Good Things by an Aussie Licensee!

Here's a great YouTube Promo by an Australian Licensee, check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7KCDEXKJfQ

Shamya White - Whites Imaging, LLC

Shamya White - Whites Imaging, LLC

Here's a great article that recently ran and in the Gaston Gazette

Click to Enlarge

New Product Announcement - Baby Blocks!

Just released! New Baby Blocks.

Three colors to choose from; Traditional Pearl, Baby Pink and Baby Blue. Can be hung as an Ornament or displayed on a shelf. Baby Blocks can be printed on 2 sides and have the letters A B C printed on the other panels. Great for newborn announcements, perfect for "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments.

Manufactured exclusively for BallStars and to used with their proprietary heat press equipment.

To find out more, visit www.ballstars.com or email sales@ballstars.com

2009 NBA Draft - BallStars Basketballs

Here some additional photo's of the 2009 NBA Draft ceremony with BallStars Basketballs in the shot.

BallStars at the NBA Draft

Thanks to our long running relationship with Spalding, you can see BallStars custom printed basketballs on the tables of the players during the 2009 NBA Draft ceremony.

Check it out here:

2009 NBA Draft Video Recap

BallStars in Indianapolis - New Software Demonstration

BallStars exhibited a NBM Awards & Engraving Tradeshow last to showcase our latest software that we have made an option when purchasing a complete system. This software allows you to take a photo and print the ball on the spot within 1 1/2 minutes.

While at the show, we taped a short video clip. Click on the following link and scroll down the videos on the right to find the BallStars video: Video Link

To find out more about this software and our complete line of system packages please call 800-237-0653 or visit www.ballstars.com.

BallStars at 2009 NBA AllStar Jam Session

Here's a quick interview that the NBA Live TV group did with Marshall when we were at the 2009 NBA AllStar Jam Session in March.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlO0-HpUQAk

If you look real close, you can see our Green Screen background and photo lights that we used to drop the fans photo next to their favorite NBA AllStar Player

We were at the NBA AllStar Jam Session testing our new Photo Event System that maintains a very fast production speed enabling you produce a custom photo sports ball in under 1 1/2 minutes. This is pretty incredible when you think you have to take a photo, create the graphic, print a mirrored transfer, then press the ball in our heat press.

Our new Photo Event System utilizes optional software that can be purchased in addition to any of our complete Photo Ball Heat Transfer systems. To find more about BallStars and our available Photo Ball Heat Transfer systems please visit: www.ballstars.com

A Loving Memory Launches A BallStars Business

A Loving Memory Launches A Ballstars Business

By Deborah Sexton

The story of Dan Kersey’s Ballstars business has a rough beginning. Thankfully, though, it has a happy ending.

Two years ago, Dan’s grandson, Chad, was taking a college class that required him to get information on franchises. As a favor to his grandson, Dan and his wife went to a franchise show in nearby Denver — and while the experience initially wasn’t a pleasant one, the result certainly was. “People would practically grab us and drag us into their booth, so we were getting ready to leave the show,” Dan says. “Then, we went around the corner and met a couple of gentleman from BallStars, and we were immediately interested.”

Since retiring from his job selling books to libraries and schools, Dan, who also is a former basketball coach, was ready for a change and seriously considering taking the plunge with BallStars. Meanwhile, his son Jerry, who was fighting cancer, urged Dan to go for it. “He said, ‘Pop, you need to do it because you can create memories,” Dan recalls. His son passed away in September of 2005 and in February 2007, Dan launched Kreate Memories, named it in his son’s honor.

PHOTO: Dan Kersey, left, became a BallStars’ licensee at the urging of his son who later passed away of cancer. On the right is grandson Chad, who helps with the business.

At-Event Displays Help Drive BallStars Business

Dan Kersey, a former library book salesman and basketball coach in Colorado City, Colo., doesn’t consider himself to be the most technologically proficient guy on the block. However, thanks to the tools provided by BallStars — including a Web site template — he has successfully launched his own tech-driven business, Kreate Memories. The one-year-old business drives part of it sales from its Web site, www.kreatememories.com.

Kersey also drives revenue the old-fashioned way by exhibiting at events and offering his company’s personalized products. “I set up a display on weekends at a local sports complex,” he says. “I designed a table with a big banner and some posters from BallStars. Then, I used the oak display case that BallStars offers and displayed the most popular balls. The hours varied depending on the event, but typically I would set up Saturday morning around 7 a.m. and go to around 4 or 5 in the afternoon Saturday and Sunday.”

He generated buzz for his business by creating samples made from photos of area athletes. “I had a full-size soccer ball with a local picture stole out of the newspaper of a gal that was an All States soccer player from the south. We also had designed a basketball for the 2AA State Champions last March. Then we had a bunch of local kids’ pictures that I begged, borrowed, and stole.”

