Employment & entrepreneurship
Mission Locale
Employment, training and entrepreneurship support for under-26s in France. Free, present across the country.
17
Reference
Glossary of
sports entrepreneurship
The words you need to talk projects, business and impact - even without a master's degree. This glossary is deliberately simple: no needless jargon, just the definitions that matter on the ground.
A - E
Call for tenders
Procedure launched by a town hall, a school or a company to choose a service provider.
You can respond with your project if you have a business registration number or an association.
Self-employed (auto-entrepreneur)
A simple status to start invoicing legally. In France, no contributions if you earn nothing. Ideal for starting solo.
In France, free registration on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr in 10 minutes.
Business plan
A document explaining your project, your market, your forecast revenue and your costs.
To start: one page is enough. Add detail as you go.
Turnover
All the money you take in. Careful: this is NOT your profit. You have to subtract your costs.
E.g.: €1,000 taken in - €220 in costs = €780 net income.
Entrepreneurship
Creating a useful project. No suit and tie required. It's a state of mind: seeing a problem, wanting to solve it and taking action.
Invoice
Mandatory document for every paid service. It must include: your name, your business registration number, a description of the service, the amount and the VAT statement.
See the full template in chapter 18.
M - S
Margin
What you have left after paying your costs and expenses.
E.g.: you earn €100, you spend €40 → margin = 60%.
No-show
When a client who has booked doesn't turn up without warning. It can kill your business if badly managed.
Solution: a clear policy. Slot not cancelled 24 hours ahead = session counted.
SMART goal
A method for setting a clear, achievable goal: Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, Time-bound.
E.g.: "Have 5 regular clients within 2 months".
Forecast
Your estimate of income and expenses over the coming months. Useful for you, but also for partners, banks and funders.
Professional liability insurance
Professional civil liability. Mandatory insurance in France if you run paid sports sessions.
Seb, insurance broker: "You shouldn't just feel reassured because you have a piece of paper. You need to be properly covered."
SIRET (France)
Your official business identification number in France. Without it, you can neither invoice nor declare your activity. Issued automatically when you register as a micro-entrepreneur.
Sports coaching terms
Small Group Training
A supervised session in a small group (4 to 10 people). Good profitability, good client experience.
Example: 6 people x €25 = €150 per hour.
Hybrid offer
A mix of formats: in-person sessions + online follow-up + remote content. The future of sports coaching.
Protocolisation
Formalising know-how (standard warm-up, ideal session length, client follow-up). Makes your project replicable.
Holistic transformation
All-round support: sport + nutrition + mental health + sleep. More value, more loyalty, more legitimacy.
Professional card (France)
Mandatory card in France to supervise a paid sports activity, issued after a recognised qualification such as BPJEPS or DEJEPS.
Without it, paid coaching is illegal, even with experience.
European equivalence
Procedure for recognising a national sports qualification in another European country. Not automatic: plan ahead before a transnational project.
Business Fitness (partner gym model)
A self-employed coach who pays for access to a gym (large gym chain) to coach their own clients there, without being an employee.
Lets you start without investing in premises.
Transnational freelancer
A sports entrepreneur offering services in several European countries, online or on the move, juggling each country's tax and regulatory rules.
18
Templates
Ready-to-use
templates
To download from the STEP page: 5 tool sheets (spotting an opportunity, positioning yourself in a fast-growing sport, turning an urban practice into a business, gaining legitimacy, starting a business in an urban sport as a woman) and a pack of 25 templates (invoice, quote, statutes, contracts, mini business plan, checklists).
These templates are inspired by Stanislas Martin's guide (Ginkgo Sport). Adapt them to your situation - change the names, the amounts, the descriptions. They're made to be used straight away.
Invoice template
For every paid service, you must issue an invoice. Here is the minimum legal structure (France).
Mandatory information:
Your first name, surname and address
Your SIRET number
Invoice date and number (sequential)
Precise description of the service
Amount excl. VAT + statement "TVA non applicable, art. 293B CGI" (VAT exemption)
Payment terms
Example: Pack of 10 individual coaching sessions → €400 (VAT not applicable, art. 293 B of the French Tax Code)
Your first name, surname and address
Your SIRET number
Invoice date and number (sequential)
Precise description of the service
Amount excl. VAT + statement "TVA non applicable, art. 293B CGI" (VAT exemption)
Payment terms
Example: Pack of 10 individual coaching sessions → €400 (VAT not applicable, art. 293 B of the French Tax Code)
Association statutes (extract)
To create an association (French "loi 1901"), you need statutes. Here are the essential articles.
Article 1 - Name: "An association is hereby founded under the name: [YOUR NAME]"
Article 2 - Purpose: "The purpose of this association is to: [e.g. promote sport in working-class neighbourhoods]"
Article 8 - Resources: membership fees, public or private grants, donations, provision of services
Filing (France): service-public.fr → create an association → online service
Article 2 - Purpose: "The purpose of this association is to: [e.g. promote sport in working-class neighbourhoods]"
Article 8 - Resources: membership fees, public or private grants, donations, provision of services
Filing (France): service-public.fr → create an association → online service
One-page project sheet
To present your project to a partner, a town hall or a funder. No more than one page.
The problem: [what doesn't exist in your neighbourhood]
Your solution: [what you offer, for whom]
First results: [what you've already tested]
What you're looking for: [support, premises, funding, visibility]
Contact: [your details + social media]
Your solution: [what you offer, for whom]
First results: [what you've already tested]
What you're looking for: [support, premises, funding, visibility]
Contact: [your details + social media]
Entrepreneur's weekly planner
A simple rhythm so you don't scatter yourself and can last.
Monday: plan the week (1h) + follow up clients
Tuesday-Thursday: field work - sessions, workshops, meetings
Friday morning: communication - posts, stories, content
Friday evening: weekly review (15 min - see Ch. 11, Part 2)
Weekend: recharge, observe, free thinking
Tuesday-Thursday: field work - sessions, workshops, meetings
Friday morning: communication - posts, stories, content
Friday evening: weekly review (15 min - see Ch. 11, Part 2)
Weekend: recharge, observe, free thinking
Partner gym agreement (extract)
For coaching in a chain gym without being an employee. To be adapted to the gym and checked by a legal professional.
Purpose: "[Gym] authorises [Coach, registration no. ...] to run individual or small-group coaching sessions on its premises for the coach's own clients"
Consideration: monthly access subscription or flat fee paid by the coach to the gym
Responsibilities: the coach is solely responsible for their services and must hold their own professional liability insurance
Term and termination: trial period recommended before any long commitment
Consideration: monthly access subscription or flat fee paid by the coach to the gym
Responsibilities: the coach is solely responsible for their services and must hold their own professional liability insurance
Term and termination: trial period recommended before any long commitment
European mobility checklist
Before coaching or working in another European country, check these points.
Qualification: is my qualification recognised in the target country? See EuropeActive or the national sports authority
Status: do I need to set up a local structure or can I invoice from my home country?
Insurance: does my professional liability insurance cover activity abroad?
Tax: where do I declare my income if I work in several countries?
Status: do I need to set up a local structure or can I invoice from my home country?
Insurance: does my professional liability insurance cover activity abroad?
Tax: where do I declare my income if I work in several countries?
Testimony - Podcast Fight Lab / Ginkgo Sport
Seb, insurance broker - Being properly covered
"A broker's job is to be by your side and make sure you're covered at the right level and at the right price. You shouldn't just feel reassured because you have a piece of paper saying 'I've got my policy'. You know that behind it, there's someone managing what's in it."