In this post, I’d like to spotlight, Charlotte Potter, 5th Dan, GB International and Head coach of Ippon Judo London.
Specifically we look at how Charlotte is using the online membership platform, Pembee to expand her growing business.
Ippon Judo London runs nearly 40 sessions a week across schools and community hubs.
Charlotte wanted a system that could manage the range of events and classes on offer, and make the booking process easy and simple for customers.
She chose Pembee.
In this conversation Charlotte talks about what actually changed: how easy it is to take bookings, the branding and how she can adapt the pages with club colours and images and why she’s already telling other coaches to make the jump.
We also chat about The Ippon Games, a festival-style schools event in June 2027. If your club runs judo in schools, you’ll want to read on to find out about this.
Pembee is an official sponsor of Koka Kids, supporting Koka Kids in a year-long partnership to help grassroots judo grow.
The sponsorship is good news for all judo coaches as it means I can offer all Koka Kids readers a free trial of Pembee. You get a free trial, and if you choose to continue, you’ll also receive 25% off your first three months. The 25% off is exclusive to Koka Kids readers – only available through the link below.
Use this landing page to start your trial: https://www.pembee.app/partners/koka-kids
Interview with Charlotte Potter
Getting started with Pembee
Hi Charlotte! What made you decide to give Pembee a try? Was there a particular challenge with the admin side of running Ippon Judo London that you were hoping to solve?
Ippon Judo London has grown significantly over the past 12-18 months. We were at a point where our current online registration platform was limiting the expansion of the business. I saw the Koka Kids Instagram post advertising Pembee so thought I’d make an enquiry.
I’d had meetings with several different platform providers by this point and my questioning had become very specific. I needed something that would be flexible enough to hold the variety of programmes and events we offered. However, the most important factor was the customer journey. It was crucial that the booking process was slick and easy to navigate, particularly for new members. When joining a new club, if the sign-up process is confusing or too complicated, there is a real risk of losing that potential member before they’ve even started.
How did you find the process of getting Pembee up and running?
My initial meeting was with Jack who was fantastic! He walked me through the different ways of creating our own branded Pembee platform and we then had a follow up meeting before starting a 30-day free trial. This allowed us to play around with the system and check we were happy with the end result before committing. The Pembee customer service is first-class. A real person responds very quickly to your enquiry and I don’t find myself arguing with an AI chatbot. Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there!
What’s your favourite thing about Pembee? What do you use it for, and how has it made life easier for you?
I get very excited whenever there is an option to customise something for the business. The aesthetics of the Ippon Judo London brand are very important to me so being able to adapt the pages with our club colours and images is certainly a great feature.
Has Pembee saved you much time on the day-to-day admin?
An absolute time saver! I can’t imagine going back to the days when I used spreadsheets for registers and had to track and chase payments. Just thinking about it makes me feel stressed!
We will be finally rolling out Pembee across the whole business this autumn term. Feedback from parents in our many ‘pilot’ sessions has been very positive.
Advice for other judo coaches
What’s the first thing you’d tell another judo coach about Pembee?
I have promoted Pembee to quite a few coaches now and stressed how it can be adapted to a club’s individual business model. It’s the easiest way to take payments and register members. Once the class booking page is created, you can send it to a school or attach it to an advert and then sit back and wait for your registrations. It is that straightforward!
Unlike many platforms, Pembee has a very clear pricing structure from the outset. This is a huge green flag! There are two very affordable payment packages, one suitable for new small judo businesses and the other for larger outfits wanting customisable features and flexible booking options.
What advice would you give to another judo coach who’s thinking about giving Pembee a go?
I would suggest booking a meeting to hear what they can offer. Even those clubs currently with another platform, would be surprised at how straightforward the whole process is.
About Ippon Judo London
For anyone who doesn’t know Ippon Judo London, can you tell us a little bit about the club and what you’re all about?
Ippon Judo London has been running for nine years. The majority of our sessions are in schools delivering judo as part of a curricular or extra-curricular activity. We also run weekly judo classes at our two community Hubs. In total, the team teach nearly 40 timetabled sessions every week.
I have always believed in creating an environment where members feel they belong, can be themselves and see positive progression. As sports go, judo is relatively unknown in the UK. Our aim is to give as many people as possible the opportunity to try judo. Hopefully with judo, they’ll find a sport they can enjoy now and for several years to come.
You’re helping hundreds of judoka learn and discover judo across London. What are your main goals for the club this year?
At the moment, judo in schools feels quite separate from our more competitive community Hubs. Closing this gap and creating more opportunities for school judoka has been one of our main goals for the past few years.
I am currently working with the fantastic Liz O’Neal on a new project for June 2027, The Ippon Games. We will invite schools to come together for a friendly ‘festival style’ event so the students can learn and experience competitive judo. The Department for Education and Ofsted expects schools to provide meaningful opportunities to develop skills learned in class. If we can provide a clearer pathway showing further progression beyond the school day, we will see growth in the younger generation and in the sport.
If we hope to sustain life-long judo participation, low-level events such as this need to come in many forms for both the recreational and more competitive member. Hopefully The Ippon Games will be a success and grow year upon year.
I’ve seen that you’re particularly focused on getting more girls involved in judo. Can you tell us a bit more about that initiative and why it’s important to you?
Judo is a martial art and much like rugby or football, can be seen as a ‘boy’s’ sport. This is not the case at all. With our focused girls’ initiatives ‘Girls who Throw’ and ‘An Introduction to Judo’ (a collaboration with Active Surrey and British Judo), we are giving girls the opportunity to come and be active, try judo with girls of a similar age and get a feel for a sport they may never have considered.
When I was growing up there were few girls training at my judo club. As a coach, I also see a drop in female participation during the teenage years and can understand why some girls feel a little self-conscious and don’t want to do randori with boys. Two years ago, we started our recreational ‘Girls Only’ class which has proven very popular. It gives female students the opportunity to train with other girls, adds variety to their training and also a social space where they can feel more comfortable.
I’m hoping to work on more projects such as these to increase and maintain female participation in judo for the future. You never know, the Lionesses and Red Roses have had their moment and done wonders for girls’ football and rugby, maybe judo is next!
And if someone wants to get involved, find a class or come along to one of your events, what’s the best way for them to get in touch?
If anyone is interested in judo for themselves or for the organisation they represent, please just drop me an email at info@ipponjudolondon.com and I will get the ball rolling. I am always open to ideas.
