How long have you been with the APA as a player and a League Operator?
Les: I’ve been playing APA for about 14 years.
Francee: I’ve been playing APA for about 13 years. We’ve been happily running our APA franchise for just a little over 10 years now!
What made you decide to become a League Operator? Was this a big change from your previous work style?
Les: Both of us really enjoyed playing on an APA pool team, meeting new people, working to improve our teammates’ poolplaying abilities and the joy of watching them advance in skill level. Francee and I have previous experience running our own businesses. Our time spent as League players prepared us for “what we were jumping into.”
Francee: Purchasing an APA territory really never crossed our minds. It was an opportunity that was presented to us for consideration and literally dropped into our laps. I think we both saw it as an opportunity to be our own boss and set our own schedules. Having been in corporate America most of my life, it was a nice change.
Can you briefly describe your day-to-day lives as League Operators?
Les: I can do it in two words…fun and challenging!! Most days consist of paperwork, making and returning phone calls and text messages, dropping off and picking up packet boxes and assisting our office staff where needed to make sure we’re always on schedule. Nighttime hours are spent on sales and visiting active Host Locations to always be visible to our players; and, of course, that means answering questions.
Francee: My day-to-day life as a League Operator involves working the back office side of the business throughout the day and helping with questions and situations that arise with the staff and Les. I work an outside full-time job as well and do most of my office work off and on during the day while being out most every evening or weekend day playing on teams to build and train Team Captains and to keep teams together through the Session.
What do you enjoy most about being League Operators?
Les: I guess the first answer that comes to mind is being a part of a great organization that has an outstanding supporting staff along with many, many knowledgeable and helpful League Operators. I love the constant pressure of meeting our weekly deadlines, setting and achieving our goals, and the fact that the business is always evolving. Francee and I have always been problem solvers and forward thinkers, always looking to the future for ways to constantly improve the product we supply to all of our players. Both paragraphs above I truly believe are the reasons for our success. Thank you to the APA for giving us this opportunity to become League Operators—it’s a dream we’re living every day of the week.
Francee: What I enjoy the most about being a League Operator is the family environment we’re able to develop for our players. We have a great product that we sell which includes entertainment, fun, friendship, and a family. We’ve seen marriages develop and some saved because of our League. We’ve seen people’s lives changed many times over from distress and wanting to give up to knowing they’re accepted and cared about by us and their fellow players. I truly enjoy both of my jobs and am thankful and blessed that APA and my other job allow me to work when I need to work and when I want to work. I never thought in my lifetime I would ever find a job that I would love as much as I do being a League Operator. For me, it’s about doing what is right every time and changing the world “one heart at a time.” You have to BE decided to DO what it takes to HAVE what you want. Being an APA League Operator meets those needs for me.
If you’d like to learn more about franchising your own APA League, visit apafranchise.com today!