August 23rd is a big day for Spark Solutions- I’m celebrating 2 years of business! It’s exciting to celebrate the milestone and pause to survey how far the business has come and where it is journeying on to next. I started Spark Solutions because I wanted to give back to sport. I wanted to positively impact individuals, communities, and, ultimately, our society. But also, I wanted to work with more than one sport at a time and I wanted to gain new and different experiences. My goal was, and continues to be, to help sport and recreation organizations to offer safe, fun, and inclusive participation experiences for everyone who wants to be involved sport.
Living and Working Core Values
When I think about my core values and the core values of this business – collaboration & engagement, passion & enthusiasm, and to be research-grounded & evidence-based – I can see all sorts of ways these values have been operationalized in my business over the past two years. When working with clients, we work to collect feedback from many different stakeholders and engage them in a variety of ways. Many key insights have come from interviews, focus groups and surveys. I am excited about every project and often remark to friends and family that it’s wild that people hire me to do what I love! Under all of that, I do my best to understand industry trends and continually engage in learning. This is the key to me continuing to offer the best I can to my clients.
Up Until Now
Two years ago, I started with a dream, gumption, and not much more. But I was determined to figure it out. Sometimes the journey has felt slow, like progress is crawling along. Other times, I’ve felt like I was sprinting down a hill, unable to get my feet back under me. There have been some incredible allies and supporters. There have been some naysayers and some outright opponents. What has worked for others has not worked for me; what has worked for me couldn’t be replicated by others. There’s one thing that I have felt has contributed to the success of this business. It is to know when to look inward and go with the feeling in my soul, and to know when to pass something off to another person, an expert in their field. I will continue to use this as this business moves into year three.
What's Coming Next
As Spark Solutions moves into the next year, there’s lots of great things on the horizon. This was the first time in years where I took the summertime to pause and rejuvenate. However, I’m ready to get back to work and work with others to positively impact sport. I’m in the process of organizing a group of interns to join me in completing a project this fall. This project will grow the capacity of the business, which I’m so excited to see. I’ll be wrapping up a social media project which has been in process since the spring. Then, marketing will be getting underway to extend invitations to sport clubs and organizations to work together. I hope to work with even more clients in even more sports!
Thanks to everyone who has helped make Spark Solutions a success so far. It’s been great celebrating 2 years in business and I’m excited to see where things go next!