Last fall, Ian Mohrmann passed a major milestone for a small business owner: His company, The Soccer Lot, moved into its own building. But it took Mohrmann a few years before he was ready to open his doors—or even have doors to open.

The Soccer Lot organizes five-a-side soccer leagues, tournaments and pickup games. Five-a-side is a faster, more intense version of the game that can be played with fewer people. Five-a-side has become very popular in Europe, and Mohrmann, a longtime soccer fan, wanted to bring it to Kansas City.

From the start, Mohrmann had a big vision for The Soccer Lot. He wanted his own facility, so customers could play no matter the weather.

But Mohrmann had two big obstacles. One, he didn’t know how to run a business like that. His background is in financial planning. And two, he wasn’t sure there was a market for five-a-side in Kansas City.

So, in 2012, The Soccer Lot started hosting leagues and games in local parks—and even in the streets sometimes. Wherever The Soccer Lot played, Mohrmann could set up his portable boarded field.

(That’s one of the defining features of five-a-side. It’s played on a smaller field surrounded by dasher boards. The ball physically can’t go out of bounds, so the game play is practically nonstop.)

Testing out the business concept in a low-overhead setting was a smart decision. The outdoor events validated Mohrmann’s idea and gave him practice at running the business.

“At some point, you have to go out and get your first customers,” he said. “If you don’t, then you’re not going to do it.”

Plus, the games were highly visible—great exposure for the business.

Mohrmann felt ready to open his own facility, but finding the right location took a while. “We’d been looking for a long time, since 2013, for a specific place,” he said.

About a year ago, he discovered a building at 2525 Jefferson in Kansas City, MO. A one-time Coke bottling plant, the building was basically a shell, but it checked a lot of important boxes. It already had office space and was ADA-compliant, for example.

Mohrmann hired architecture firm HOK to rework the space. Dealing with city permits ate up at least nine months—fortunately, HOK and attorney Patricia Jensen guided him through the process, he said. Once the paperwork was clear, HOK and The Soccer Lot only needed a month and a half to get 2525 Jefferson ready.

The Soccer Lot opened its doors in October. It has two indoor playing fields, which can be used for private events or the leagues that Mohrmann organizes. While most of the players are adults right now, he’s making a big push to start youth leagues.

His advice for other business owners? It’s OK to be a little stubborn when it comes to pursuing your vision, especially if other people around you don’t immediately get it. (But make sure you seek assistance from experts—Mohrmann attended the E-Scholars program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.)

Be prepared to buckle down and do the hard work, he said. In The Soccer Lot’s case, that’s what allowed Mohrmann to make his vision real. “I knew there was always a way.”