Nic Barrow: Turning a Micro Niche Into a 6-Figure Global Business

Imagine turning your childhood passion into a thriving business. This is precisely what Nic Barrow, the founder of Snooker Gym, did. Snooker Gym centers around one goal: "We help frustrated amateur snooker players to beat their highest score." With a strong passion for the game, Nic has dedicated his life to understanding its intricacies and helping others master it, offering both physical and digital products to his global audience. A few stats:

• Generated more than $500K in revenue on Kajabi alone
• Serves customers in more than 100 countries
• Provides 1-on-1 coaching in more than 50 countries

Snooker was a source of fascination for Nic since pre-adolescence. He recalls, "I was obsessed with working this game out. I remember practicing one day and thinking, it's so wrong that this game hasn't been codified before. And in my complete ignorance, I said, well, I might as well be the person to do that." Nic's journey from a young, game-obsessed teen to being acknowledged as the world's premier creator of snooker coaching materials represents a powerful narrative of turning dreams into reality.

Together with his wife, Fang, Nic runs Snooker Gym primarily on the Kajabi platform, which has allowed them to generate over $500K in revenue for their micro-niche business. With customers in over 100 countries and a coaching experience that spans 50 countries, Snooker Gym has positioned itself as a leading provider of snooker training and knowledge.

Snooker Gym offers an array of both digital and physical products to guide and train players. On their website, you can buy snooker training tools like cue action trainers and training balls as well as 1-on-1 distance coaching and snooker lessons. To help you improve your game, Nic will watch you play (live or recorded) and provide video critique, a summary of his analysis, suggestions for techniques and cueing organized into a prioritized list, and a shared online practice schedule for ongoing support. There’s also a YouTube channel filled with free resources.

"It is partly the Kajabi architecture that allows me to run this lifestyle business with my wife,” Nic says. Together, they’ve conducted coaching tours for 16–24 weeks out of the year, spending time in North America, Asia, and other locations around the world.

Leveraging the power of Kajabi to expand their reach and perfect their evergreen marketing systems, Nic Barrow and Snooker Gym continue on their mission to help snooker enthusiasts around the world break free from their frustrations and find enjoyment in the game they love.

The Challenge: Serving the right customers while building a legacy

Nic wanted to tap into a segment of the market that he could tailor his offerings to most significantly. As he points out, at one stage, he "was all things to all people." The challenge was in recognizing and strategizing which group of potential customers he truly wanted to serve.

Nic gradually moved away from working with juniors, beginners, and even professionals, finding himself gravitating toward working with frustrated amateurs — those who work full-time or own businesses. They were serious about elevation in the game, not playing once a month but every week. He acknowledged that there was an inherent struggle within these people, a battle against average. They had the game in their blood, and they wanted to improve.

Yet, Nic was cautious. Can cornering oneself in a niche potentially limit growth and success?

The answer lay in embracing the simplicity genius Albert Einstein championed. Nic wanted a business that was "as simple as possible, but no simpler." There was a critical bare minimum beneath which the business wouldn't sell, and too much detail could cause potential clients to become overwhelmed and lose interest. Striking the perfect balance was integral to establishing what would become Snooker Gym.

In addition to figuring out who he and Snooker Gym were for, Nic had another goal: to construct the world's most comprehensive snooker training content library. Weaving his personal understanding and passion for the game with structured learning techniques, Nic sought to leave a legacy in the form of an impressive collection of snooker coaching materials.

At their core, both of these challenges were about Nic understanding who he was in this market and, crucially, who he was for. With an eye toward his goal and his mission in mind, Nic forged ahead.

The Solution: Simplification and empowerment with Kajabi

Like many budding entrepreneurs, Nic began to assemble a DIY tech stack for Snooker Gym. He had spent half a year researching WordPress, membership platforms, email autoresponders, payment processors, and content delivery networks. He meticulously picked out eight different software services, piecing them together to form the backbone of his budding business.

"I felt so proud. I sent an email to my office and said, ‘Look here are all these services, stitch them together, and build us a website, please,’" he says. “This Franken-site never stopped breaking.” Nic was soon to discover a much simpler, painless solution that could have saved him an enormous amount of time and energy — Kajabi.

The adoption of Kajabi not only streamlined their operation but also expanded the capabilities of the Snooker Gym. With Kajabi, Nic could conveniently organize his product pipeline, refine his launching abilities, and market Snooker Gym with ease. Kajabi’s intuitive interface made it possible to restructure their business activities, develop new products each year, address the audience's specific pain points with tailored solutions, and deliver those solutions through a YouTube channel and one-to-one trainings.

The Results: Making history with Kajabi’s simplified solutions

The adoption of Kajabi streamlined Snooker Gym's operations. With Kajabi, Snooker Gym was able to streamline business operations — product launches became a part of an annual calendar, systematically organized and executed effectively. This enabled Nic and Fang to optimize their coaching tours, even culminating in a world tour.

Nic recalls, "We literally went all the way around the world on about ten stops, using our contact database in Kajabi to invite players from each city to attend training camps. And it was more than self-funding. We did very well out of it."

With Kajabi, the world became their office, making business not just profitable, but also enjoyable. "Kajabi allowed us to do that quite simply," Nic adds.

Kajabi succeeded in simplifying their tech stack, allowing Snooker Gym to concentrate on creating and delivering quality snooker coaching. This clarity of focus helped them build a reputable brand that generated an impressive $560K in revenue, making them a recognized force in the snooker training world.

Looking Ahead: Maintaining momentum in Snooker Gym’s success

Snooker Gym's future shimmers with potential, a testament to the power of Kajabi, hard work, and the entrepreneurial spirit. Armed with product pipelines and a continually refined launch strategy, Snooker Gym is well-placed to tackle the challenges that come their way. For now, Snooker Gym continues to build physical and digital products, and coaching services admired by players in over 100 countries.

Nic's words of wisdom for aspiring creators offer a clear motivational message. When it comes to doing it all over, he would cut down on time spent researching and instead laser-focus on understanding the market and creating an irresistible lead magnet, or “problem solver,” as he calls them. Nic’s advice ties back to simplicity, understanding your audience, and delivering value:

"Make a one-page website, give away a free problem solver, and build an audience from that. Then, when you have 100 people signed up, ask them what they want to see."

So, new creators, take note. The journey may be overwhelming at times, but armed with invaluable advice from those who were once in your shoes and equipped with powerful tools like Kajabi, nothing can stand in your way.