“It created a lot of stir,” Kersey says. “So after baseball season, we set up at a complex that hosts Bantam football games. So we changed up the display to focus on football. I fit right in with that. On average, we probably sold half a dozen right there on the spot. There was a ton of interest. Later I picked up several teams that 20 and 30 players in them.”

Kersey designed a form that allows him to collect information from every one who approaches his display — even those who are “just looking.” “This gives us the critical information we need to follow up with them later,” he says. “So even when we don’t sell balls, we’re getting a lot of exposure for the business.”

PHOTO: Dan Kersey created sample balls that he puts on displays at events. After displaying balls at a Bantam football game, he comments, “There was a ton of interest. I later picked up several teams.”





BallStars Business Becomes A Family Affair

Dan Kersey’s BallStars business — Kreate Memories, Colorado City, Colo. — is doing more than creating memories for customers who purchased the company’s personalized items. It’s also creating some great memories for Dan and his family members, many of whom are helping the one-year-old business get off to a great start.

Dan’s son, Jerry, who passed away of cancer in September 2005, was a football coach at an area school. Because of this connection, Dan has contacts at the school, which was helpful in selling balls to parents and fans when the school won the Colorado 40 High School championship in 2007. His grandson Chad helps maintain the company’s Web site, www.kreatememories.com. And when Dan set up a kiosk in the Pueblo Mall, a local shopping center, for two weeks in November and four in December 2007, he got plenty of help from his family.

“My grandson Chad helped out at the booth, and so did my wife and daughter. We were busier then one-arm bandits with football jobs because of our setup in the mall. It was a worthwhile investment because it got the word out about us,” Dan says. “We got an order from a team in the eastern part of the state, and if I hadn’t been in the mall, I don’t know if they would’ve heard of us.”

PHOTO: Dan Kersey set up a kiosk in the mall during the months of November and December to capitalize on a high school championship win and holiday sales. The resulting exposure later netted him orders from other parts of the state.

The Facts about Friends and Fund-Raising

Sometimes succeeding in business is just a matter of knowing the right people — and offering the right product.

Dan Kersey, owner, Kreate Memories, Colorado City, Colo., found that out when an area high school approached him about organizing a fund-raiser for the booster club. Kersey set up a display with products, and the school did the rest, including manning the booth and handling sales.

“They even processed the orders,’ Kersey says. “All I had to do was print the balls. They made a percentage of the total sales. That opportunity came about by word of mouth through someone I met when I exhibited at the sports complex.”

The fund-raising event was successful enough that Kersey plans to do a number of similar events this holiday season, all built around the BallStars Christmas ornament. In the meantime, Kersey’s keeping plenty busy (full-time, in fact) by partnering with at least seven area photographers. “It will create cash flow by setting up exhibits in their stores,” he explains. “It’s just about getting out there and being seen. It’s not going to work any other way.”

PHOTO: BallStars balls make great fund-raisers. Not only team members but students, parents, and fans are all interested in having mementos of the season. Kersey found assisting schools with fund-raisers to be a great money-maker.

Dan Kersey
Kreate Memories

Turn Your Passion to Profit!

BallStars - A Profitable Discovery!

Steve Moyer had been hunting unsuccessfully for a business he could launch and run while keeping his full-time job as a private school’s food service director. He tried selling items on eBay. It didn’t work out. He tried opening a Yahoo store. It didn’t work out. Then his wife, Monica, who had been skeptical of his previous entrepreneurial efforts, found the BallStars system.

“She called me and said she had found something that looked really cool—and she was on board with this idea,” says Moyer, who lives in Dartmouth, Mass. “That’s when we decided to get this going.”

After Moyer’s wife did a SWOT analysis, looking at Ballstars’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, he recognized the system’s profit potential and set his sights on turning the business into a full-time endeavor, called Game Ball Images. “We saw that there wasn’t anything like this in our area, and we decided to go for it,” he says. “I’d like to go full-time within five years.”

Think Big, Act Smart!
On the one hand, you probably won’t achieve success without dreaming big. On the other hand, you do have to be realistic — and work hard, of course. That’s what Steve Moyer quickly realized when he and his wife, Monica, launched Game Ball Images, a Ballstars business, in March 2007. “We’ve set realistic goals. I didn’t go out thinking that I was going to be a millionaire started, although it’s improving weekly,” he says. “We knew it would be a process, and we took on the mindset that this was a marathon, not a sprint.”

Moyer laced up his running shoes, so to speak, by sending out press releases to local newspapers announcing his launch. He also has become heavily involved in local activities, including fund-raisers. “We’re doing it on a shoestring budget, trying to get as much free press as we can,” he says.

For instance, Moyer got involved in a fund-raising effort for a new athletic field in a nearby town. “There was an event with bands and auctions, so we set up a display with some balls and let people do silent bidding on them,” he says. “We didn’t have to pay to participate because we donated the proceeds.”

Next, Moyer went after photographers, who can offer his service to their customers and submit orders to him. “We called them and gave them samples, because they have the market cornered for youth sports,” he says.

