My Unfair Advantage

Resources:
1. Social media presence
V: Both my trainers and I have a large presence on social media. This will help spread the word to athletes and parents about this service as efficiently as possible.
R: A large social media presence is rare for a training company because most don't have popular Facebook/Twitter/Instagram pages and most trainers are older and not as active on social media.
I: This would be hard to copy because my company will already start out with a large reach on social media. Other training services would have to work for years to reach where we already are, while we'd continue to grow.
N: The only resource that could provide this benefit would be a large scale advertising campaign but your average training company doesn't have the money for something of that nature.

2. Cheap physical capital (only need small items like cones and a few sports balls)
V: While some ventures require expensive equipment if they are to be successful, my company only needs what most people could find in their garage.
R: Cheap physical capital is not rare in the training world.
I: The cheap physical capital that I will be using is easy to copy.
N: No other resources can replace the sports equipment I will be using.

3. Superior trainers
V: Superior trainers means customers are getting the most value out of their money. Athletes will flock when they hear about the opportunity to be trained by D1 athletes.
R: Having D1 athletes as trainers is very rare, I have yet to see another company offer this.
I: You can't clone D1 athletes and it is hard to reach out to these athletes for a business like this unless you already have a relationship with them.
N: All other substitutes (D2 athletes, high school athletes, your average gym trainer) are of lesser quality.

4. Relationships with local sports teams
V: This will make marketing more efficient and also help drum up more customers and group training sessions, which are more profitable.
R: Training companies having relationships with sports teams is rather common.
I: It would be hard to replicate the closeness of the relationships I have built with some local sports teams.
N: There is nothing that can substitute close relationships with organizations that have hundreds of athletes.

5. Enough financial capital to cover all start-up costs
V: Won't be starting out in debt.
R: In general, it is very rare for a company to be able to cover all its costs up-front.
I: For this specific idea, it would not be hard to cover start-up costs.
N: Nothing can substitute for the ability to start a business venture without accruing debt.

6. Prior experience running a company
V: I've learned from some of the challenges I faced and can put that knowledge to good use when starting this company.
R: Most entrepreneurs have started more than one venture.
I: You can't copy experience, you must earn it.
N: Nothing can substitute for experience.

7. Most attractive work opportunity for college athletes
V: I will be able to get the top athletes to work with me because I offer the most flexibility and earning potential.
R: Being the top option for your labor market is rare.
I: My business idea could be copied, but by then I would have already hired the athletes I wanted.
N: Once I have the top athletes, there will be no comparable substitute for the quality of training.

8. Flexible and laid back culture
V: Makes working with my company more desirable.
R: My flexibility (basically setting your own schedule) is rare but laid back office cultures are becoming increasingly popular.
I: This resource could be copied relatively easily (sans setting one's own schedule).
N: There are other factors that may be more important to potential employees than flexibility and company culture so substitutes are possible.

9. Low cost advertising
V: Low cost advertising increases my profit margin.
R: Low cost advertising is becoming increasingly popular.
I: A training company could easily copy my social media and word of mouth advertising strategy.
N: Other methods, such as fliers, could be substitutes for low cost advertising.

10. Broader customer base than competitors
V: More potential customers means more actual business.
R: This is rare, most sport-specific training companies focus on one sport while I would have a wide range of sports available.
I: This could be copied but I have yet so see anyone attempt to do it in my research.
N: There is no substitute for being able to cater to more customers than your competition.

My top resource is the fact that I will have superior trainers. I've know this from the start and the whole business premise is that my trainers will be able to offer something that was previously unavailable to athletes. This resource is what will draw customers to my company. When running a training company, the quality of your trainers is by far the most important aspect to focus on.