A tool to simplify invoicing and payments for coaches

Growing up in Illinois, my afternoons were always filled with sports. I was one of the lucky ones to have great coaches who taught me valuable lessons, both on and off the field. Fueled by their influence and my own passion, I began taking baseball seriously in high school. As a result of my determination and my incredible network of coaches, I went on to play professionally.

Moving from player to coach

While in the minor leagues, I looked back on those early experiences fondly. They inspired me to try my hand at coaching youth players, in order to pay forward the impact that my coaches had on me. I felt like I had a knack for it, and it was very rewarding. Later, when I was pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks, I took a coaching break to focus on my own playing career. But when I retired in 2018, I decided to give coaching a try as a full-time career.

I loved it, especially working one-on-one with players who had either enormous potential or enormous love of the game – or both. I focused on helping them visualize being in the stadium for mental toughness, as well as inspiring them to work on the fundamentals. One thing that surprised me about coaching is that it takes a lot of focus and energy to be great. You have to be 100% present for your players, and that remains true after all these years. Of course, remaining present is easier said than done. When I went full-time on my own, I quickly learned that being a “career” coach meant I had to be a coach and the owner of a business. I had never seen that side of the business before. That side of the business included things that didn’t get me out of bed in the morning: bank runs and reconciliations, tracking my income for budgeting and ensuring clients (or their parents) paid me for last week’s lessons. These things actually started keeping me away from what I wanted to be doing: coaching.

I began to search for a digital invoicing and payment solution

After a few months of really struggling with this balance, I discovered Finli through the American Baseball Coaches Association. Finli is a mobile app that lets me keep track of my clients and their payments, so I don’t have to worry about it when I’m in the coaching zone. Adopting Finli was really simple, and my favorite part is it allowed me to put my focus back on my students.   Seeing how much it helped me manage my coaching business got me thinking about how I could help other coaches with their businesses. So, in 2021, I joined the Finli team to help spread the word about how valuable their payment solution could be to other coaches who want to spend their time coaching. I’ve loved every minute of this journey, and I want other coaches and players to, as well. 

Need help getting started? Finli was founded to help small businesses instantly invoice, collect immediate payments, and more seamlessly handle their accounts receivable. Sign up for a free trial here!