'Differentiate or Die' advice for a small business
This is the title of a book I read a few years back by Jack Trout, that is often in my mind.
I was the first to create any patterning on baseballs 15 years ago, before my company all baseballs were white and I created the idea of using them as a canvas. Since then, over the years there have been many knock-offs and copycats- this always happens, and in some ways it is a tribute to a good idea. (But I have to add here that although it is a tribute to a good idea, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it still makes me angry every time I see it!)
So although the market place has other printed baseballs now, I focus my attention on showing the difference between my product and the copycat. My balls have always been art that I created by hand, even the lettering is by hand- they are not cut and pasted or computer generated. To me, I have always differentiated in my mind how the art I create for these balls was meant for the baseball alone, not a design that could than be stuck on a coffee mug. I am a baseball artist, and try to stay true to that so my product reflects it. There is more of an artistic feel to my baseballs b/c of this.
My Small business advice for the day:
There are a lot of products out on the market that are similar, and often when someone comes up with a new idea, they don't think about how to differentiate from what else is out there, or it is something thought about in the creation of the business, but never again. Viewing your business from the stand point of how you are different from your competition should be an ongoing pursuit that you look at as your business evolves, and as your competition evolves as well!
www.unfogettaballs.com
I was the first to create any patterning on baseballs 15 years ago, before my company all baseballs were white and I created the idea of using them as a canvas. Since then, over the years there have been many knock-offs and copycats- this always happens, and in some ways it is a tribute to a good idea. (But I have to add here that although it is a tribute to a good idea, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it still makes me angry every time I see it!)
So although the market place has other printed baseballs now, I focus my attention on showing the difference between my product and the copycat. My balls have always been art that I created by hand, even the lettering is by hand- they are not cut and pasted or computer generated. To me, I have always differentiated in my mind how the art I create for these balls was meant for the baseball alone, not a design that could than be stuck on a coffee mug. I am a baseball artist, and try to stay true to that so my product reflects it. There is more of an artistic feel to my baseballs b/c of this.
My Small business advice for the day:
There are a lot of products out on the market that are similar, and often when someone comes up with a new idea, they don't think about how to differentiate from what else is out there, or it is something thought about in the creation of the business, but never again. Viewing your business from the stand point of how you are different from your competition should be an ongoing pursuit that you look at as your business evolves, and as your competition evolves as well!
www.unfogettaballs.com
posted by Unforgettablogger at
10:04 AM
2 Comments:
Howdy,
I just wanted to say I think your balls are of the best quality, there are no others like it. I was just curious on how long these balls take to paint because the details are incredible on the balls.
Thank you for the kind words, the balls do take a very long time to paint b/c of all the detail! I guess on average it is about 40 hours, but some of the really detailed ones take more like 80!
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