Last time we visited Carol and her Red Barn Training business. We’ve found our next SimplyPayMe Superstar and this time we’re taking a look at Adil and Anna Siddiqui. The two siblings have for close to 9 years been working for a franchise in Chiswick under the Little Kickers brand. They took over in 2015 and have made a truly inspirational contribution to the local community since then. Through their core value of providing a positive introduction to sport for children from as young as 18 months old, they’ve created an incredible environment where kids can come play football and focus on having fun. A secondary, perhaps more unintended contribution is all the surplus energy kids get out on the field, rather than at home. Which is a blessing in itself to many a parent.
However, Adil started quite a different route as a young adult, and not one you’d expect to end with football. Here’s how Little Kickers Chiswick came to be and why they’ve been with SimplyPayMe App for just over a year.
Hi Adil! Would you mind sharing a bit about yourself and what it is you do?
“Would be happy to! My name is Adil and I currently run a Little Kickers Franchise here in Chiswick along with my sister, Anna and our team of coaches. We provide an environment for children between 18 months and 7 years old to come play football, interact with other kids and most importantly have fun! Our aim is to give them a safe, positive introduction to sports and healthy competition. I’ve been doing this for close to 9 years now, and there’s no place I’d rather be!”
Sounds incredible, what you’re doing for all these kids. When did you find out this is where you wanted to be?
“Bit of funny one this… you may find it hard to believe, but I actually went to law school back in the day! Young, fresh and on my way to become a solicitor. I’d been working a bit for this Little Kickers franchise and loving it on the side. As I went on with my master’s degree I kept getting more and more involved and eventually I’d be involved in just about all day to day operations. When I finally had the chance to buy the franchise it just made complete sense to me. The parents all knew me, I knew them and the business, so very little changed from day to day.”
You mean, aside from your entire life moving from law to coaching?
“Well yea… aside from that!
Quite an incredible move! Any regrets?
“None! I’ve gone into something I absolutely love. It’s a pleasure to be surrounded by kids playing football and having fun every single day. There’s nothing quite as rewarding as creating an environment where you can watch someone master new skills, make new friends and show off to their parents all the while having the time of their lives.”
You mentioned your sister, Anna, as well. How did she find her way to coaching?
“If I’m completely honest with you, it’s just a match meant to be. I’ve never seen anyone better fit for a role of coaching children of these age groups. She’s just absolutely amazing with the kids, she loves them and they love her right back! Not to mention, when you have someone like her on the coaching team, it gives the parents a solid sense of comfort and ease of mind, knowing their kids are in the best of hands. I’m very grateful for being able to run a business along with my sister. We haven’t even had any fallouts… yet!”
Amazing, she sounds like an incredible person as well. Has it been difficult growing your business?
“It’s always challenging to start your own franchise. Though we’ve done as much as we can and today we coach about 270 kids in a week. We’re at a point where we may need to add to our existing team of part-time coaches, which is just as exciting as it is scary, but I guess that’s a good thing!”
What does the future look like for your business?
“As long as we can keep doing what we’re doing, I’m happy. Little Kickers tend to post the top 25 franchises globally as a bit of an informal bit of fun. You’ll need about 325 kids a week to be on the list, which is not too far off, so hopefully we’ll see Chiswick there in 2018!”
I hope we do! Finally, I have to ask, how has SimplyPayMe been involved in helping your business grow?
“I guess we’re probably the perfect example for some of your selling points in that we were experiencing some serious issues with customers wanting to pay by card over the phone, without having the facilities to accommodate. Sure, there is a transaction fee, but compared to the increased amount of flexibility we have towards our customers thanks to SimplyPayMe App it’s the easiest decision I ever made. Aside from quitting law to coach football!”
Very happy to hear that. Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers?
“Just that SimplyPayMe has been transformational to how we’re able to run our business. We always feel well taken care of and never looked back after someone recommended it to us.”
In Summary
We thank Adil and Chiswick Little Kickers so much for taking the time to talk to us. It was an absolute pleasure to chat about what they do and how much they help the kids. If you want to get in touch with them to learn more or book a class you can send an email to chiswick@littlekickers.co.uk. Here’s a short video introduction as well for you to learn a bit more:
