Getting Established In Photo Ball Business - Part 3 of 4

As with any new venture, plan to spend a certain amount of time learning how to use the system, learning the graphics software, and getting the word out that you offer BallStars balls. While doing all this can be a full-time job, unless you will not need to be generating income to live off of during this time period, you may find it prudent to keep your full-time job until the business is firmly established and earning a regular income.



This was the case with Marc and Monica Dominguez, Texas Photo Ball, Little Elm, Texas. Their greatest motivation for purchasing the BallStars system was to allow Marc, who was burned out from his current career, to shift gears and do something more enjoyable.

He says, “My original intent was to go full-time, but I had to change that. I am now doing BallStars part-time because I am still building my base of clients. My contact list of parents and coaches is growing, but I know that it will take at least two years to build up the business to the point that I can quit my full-time job.”

A plus to a BallStars franchise is it can easily be operated out of a home, garage, or basement so overhead costs can be kept down while the business is getting started. “My business is located out of my home,” says Dominguez. “I converted one side of my garage to my Texas Photo Ball work area. I purchased one table. I use the shipping crate as the system stand, and the transport pallet holds my current excess inventory. I lifted the pallet onto cinder blocks to keep it safe. I also use a free-standing five-shelf unit to hold my working inventory.”

Because Monica has an MBA and Marc has almost completed the coursework to earn his MBA, they didn’t need much business advice. The couple has mainly used BallStars to provide information about shipping, costs, and marketing.


Monica has taken over the responsibilities for the management portion, while Marc concentrates on sales. Says Marc, “It is a family effort whenever we go to a sporting event, I will have everyone doing something. The kids enjoy passing out fliers. They think every flier they pass out is a sale. I told them it is a potential sale.”

Another plus of the BallStars system is there is not a long learning curve. “Learning to use the BallStars press was easy for me,” says Dominguez. “It has been a little more challenging to learn the Adobe Photoshop program. I had to sit myself down and go through many tutorials before I could produce good-quality art. Luckily, most of my sales have been on standard templates created with the easy-to-use BallStars software. And I am still committed to getting better at Photoshop.”


The Dominguez family goal for this first calendar year is to gross $25,000. “Our first- year revenue goal has been adjusted from my original goal because we are only doing it part time right now. I will be happy to pay off the system in the first year,” says Dominguez.