Joining Active Away in 2014 was an exciting time. A dynamic business with a small foothold in an untapped industry. My initial role was to generate new sales, retain existing clients and host the Tennis Holidays.

My Sales Executive period with Active Away was a success - exceeding Sales Targets and receiving exemplary feedback from all clientele.

Sales Executive

Working at John Charles Centre in Leeds, an Indoor & Outdoor Centre. Working on and off the court to help develop the programme, and implement a more structured programme to the centre. Developing the performance players, managing their tournament schedule, goals, mental and physical preparation.
Managing the Talent ID, reports and school’s visits.

Performance Tennis Coach

Dan Kiernan provided me with an opportunity to come out and coach for 3 Weeks at the SotoTennis Academy in Spain.
I was able to work with world ranked international players.

Dan Kiernan (Director):

Josh recently spent 3 weeks at my Academy in Spain. SotoTennis Academy (www.sototennis.com). Josh came over to shadow and work with the coaching team for 3 weeks off his own back,which impressed me massively.
It was obvious he wanted to learn. It quickly became apparent that Josh was more than capable to run his own sessions and he quickly learnt our Academy system and the delivery of this.
Josh brought a great hunger and enthusiasm to every session and showed a confidence well above his 19 years of age. He communicated well with our players from 10 years old up to the professionals who were his peers and kept the line between friendship and professionalism admirably.I have no hesitation in recommending Josh as a real asset to any programme and know he will serve anyone well that is fortun

Head Coach of Jonathan Markson Tennis Camps with around 100 international juniors per week. Overall responsibility for management of the camps from Arrival to Departure.

- Managing a Team of 20 Tennis Coaches & 1 Operations Manager
- Liaising for Tennis Courts, Rooms & Travel
- Achieved an 80% retention rate year on year

Head Coach

As a performance tennis coach, I deliver Individual Lessons, and Group Sessions to U18 'Performance Players.'
It is my role to provide an annual plan, tournament scheduling, and goal setting for each of the players on the program. As well as attending tournaments, and having off court meetings with parents, and other coaches.

- Working with National Standard Junior players
- Level 4 Senior Performance Coach
- Former #23 Ranked U18 UK Tennis Player
- LTA Regional/National Talent ID days
- R5 Qualified Referee
- Represented Yorkshire

I think one of the hardest things for any founder would be to let someone else run the day to day management of the business, however I was very grateful for this opportunity in November 2021 when we restructured Active Away.

Since joining Active Away in 2014, the business has grown by 5 times. It's been a fantastic journey, but with growth comes both challenge and opportunity.

Here's some of the highlights of my tenure:

1. Covid-19 & Travel - One of the hardest challenges of my career was navigating Active Away through the pandemic. From Traffic Light Lists to Cancelled Flights, we always did the right thing. Our community proved strong and we had a 75% Deferral over cancellation rate. 

2. Bench Strength - We've recruited some exceptional individuals that have allowed us to drive growth in many areas of the business.

3. Operational Processes - 
3.1 Finance Module - Implemented a live finance module that allows the Board to see key metrics with 1 click.
3.2 Accounting - Running ac

Managing Director

The next progression with Active Away was to join the Board, and become Sales & Marketing Director. This enabled me to implement several key business changes:

1. The Launch - Historically Active Away had not started marketing events prior to the start of the financial year (November). With the trips then taking place from February - November. This meant that we had some cashflow and sales challenges. 
The Launch was able to generate revenue equal to 30% of the previous financial year in 1 week, and was a massive catapult to the success of Active Away.

2. UK Tennis Clinics - Active Away offered Tennis Holidays outside of the UK - which meant that revenue was generated on a seasonal basis. We had an established team that could offer more events so I came up with the idea to offer UK Clinics. The clinics are the perfect combination of previous Active Away clients who are strong members of our community and new clients - which meant a great recipe for success. The clinics have grown at 3

Sales and Marketing Director

Josh Thompson (JT) is a UK-based creator empowering individuals and small businesses with free, practical guidance.

Know about Joshua Thompson's work experience, education, bootcamps, certifications, and much more. Joshua Thompson