As a five-sport athlete at Sarasota High School, Cole Richardson saw firsthand the power of sports and the impacts good coaching can have on an athlete. Now she’s getting to put all of that into practice as both a coach and business owner.
“Sports is more than just ‘sports,’” says Richardson. “It teaches you life lessons and how to be committed to something. It teaches you how to grow from your failures and have a growth mindset. And that can really help you a lot in life.”
Before she became a mother five years ago, Richardson coached soccer and taught high school. Concerned about juggling it all once she had her child, she stepped away from teaching. But stay-at-home-mom life made her a little stir crazy, so she started thinking about business ideas. She originally wanted to open an indoor play cafe for young kids, but the costs were prohibitive. So she pivoted (like any good athlete would) to Happy Tots Play Co., a business focused on mobile parties and events for little ones.