Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Flores.
Richard, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Bar None started from me seeing an open field while I was out running. The field had trees and overgrown grass and just looked dirty. Every day I ran by this field and never saw anything than what it was. Then one day while I was running I looked at that field and I pictured a baseball field. I looked at it again and I saw an indoor training facility. I pictured an office. I could see all these things on this piece of land.
After that, every time I ran by that field I never saw an open field anymore but instead I saw Bar None. I had already been coaching and training so the idea was already there but it was just an idea. I kept Bar None inside my heart for some time and finally it just grew to the point where I had to tell someone. So I stopped by there with my wife, Isabel and my son, Andrew and asked them what they saw. Then after they told me an open piece of land, I told them what I saw. I am fortunate because after that we all saw the same thing. That is how Bar None started.
I have been involved in baseball and softball for 30 plus years. Either playing, coaching or training. When I stopped playing, I knew I wanted to coach and train. So I started doing that. This is all before Bar None. But coaching really helped me get my skills down for training. It taught me patience and taught me how to show just not tell. I will jump right into a routine because I want the players to see that I will work just like them.
I started working on my communication with the players so they could understand what I was saying. I had suffered some health issues a few years before Bar None and I stopped playing ball, which was difficult for me, but I discovered that I had the same passion in training as I did playing. When I see a ballplayer’s eyes light up because they finally picked up something we have been working on repeatedly and they did it naturally instead of me telling them, there is no greater reward.
Bringing that passion for training and getting that reward and honestly, God putting Bar None in my heart and mind by showing me more than an open field, there was no doubt what I wanted to do. I believe God doesn’t put a dream in your heart to die and I truly believe that about Bar None.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The great thing about owning your own business is you are doing something that you are passionate about. When I am training, time flies by. I make a lesson plan the night before sessions and then I memorize it. I try to account for every minute of that hour session. And I am a talker, so I like to talk after the session. So my wife and Bar None CEO has to pull me back and keep me on track. Doing the training is the smooth part. Everything else is tough. The hardest part is staying steady. We spend as much time on marketing, emailing, texting, calling as we do training. We want to keep the schedule as full as we can. And at the same time trying to make sure we keep our current clients, who we love by the way, happy and also drumming up new business.
If my wife Isabel wasn’t there to handle the payments, set the schedule, keep track of the miles driven, shag fly balls and keep me from talking too much I don’t think Bar None could do what it does. And she is great during the sessions. A lot of our business is word of mouth and if our clients didn’t trust us, they wouldn’t tell others about Bar None. She communicates so well with all our clients and builds that trust. And that is so important. We really feel like our clients are our family and that is a big part of her doing what she does.
Being small means you don’t really have extra cash to hire staff. So there is another obstacle. That is where my son, Andrew, steps in. Andrew will go out there and set up the equipment for the session. No, we do multiple session on a day so he is constantly tearing stuff down and putting it back up multiple times a day. Then he will play whatever position I need him to play while we are doing a session. Then once we are done, he is tearing stuff down again. I have done sessions where it just me and let me tell you he makes life easier for me and Bar None. He is very reserved but his presence says a lot. Oh and he still has to do his homework cause he is in high school.
We are on the road a lot, especially on the weekends. We started out with a Honda Civic and I learned how to cram all of our equipment in there. We drove that Honda into the ground. It’s retired now from Bar None. We were able to get a bigger vehicle that is our office on wheels. It’s a GMC Jimmy. When we got that vehicle we thought we were in luxury because it was so much bigger than the Honda. We bought that when it wasn’t running and put a lot of work in it to get it road ready. I am so thankful to my dad who helped me a lot. We changed the transmission out of it and he was there every day without fail. Andrew and I do a lot of maintenance on it to keep it on the road. We don’t have the luxury of dropping it off at a shop for a few days. It has to be running. We have had the vehicles go down on us before and it can cancel a week’s worth of sessions. So we try to keep it maintained and running.
When you own your own small business, you have to wear many hats. It’s good to have a team, like Team Flores, to help carry the load.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Bar None Baseball & Softball Academy – what should we know?
Bar None is a mobile baseball and softball academy. Bar None offers training in hitting, fielding, catching, throwing, base running, pitching, cardio/core training and many other things. And we do this for both baseball and softball. We offer one on one private training and we also offer team training.
There a few things that set us apart. One being is that we are mobile. We drive to our clients. A lot of academies you have to drive to and for some parents that are driving across town. Houston is a huge city so that can take some time. We found out that people love the fact that we drive to them and still give a quality session.
Another thing is we give a full-hour session at a great rate. A lot of places we discovered only give 30 min lessons at an hour price. So for us to be able to come out to you and give your ballplayer that hour and it doesn’t take a bit out of your wallet is key.
These are two things that set us apart. But honestly, none of that would matter if we didn’t give quality service. We have a product that we believe in. And for that full hour, that ballplayer is our only focus. No phones, no side conversations, just us. We work hard for our players. We love it when parents send us pics or video or just a text to tell us how their child did in the game. That lets us know they feel our passion about their ballplayer.
I am always training as well. I make sure that as my players game grows so does my knowledge. I talk to a lot of coaches, read about different training techniques, watch a lot of videos and go over notes on sessions. I want my players to always be progressing and I want to make sure I do my part to make that happen. We offer a lot of different types of training for two sports and I don’t ever want to go in like I don’t know. I was a boy scout and as the motto goes, “Be Prepared”. So we are always staying on top of our game. We know that you can go anywhere and get the services we offer, so we make sure we offer a great product, we are knowledgeable and all of our players progress to the next level. That is the key thing. It’s all about the progress.
One thing I am really proud of is how Bar None has grown into a family. After hurricane Harvey, we reached out to all of our clients to check on them but some beat us to the punch. They were checking on us. And you don’t just do that for anyone. Some told us to come stay with them if needed. I love that Bar None has created this family environment and that our clients feel a part of that family.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
There are two things that have made Bar None what it is.
1) Being family focused. We make the parent and player feel welcome. We stay focused on what we are doing but at the same time, we make sure that they know we have their best interest at heart. We have stopped sessions because a player is feeling ill and we will tell the parent, we will make that time up next time. We don’t want them to feel like they lost money. We are not here to rob anyone. I have had conversations with players big and small that tell me they really don’t want to play but they don’t know how to tell the parent. And so I will be honest and tell the parent. If a player is out there and is not giving me their all then they are not going to learn. And I wouldn’t want anyone to take money from me because that is their business. I would rather be honest and gain trust. And it works because that parent spreads our name in a good way to other people.
2) Hard work is the other thing. We work hard. My wife and I both come from a hard-working environment. Both of us had parents that got up early and went out and provided for their family. Both of us started working at a young age. So when we are working hard, we are passing that trait on to our son. We want him to see that hard work does pay off. I tell all my players if you give me 110% I will give it right back to you.
Pricing:
- 1/Hr Private Session $35
- 2/Hr Team Sesssion (min 6 players) $25 per player
Contact Info:
- Website: www.barnonebaseball.com
- Phone: 832.816.9510
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barnonebaseballacademy/
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