Retiring with Ballstars

Marshall B. Lewis knows exactly what he’ll be doing when he retires from the Air Force in two years: He’ll have a successful BallStars franchise. Lewis, who designed everything from Web sites to coins during his armed forces career, purchased a BallStars Pro 5500 system in August after discovering the system’s profit-making potential.

“I was trying to find something in graphics, and I love sports too, and BallStars puts the two together,” he says. “I polled friends and family members about putting their child’s photo on a ball. Everybody I spoke with thought it was a great idea.”

Lewis, who lives in Riverview, Fla., (www.bawlhogs.com) says it’s the kind of item he would’ve loved as a kid. “We had trophies, and those are fine, but th is is more personal,” he says. “Plus, being down here in Florida, the weather is always good, so they play sports year-round. There are so many different areas to sell the product.”

Those plentiful business opportunities have given Lewis high hopes for Bawl Hogs, his fledgling BallStars initiative. “If things start to blossom, I will do BallStars full time,” Lewis says. “Then I’ll have the freedom to do whatever I want. That’s my goal.”