Picking the Right Hat Each Day

As the sole owner of my business, I of course do all the different jobs. I do have a webmaster, and an accountant and a lawyer, but I mean the day to day workings of the business.

It is important to spend time each day on the big picture so you can move your business to the next level.

This is a concept that I feel to really achieve and feel on top of, you have to daily access the 'big picture'. At the end of each day analyze 3 questions:
1. what did I do today?
2. what did I want to do today, and did I achieve it?
3. what do I want to do tomorrow?

Every morning to also look at the most important 'little business details' to get done that day, and what big picture things you want to get done that day. It is important part of keeping your business growing



www.unforgettaballs.com

The Problems of Shipping for a Small Web Business

There are many issues to be considered in this process for a small business:

1. Trying to find a warehouse the right size for how many times a month you ship, you may be very small, or start small, but on some months (like December) have a ton to ship out ...

2. Figuring out the best way to ship!
Look carefully at the differences btwn UPS and the Post Office.


UPS ground: About $8-$9 to ship one ball!! And that does not include how much you pay your warehouse for packing and shipping it.
But its trackable, and usually gets anywhere in about 6 days. It's a fortune for little items...

USPS: The post office is great on the cost side-only about $5 for shipping priority, but there is no tracking, and it could take as long as 10-15 days if the post office isn't in a good mood...


small business advise for the day:
Know your product, check out other sites with similar cost items and see what they charge. Keep checking for changing rates, and adjust as you continue to find better ways to ship. Sometimes better will be cheaper, but don't sacrifice cost completely for quality.


www.unforgettaballs.com

'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

The questions of a small business owner: do you promote yourself or the product?

I have been thinking about this a lot lately b/c it seems as an artist and a business owner that you could spend time promoting yourself as the artist, but maybe you should be spending your time on promoting your product instead. I am not looking to get famous myself, but I am looking for my baseballs to get famous, can one get famous without the other?

I am not sure, I think of Christopher Radko and his ornaments. (I somehow always use him in these sorts of examples b/c he is to ornaments what I want to be to baseballs.) Anyway, which became famous first-he himself or his ornaments? They seem to almost have evolved together. When press write about my baseballs they are writing about the balls, but it is a very artist driven piece. Yet when the balls are in gift guides, catalogs, etc. there is really no mention of the artist, and it seems more product driven. I wonder if you have to decide which path you want to take, or is it best to work both at once? I have read Mrs. Field's Cookies story and I am not sure if this is the same as Christopher Radko b/c hers is more about a franchise story then about being an artist but there are still some similarities I wonder if she chose to promote herself over her product, or both at the same time?
When I was on QVC I think I was definitely selling both myself and my product, so maybe it just involves if I am there or not....

I unfortunately don't have the answers to this one yet, but maybe it is that you have to work both sides, depending on what type of press you are involved with and what kind of coverage it will be.

My Small business advice for the day:
I think it is important to continue to analyze your business from all different angles. Look at how others view your products and your press. Are you selling the product or are you selling yourself, and does it matter which of these you are doing? It may not, but I think it is important to be aware that all these aspects of your business are choices, and to stay contious and aware of all of them!

http://www.unforgettaballs.com/

No Country for Small Businesses

Here we are, the day after the Academy Awards, not sure whether I think this country helps small businesses or hurts.

It is not very difficult to start your small business, actually, in a lot of ways , it is very easy to start your own business here, once you have the idea, you plot out how it will work, and go buy business cards! Of course to last in a small business it takes much more than that. With so many thousands of small businesses starting in the US every year, you have to distinguish yourself.

When you believe in your product, you have to find a way to get it out to the people so they can believe in it too. This can be very difficult, because even if you do get it out there, you have to find ways to keep it out there, in front of people, so it is current and alive in people's minds.

The biggest misconception of difficulties for a small business is that you need a good idea. But most people would never start such a huge undertaking unless they did have a really good idea. The hard part is what to do with your good idea. I recently did an interview with the Daily News here in Philadelphia, and it struck me how you really need to spend as much of your time promoting your product, as creating it!

I have chosen baseball art because I am passionate about creating a whole little world on a baseball. Even if my business closed tomorrow, I could not stop myself from continuing to capture the world on a baseball. I would still paint them, even if I ran out of space to put them in my office! The ideas for them come very naturally to me, but I have to really focus on the creative side of how to keep them out there.

I started this to create the best collection of artwork painted on baseballs in the world, I have been in business for over 12 years, they are sold all over the country, but I still have to work at it, every day, with the same creativity as that first day.

http://www.unforgettaballs.com/

Our First Hollywood Appearance!

Here we are, unforgettaballs.com, at the Baseball Scouts Foundation Gala-we donated 2000 Unforgettaball baseballs to be center pieces on all the tables, and a few hundred that when into the VIP lounge. It was a really great event, and I was able to take pictures with lots of clebrities, and people in baseball-


Here I am with Mary Hart who hosted the event with Tim Allen:



(Emily Wolfson & Mary Hart as seen at Scout's Gala)



Only problem with an event like this, is as a small company (like we are), it is a lot of money to do these kind of events. Who knew, but to get into all of the events where you give your product away for free to the media/celebrities, you actually give it for free!! Somehow, (and I think I am the last one to figure this out), but I actually thought, the company running the event bought them, and then they gave them for free!




(Dave Winfield and Emily Wolfson as seen at Scout's Gala)


I have many more photos that I could upload, with Tommy LaSorda, Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, but to be honest, it takes me so long to upload them, and have them on the page where I want, that I am going to have be done for now! (Just picture the rest, ...they all look good, and I am in the same dress as above)

My building your small business advice for the day: Exposure costs money, so choose carefully and proceed slowly. A big splurge each year is probably what is affordable, and then also gives you time to see what response you receive. (Charities are always great events, b/c then you are involved with helping your business, and helping a good cause at the same time.)

The building of a small business

Wow, it has been a long time since we have blogged! To be honest, been really busy painting new designs...and I am a slow painter...


first let's catch up...


My 2nd ever, QVC appearance,
(really awesome experience to get on live tv- and great exposure for unforgettaballs.com):





This was in November of 07, around the 25th, at 1am.


Spent my first hour waiting to go on QVC, with our baseballs, in the waiting area talking to Chuck Woolery, who might just be one of the most genuine, nicest people I have ever met. He gave me tips for going on air and not being too nervous- which I was anyway, but was nice of him to say...and he was perfectly tanned in the middle of November in his Gucci shoes!


It was a sell out! And we left QVC unable to give some of the backstage people who wanted to order Unforgettaball baseballs, b/c we completely ran out!

We will be back on QVC for Father's Day in '08...



back to blog again soon-off to keep working the business (unforgettaballs)!