Two Richard Montgomery students have managed to do what many adults only dream of doing: running their own business.  IB Seniors Jim Liu and Eric Knudson recently started a tennis coaching company called Serve It Up. 

            Tennis has long been known stereotypically as a sport enjoyed only by the affluent.  Through Serve It Up, Liu and Knudson hope to change that, by providing affordable tennis lessons to kids and adults throughout Montgomery County. 

            The idea of starting a tennis teaching company first came to them in January of 2005, in their sophomore year.  At the time, both had been giving instruction as junior coaches at an area club.  Where Knudson was teaching, the club was making $400 from his class while only paying him $7. 

            “One day at lunch [we] just got to talking about coaching outside of the club,” revealed Liu and Knudson.

            Just as their inspiration had come up casually in conversation, so their approach to starting the business was rather unconventional. 

            “Rather than just sitting down and drawing up a detailed business plan, we just started building a clients base by going out and pitching ourselves to people that looked as if they might want lessons on local courts,” said the two founders.

            Despite early success with this unusual approach, Knudson and Liu soon ran into some problems.  First, they had to address all the legal issues that came with opening a business.  With the assistance of Mr. Dillon, a lawyer and father of RM senior Emily Dillon, they were able to sort through the obstacles including liability and being minors.

            They started out advertising with the basics: posting and handing out fliers in neighborhoods and at school events.  Eventually, Liu and Knudson started to launch ads on the internet at sites such as Google, Yahoo, and Craigslist.  They also set up a professional website (www.serveitup.org), which is maintained by RM senior Martin Petrov.

            Soon their business was up and running.  For their accomplishments, the two RM seniors won 2^nd place in the Ernst & Young's Youth Entrepreneur of the Year competition. 

            In order to keep the company flowing, Serve It Up has recruited high school tennis players from all around the county to help teach.  There were some problems with coaches who were not meeting the obligations covered in their contracts.  As Liu and Knudson state, “Responsibility is a typical problem for teenagers in general, so it’s to be expected.”  

            However, Serve It Up now has 9 coaches in addition to Knudson and Liu, and is looking to hire at least 3 more.  Each coach has to go through a training program that includes reading a 20 page handbook as well as completing a 2 hour training session.

            One such coach is Blake HS senior Sarah Monsheimer.  She has been playing tennis for about 7 to 8 years, and is now the #1 singles player for her school team.  Monsheimer has been with Serve It Up since April of 2006.

            “My coaching experience has been pretty good…it helped my tennis game because I had to think about what I do, so that I could help others.”

            Serve It Up has given Monsheimer fun experiences “teaching the younger kids,” but she also likes the business aspect of it; “how [she] can work and call [her] own hours.”

            Another of Serve It Up’s coaches is RM senior Alex Nazareth, who has been playing tennis since 6^th grade.  Nazareth joined Serve It Up in early June this summer, and now teaches about six hours a week.” 

            Nazareth said he enjoyed “teaching kids [at] a young age the principles of tennis…I also love the excitement a kid gets when he/she hits a ball because it reminds me [of] when I was beginning to play tennis.”

            The group strives to keep the teaching atmosphere relaxed and the lessons simple so that students are not overwhelmed or intimidated.  According to Knudson, “Clients who've never played before are usually able to rally by the end of the first lesson.”

            With such objectives, Serve It Up has been extremely successful.  The company currently has over 100 clients, with 50 being taught presently.  When asked if they were happy with such results, Knudson and Liu wisely stated that they were “pleased, but not content. Contentment is counterproductive.” 

            In the future, after they graduate, Liu and Knudson hope to “micromanage most things through email and phone” while at college, even if it is a challenge.  “We've put so much time and effort into it that we really want to see this succeed,” said the co-founders.

            Serve It Up has been a team effort on the part of the RM community.  Several RM parents and students were involved in its opening stages, and now 3 of its 9 coaches, in addition to Knudson and Liu, are RM students.

            Even as a high school student-based company, Serve It Up serves a very noble cause.  According to Nazareth, “Tennis is just catching on in the U.S., and there [are] not a lot of resources kids can go to [to] get affordable teaching. Serve It Up allows children from all social classes to have a chance to learn the game of tennis.”