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.”
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