President, American Poolplayers Assocation
www.poolplayers.com
The scene: You’re hanging out with friends in your favorite bar when someone suggests a game of pool.
Do you a) panic or b) pick up a cue stick with the casual confidence that suggests you can probably call your 8-ball shot and sink it too?
Either way you might be interested in learning about the American Poolplayers Association (APA), whose president, Reneé Poehlman, admits she didn’t play pool until shortly before starting work at the APA in 1987. Today the APA (www.poolplayers.com), the world’s largest pool league, has about 260,000 members and 250 franchisees nationwide. Having created a system for players of varying abilities, including novices and beginners, the APA’s motto is, ‘Everyone can play – anyone can win.’
Here Reneé talks about becoming president of the family business, recommends good bedside reading and offers advice for improving your game, in business and billiards.
Her First Ladies Pool League
Reneé: “When I graduated from college, I was visiting my dad in Florida and my mom called me up and said, ‘Guess what I did? I signed us up to play in a ladies pool league.’ I knew the concept of the American Poolplayers business… that anyone can play, but my response was that I don’t play pool. And she said, ‘That’s OK. None of us do.’”
Learning That Teaching Wasn’t for Her
“I graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a degree in education and taught school for two years, sixth grade. I loved it, but with the way things were back in that time, there was no money at all in education. I started looking to my future and realized I was going to end up in administration. When I realized I was going to end up out of the classroom, I started looking at other job options. I started looking at the family business.”
History of the Family Business
“My stepfather Terry Bell and a partner of his, Larry Hubbart, started the American Poolplayers Association. I grew up in Alabama. When my mom and my stepfather met, Terry and Larry were pro pool players. They would travel around the country and that was how they lived. Being at different tournaments, people would bemoan the state of professional pool because there was no money in it. Terry and Larry believed something needed to happen in the amateur base to make anything happen in pro pool.
“In all their traveling, they had seen the game of 8-Ball was the most popular, what the average Joe played, but it was played differently in all areas of country. There were no standard rules – no way to explain how good or bad I was in terms of a rating.”
Growing Interest in Pool
“At the time I came to work here, I was employee number 11, and six of us at the company were from family. The summer before last, we went over 50 employees. That was a conscious decision because the regulations change when you go over 50. Our franchise network has grown to approximately 250 franchises in North America. We just opened our first franchise in Japan in December.
“We’re all about the person who is looking for a social opportunity to get out on a regular basis to do something you enjoy. It doesn’t matter if you’re good or not. Because of our handicap system, everyone can play and win regardless of your ability. We have national tournaments that players individually can play in as well as teams. There’s $1.5 million in prize money available at the national level.”
Making Women Feel Welcome
“We’ve always been 25-30 percent of our participation has been women. Not only do we handicap the individual, but we also say that when the team goes to play, their handicaps can’t total more than 23 points. That forces teams to have a wide variety of handicaps. I’m not trying to say there aren’t good women players. Women don’t generally feel as successful playing pool, but with our system they certainly can be.”
Growing through Franchising
“We became a franchisor because our attorney came to us and said, ‘If you walk like a duck, and quack like a duck, you are a duck, and you have to draft franchise agreements because that’s what you are.’
“We became aware of the IFA, the International Franchise Association (www.franchise.org ). We’ve gained so much through membership with the IFA that it amazes me. They created a multi-year program, and I was the 13th to graduate from that program. We have four other staff members who have graduated, as well as another four starting the program this year.”
Business Model Behind APA Franchises
“We’re low investment – most of our franchises start out home-based. It’s a lot of sweat equity. Don’t buy one if you’re not willing to put in the work to build it. Our franchisees go out and call on locations that have pool tables within their exclusive market and offer their services for administering, marketing and running pool leagues. We present ourselves as a marketing consultant. All we ask of the locations is to help us identify interested customers and to use us as a tool to build their customer base.
“One customer who’s interested in pool leagues can bring in five to seven new customers who will be there weekly. For the locations, it’s a great opportunity to get people to be more loyal to them. The customers will show up every Thursday night.”
Greatest Challenge #1
“Early on it was proving my worth – that I don’t just have this job because I’m a daughter. A lot of people think with family businesses, it just happens for the kids. I’ve been a believer that you’ve got to work harder to prove yourself. I was a workaholic. You do what you say you’re going to do. There were times when I overextended myself.”
Greatest Challenge #2
“Keeping our culture. How do we do this as we get bigger? When I came on board, six of us were family members. We were close-knit. We were all dedicated to doing whatever it took. We’ve always been a hugs-and-kisses organization. I remember we knew we had a wrong hire when she flinched when someone came up to hug her. Even now with having 50 employees, we still have that team spirit, that camaraderie to do what it takes to make it happen. Are we going to be able to maintain that same caring, feeling network as we get bigger?”
Recommended Bedside Reading
“I love Ken Blanchard. ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ helped me to think about how people react to change. Some people endorse change and embrace it. I tend to be one of those people, when I truly understand why we want to change. Others want to wait and see how people will respond. Then there are those who are going to be flat-out the last ones to make the change.
” Gung Ho! by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. We had all of our staff read it and spent time talking about different things in the book. It’s such a great team-building book.”
Favorite Getaway
“Early on in my career, I was not good about taking time off and going away. If I stay within the United States for vacations, I’m still connected with my laptop and cell phone. Three years ago, we started going to the British Virgin Islands and renting a sailboat; for a week to 10 days there’s no communication. It’s the most relaxed and re-energized I have been in my life.”
How She Met Her Husband (Surprise! It Wasn’t at a Pool Table)
“I went through the dating service Great Expectations. I constantly met people and they were always from out of town. I was never putting myself in the position to meet the person who I would like to spend my life with. I figured, I’m probably not going to meet a man who’s going to pick up and leave his life to move here to St. Louis. I got a thing in the mail from Great Expectations and ended up talking to a sales guy. Six months later, I met my husband. That was February of ‘91. We got married in July of ‘93.”
How to Improve Your Pool Game
“Find someone who knows a little bit about the game. My skills advanced because of my participation in our league programs. We allow coaching during leagues they would show me what I was doing wrong. It’s easier when you can just get around someone who’s just a little bit better than you. To me, the best thing is don’t be afraid to ask someone to help you. That’s the neat thing about our league program is that the players all want to help each other. It’s all about having fun.”
