Think and start doing!
Being in an Esports coach is something that almost no one wants to do, because everyone wants to play. So did I for a long time, until my career focus changed towards coaching. I love the industry and want to use my CSGO experience to help individuals and teams.
My entrepreneurship journey started from that idea, and there was little competition at the time – only a handful of coaches in Finland. The challenge stemming from that was, that I was also seeking a compensation for my services, and starting from the bottom, no one was really paid at that level, and paying customers were hard to find. Even if the role is valued, and very few coaches at the top were approachable for an open discussion about their compensation, I did not do that, I did my own valuation.
I think a rough guideline for pricing your work at the start can be a balance of:
- A lot of experience and needed in the field = high price.
- Commonly offered service - race for the customers, with more negotiable prices.
- Unique service – a lot of customers, but not necessarily highly paying ones, so also negotiable prices.
You can use these for developing your business package – maybe a niche game, or more than game coaching in your skills, or teaming up with other coaches to provide a multiprofessional service.
Having figured out my place, the start was rough, as I had to prove and build myself as a brand. I was hoping to get some teams interested in investing into coaching to begin with, which is not an easy sell, when you know the teams have no money. Being able to work with different kinds of people is an important skill to have, but in this field, it is also necessary to put in hours for game expertise, which can sometimes take a background role, while you’re busy helping someone, or maybe trying to get a new customer.
I managed to get lucky with Roots Gaming, and kudos to their owner Kimmo, who gave me a little bit of blind trust, and valued my previous experience. For over a year I worked with them, developing the team, in which the core of games became pretty stable, with some points of success. After reaching plateau due to multiple factors, I decided it’s time to gather more knowledge and experience elsewhere.
While being a difficult decision to make, it is important to know, when you have nothing more to give to a client, rather than running yourself down in stagnation, wasting potential on both sides. It was time to think about developing my self for a while instead of others.
I almost instantly got an offer to coach another team and went for it. The offer and the chemistry were very tempting, and having a new team, with almost no experience of team-based competitive style, I was motivated and felt like, once again, I have so much to give to the players and organization. I’m still on the same journey with RoundsGG, working with their owner Jussi and the players towards success, conquering the leagues.
While it has been five years since I started, it certainly feels like I just began. The scene has changed a lot during the time. Coaches are more common, and teams invest into coaching, because they have seen the benefits.
Players make the game, coaches give direction. Not knowing everything is normal, changing direction is ok. Be flexible, and with a good team, you can get to the right answers together. As a coach, you try to give out, but you also receive almost always more than you give. A huge part of my growth and experience has come from the players, which was unexpected, but it always amazes me, and is what keeps me motivated. There are times in your life that you think you know a lot, but you know only a surface of it. Keep hungry and stay positive. Keep your mind like a sponge to gather everything you need to have to success whatever you do. Think of something and start doing it! it is better than not doing anything at all!
About the author
Toni Nikka is a Counter-Strike Esports coach and Esports development manager. He has pioneered the Finnish Esports scene and worked for over 5 years on helping teams reach success.