and do the exercise and write down some things about your business ideas as listed above and explore the TennisWarehouse.com website for learning information. See you tomorrow. -Patrick

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Racket stringing tips and clamp maintenance important with natural gut stringing

1. Clean the machine clamps prior to stringing natural gut strings and about every 5 – 10 rackets in general. If you string frequently than cleaning the clamps once a day before you start would be sufficient. The reason behind this tip is consistency and it helps in keeping your string from slipping in the clamps. Many tennis strings on the market have a protective coating that’s oily, some strings more than others, and keeping this on your clamps can be detrimental to your clamp performance. I will generally use rubbing alcohol and a cloth or dip a toothbrush in the rubbing alcohol and go across the inside of the clamp area that holds the strings, you can always use a clean cloth after to dry it quickly but generally the rubbing alcohol drys quickly on its own. It is important to do this as a proactive step and not reactive once your strings slip. If your strings slip while stringing a racket than you need to start over and use a new set of string, the string has been compromised and the slippage has shortened its life even if you can’t noticeably tell.

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How to create a racquet stringing business in 90 days or less - the complete program for the beginner

I have created a 90 day program to get you up and running in your racket stringing business.  I will teach you how to get started, where to buy products, what to buy, how to promote yourself, how to string and much more…..This is day 1.  Please be sure to check back – I will do my best to post daily new information, follow with the RSS feed or via email alerts so you don’t miss a day.  The complete 90 day program will be available shortly on PDF as well.  I will explain in detail and help you to get your business up and running.  I know many individuals who string rackets full time or part-time and love doing it… This can truly be the best job if you want it to be!

So you already have a passion for tennis, play on a team, compete or are active at your local club but are now looking at taking care of your own gear it’s time to start stringing your own rackets and perhaps start stringing for others.  This can be a great service business with repeat customers!  It is truly the one part of the Tennis Business that cannot really be outsourced to the mail order shops.  I want you to be stringing your own frames before you start stringing for others because in this business WORD OF MOUTH is the most important thing!  If you string well – news travels fast but if you mess up a string job – the news travels even faster!

So I am approaching this as if you do not have a machine and don’t know how to string.  If you already do somewhat that’s great, but bear with me because you might still pick up some tips!

DAY 1 – Map out a goal for yourself, perhaps a ‘statement’ of sorts about why you are doing this and what your short term goals are and what your long 1 to 5 year goals are.  No this is not a marketing or business plan writing course but I want you to be able to put down on paper why you want to do this so when you feel frustrated you can return back and READ IT!

EXAMPLE:  My goal is to learn to string my own rackets to save money and because I have always wanted to learn.  In 1 year I will be stringing for other people and will have 10 clients! 

So I hope you are excited about this journey as I am, take today and just put down your goals in a notebook, we will be using this notebook for the entire course so go find a notebook you can dedicate to your new business!  I will see you tomorrow -Patrick

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Daily Racket Stringing Tip - Racket Preparation

Sorry I have been away for some time working on other projects but will be posting again daily.  Here is the daily stringing tip.

RACKET PREPARATION

1. Always inspect the racket in the presence of the customer. Look for any cracks, stress fractures, excessive wear, grommet wear and also inspect the grip for wear. This step allows you to immediately discuss with your client the wear of the racket and any additional services you might need to perform to assure the racket is working to its optimal performance ability. One major benefit from this tip is that the customer cannot blame or hint the fact that you might have had something to do with the crack or stress fracture. It is possible to break a racket during stringing and I have seen it done, even to a WTA tour player! So always use the best practice approach to stringing. If the grommets are worn or cracked offer replacement opportunities, if the racket is worn beyond repair than offer to find a suitable replacement (opportunity to sell one in the current line of retail rackets). If the grip is worn this is a great time to talk about grip and overgrip options. This step of the process is where value added service and products are sold.
   
   
   I hope this tip was valuable.  Please comment with questions.  

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First Stringing Tip of 2014

Happy New Year!

Here is the first tip of 2014.  Clean your racket prior to mounting. This basic 2 minute tip can keep your racket looking new and while inspecting it you can see any potential cracks or stress fractures early.  Generally if you live in an area that has clay courts or someone used the racket as a shovel in the dirt this step can really make a difference quickly.  I have seen rackets with years of dirt and grim that can easily be wiped off with some rubbing alcohol and a cloth.  I generally will get a spray bottle and fill with rubbing alcohol.  There are several other tennis uses for this that I will discuss later.  

During the inspection and cleaning of the racket also look for grommet wear and cracks in the grommets.  If you need to replace grommets or use tubing (will discuss further in later tips) than this is better done before you mount the racket on your machine.

If you string rackets as a business :Advertise that you do this in your promotional material.  This is a great marketing tool.  Generally I will wipe the racket down, get the dust off, clean around the grommets until all the marks are off.

I hope this tip saves you some time and effort.   More times to come tomorrow. (STip 01)

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