How a Paintball Career Paved the Way for a High-Quality Business Model

Retiring from a successful career in any sport can be a difficult adjustment, and people often struggle to find the same success in new ventures.

Tommy ‘Gun’ Pemberton enjoyed a very successful career in professional paintball; he saw victory in the World Cup and at one time was recognized as the UK’s number one player. So it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about the sport, as well as how to wield a paintball gun with deadly precision.

Following his retirement, he became the owner of GO Paintball, based in London, and his knowledge and understanding of the sport have helped it to become one of the UK’s leading paintball companies.

Familiarize Yourself With Your Service/Product

For Tommy, paintball started off as a hobby. It then blossomed into a successful career and livelihood. Now he is still very much involved with the sport, but as the owner of a leading company in the UK.

A vital part of his success is being familiar with all aspects of the sport—whether it’s the style of games to be played, the design of each location, or even the type of equipment being used.

The same can be said for all businesses. You need to demonstrate an active knowledge in your chosen industry. Without it, customers won’t have faith in you or your product, and will therefore be looking at your competitors for a more bespoke service.

Use Past Experiences as a Blueprint

Throughout his career, Tommy encountered a wide range of different companies, played on various maps, and used many types of equipment. This gave him years of experience to filter which aspects work efficiently, and those that don’t.

At the time, he only looked at these experiences through the eyes of a player, but now as the owner of a company, he uses them to filter out the negatives and provide current players with the best experience possible.

Offer Something Unique

In every industry today, you’ll find yourself in the middle of a market that’s more competitive than ever. If you run with the crowd without a unique selling point, you’ll struggle to gain the attention of new customers.

At GO Paintball in London, for example, they’re well aware how competitive the paintball industry is, but more importantly they recognize the importance for a unique service. The first line of their mission statement reads: “Paintballing has been ‘done’ the same way forever,” a statement that could apply to many industries today.

Instead of a run-of-the-mill paintball experience, Tommy has made a point of making sure GO Paintball does everything differently. The choice of “not so standard issue” equipment, the huge, diverse maps, and the customized experience for people of all ages are all ways in which he’s separated himself from the pack.

Tommy and GO Paintball are a prime example of how the right knowledge, experience and love for what you do can be the perfect business model. A company which shows that they have faith in their service and take the right steps to establish themselves as a brand will be able to gain that same faith from others.

Author: Becky Annetts works for Go Paintball, one of the UK’s leading paintball companies. GO Paintball London is one of the UK’s leading paintball companies. Its owner, Tommy ‘Gun’ Pemberton, played professional paintball for ten years, representing London and England at the highest level worldwide. He’s worked within the paintball industry his whole life at every level. GO Paintball London was his next step, and has allowed him to focus on providing the best grassroots paintballing experiences possible for people of all ages.