Seeing Is Believing!
Since Steve Moyer started Game Ball Images, his Ballstars business, early last year, he has found that the best way to get customers is to get in front of them — literally. Moyer, whose company is located in Dartmouth, Mass., often sets up a display at local events, including fund-raisers and football games.

“With these products, people need to touch and hold and feel it,” he says. “They have to run their hands across it and see that it’s not a sticker. That’s what draws them in—the ball in their hands. That’s why I have a goal of being at a tournament of some sort every weekend this summer, whether it’s baseball, soccer, or lacrosse.”
Moyer’s local Pop Warner league has 32 teams and thousands of kids participating, which made getting in front of all of those people quite a challenge. Wisely, Moyer contacted the league commissioner, who gave him permission to attend the annual meeting and provide personalized packets for all the teams. “The packets had price lists and information such as turnaround times,” he explains. “It took a few months to talk the commissioner into letting us do it, but we were finally able to get in there.”

That initial packet distribution led to numerous orders, which in turn has led to other orders as people see the BallStars balls that others have purchased. “It’s just part of getting the product out there. We even give away free stuff, but it’s the price you pay to get it out there. You have to give some to make some.”
While seeing truly is believing, prospective customers still need an explanation of the many ways BallStars items can be used. “I just try and have a conversation with them, and tell them what we are and what we do,” Moyer says. “I let them know this is a unique item, a keepsake that you can just put in your trophy case. It’s not like paint on ball; it’s permanent, and you can add the player’s names on there, and it looks really nice. Sometimes it takes 45 minutes, and sometimes you have them at hello.”

World Wide on the Web!
Game Ball Images is based in Dartmouth, Mass., but thanks to its Web site (www.gameballimages.com), it’s potentially a global business. Steve Moyer, who owns the one-year-old business with his wife, Monica, has stayed far away from the cookie-cutter sites sometimes associated with small, independent businesses. He recognized the importance of having a professional-looking site that attracts the attention of prospective customers. “I also knew that the most important thing was to rank high in search engines,” he says. “Having a top-tier Web site does all the work of attracting people through key words and images. It’s all about content, content, content.”

Game Ball Images’ site gives customers reasons to buy, Moyer says, and it shows customers different ways to use Ballstars products. “We show people that it’s the customization that makes these things different. You have to show the different ways to customize them, what you can use them for, and how they go about doing it,” he explains.

It’s also important to keep the site fresh so that it stays high in search engine rankings, Moyer says. “Keeping it up-to-date is a lot of work. You have to do something every day, even it’s something small like tweaking key words and pictures,” he explains. “People don’t just walk into your online store. You have to attract them.”

Buckingham Rocks and Rolls All Night and Parties Every Day with BallStars!

Who says sports balls are only for sports fans and athletes!

I proved this wrong last night. I have been a Kiss fan for over 30 years, I did a lot of paintings, and drawings growing up. I started painting kiss on guitar picks and would give them away. Then I started sending them to web masters of some of the Kiss web sites where they would display them on the web site. I was able to build a relationship with some of the promoters.

As a result I was invited to an event last night where Kiss drummer Eric Singer would be on hand for autographs and they had bands playing. I had done some art work for Eric in the past as well as the band Mr. Speed who is a Kiss look alike band.

To make a long story short, I made some buttons and a BallStars mini home plate of Eric and a Baseball of Mr Speed. I also made a football and a basketball of Eric`s fav team. I sold out of the buttons in about 2 min! I did not even get them into the building! The promoters saw the items I gave Eric and they pulled me to the side to talk. They not only promote Kiss and Kiss merchandise but coach baseball and football. They want to have me work with them in the spring. Eric liked what I gave him, he then signed one of the home plates and gave back to me along with a signed photo, pick, and drum head.

As far as Mr. Speed, The baseball was signed and they gave it to one of their fans that have been following them from the start. They gave it to him saying that this is the ONLY one in the world like it and you have it!.

I just thought I wold share this with you.... Mark:)

Mark is owner of Buck's House Of Color - www.buckshouseofcolor.com

Blog - http://www.buckshouseofcolor.blogspot.com/

Setting up Shop

Although Marshall B. Lewis runs his BallStars business from his home in Riverview, Fla., he fully recognizes the value of getting plenty of exposure in the local business community. For instance, he recently set up a display table at community league’s football game, and was inundated with requests. The table display included marketing posters provided by BallStars.

“I don’t want to be a salesman and jump on people, and with the table, they come right to me. I had samples and information that people could take with them,” he says. “I got at least seven sales, and one of the teams asked me to come back next week for a fund-raiser,” he says.

As Lewis becomes more comfortable with the camera included in his BallStars package, he hopes to shoot photos at the games. In the meantime, he’s also getting plenty of exposure via his Web site, www.bawlhogs.com, which features a full library of product images and an online design service where customers can upload their photos or graphics and purchase the product.