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Steve Niewulis played in the minor leagues for the New YorkYankees before injuries to his rotator cuff cut short his career.Not wanting to give up baseball, Niewulis, 32, decided to combinehis baseball talents with a clever idea and create a businessthat's since taken him to the big leagues.
When he had played in an independent league in Florida, Niewulisnoticed he and the other players had trouble keeping their handsdry while batting. That problem inspired his big idea: He attacheda sweat-busting rosin bag to a wristband so a player could use itto dry off the bat handle between pitches.
In less than two years, Niewulis's Fort Lauderdale, Florida,company, Tap It! Inc., has sold thousands of units of his product,the Just Tap It! wristband, which retails for $12.95 and is used bybaseball players, basketball players, tennis players, golfers andeven rock climbers. His secret to success? Find a smalldistribution network, one that lets small companies with just oneproduct line succeed.
Don Debelak (dondebelak@uswest.net) is anew-business marketing consultant who has introduced new productsfor more than 20 years. He is the author of Bringing YourProduct to Market (John Wiley & Sons, $19.95,800-225-5945).
Networks That Work
Just Tap It! wristbands work great, can be used by all types ofathletes, and seem like the kind of product big retailers likeSportMart, Sports Authority and Big 5 would want to carry. But asit turned out, none of the larger retailers were interested.That's because taking on a product from a one-line companyinvolves a lot of paperwork and time. Instead, big retailers preferto buy from companies with at least three to five items in the mix.Fortunately for Niewulis, alternative distribution channels areoften more than happy to take on small companies with just a singleproduct.
How'd he do it? First, Niewulis concentrated on selling hisproduct through a catalog called Baseball Express, whichtargets high school, college and minor league teams. He alsostarted attending trade shows for high school coaches and lookingfor a distribution network that would sell the Just Tap It!wristband to tennis clubs. When he attended the U.S. TennisAssociation's Show in Cancun, Mexico, he hoped to hit it offwith a distributor similar to Baseball Express.
Success By Association
Because so few of these alternative distribution networks arewell-documented, one of the best ways to find out about them is bytalking to people in the industry. Another good source forinformation is a state association, such as the Texas High SchoolBaseball Coaches Association or the Minnesota Retail HardwareAssociation. Association members not only are actively involved inthe market, but also typically attend association meetings (whereyou can mingle with them).
Another advantage of association meetings: They give you theopportunity to set up a booth and demonstrate your product.Niewulis put together a booth for several baseball coachassociation meetings, and that's how he initially metBaseball Express. You can usually show your product at suchlocal meetings for $200 to $500, and sometimes even less.
To find the names of associations in your state, check outGale's Source of Associations (Gale ResearchPublishers), available at most larger libraries.
Peer Power
There are thousands of entrepreneurs out there, and they'vemade thousands of mistakes. So there's no reason for you to goout and repeat their errors. Try to prevent that by talking to asmany entrepreneurs in your market as you possibly can. Don'tknow where to find them? You can meet dozens of contacts atindustry trade shows and get insider information, such as how tosolve your distribution problems.
A regional trade show offers a great way to meet contacts. Theseshows are busy, cost less than national shows to attend, and areusually jam-packed with small manufacturers who started out withone line just like you.
Several helpful trade show directories can be found at mostlibraries. If it's too late for you to attend this year'sshow, contact the show's promoters (their names are listed inthe directory), tell them you're interested in attending nextyear's show, and ask for copies of the last few years'directories. These should include floor plans and show the locationand size of each vendor's booth. Look for the companies thathad small booths (measuring no more than 10 feet by 20 feet), sincesmall businesses--the kind you want to talk to--typically rentthose spaces. Contact information for each company will be listedin the program, and you can get a lot of feedback by calling andasking to talk to the marketing manager (who is usually theowner).
Credibility Counts
Before Niewulis attended trade shows and started talking toother marketers, he took steps to ensure others would take him--andhis business--seriously. Being a former minor league player gavehim some credibility, but he was able to build on that by gettingorders for the Just Tap It! wristband from three South Florida highschools, in addition to setting up an agreement with a manufacturerin China.
Unfortunately, hundreds of inventors hit the market and tellpeople all about the products they want to introduce--but neveractually do. So remember: People in your industry have dealt withplenty of flaky inventors in the past, and they'll be skepticalabout your idea until you establish credibility. That's bestachieved by professionally manufacturing your product and thenselling at least a small number of them.
Starting Point
The allure of selling to big retailers can't beunderestimated. But unless you've got a lot of new-productexperience, it's risky. Large retailers require you to set up amanufacturing facility, produce huge amounts of product and havesubstantial working capital. If you fail to meet their demands evenonce, you're out of the picture forever.
Even if it's possible to get your product in big retailstores, you're still better off starting small and learning theropes in a low-risk environment. That way, you'll resolve theinevitable problems early on, without the risk of losing a majorcustomer. Once you've successfully entered a small market,you'll be prepared to switch gears and focus on bigger and moreprofitable horizons.
Let's Hear Some Chatter
Steve Niewulis loves to talk sports--and for him, talking'spaid off big. After some initial success selling his athleticproduct to several high schools in Florida, he started attendinghigh school coach trade shows. There, Niewulis employed the singlemost effective new-product marketing tactic an inventor can use: Heasked industry experts for advice on how to sell his product. Theentrepreneurs he met gave him tips on which catalogs to approach,shows to attend, and how to contact college and professionalbaseball coaches.
"Talking to other people at the shows was the single mostimportant thing I did to introduce my product," Niewulis says."I was willing to talk to anyone who would talk to me."So don't be afraid to tell other entrepreneurs you're newto the game. (Believe me, they can tell anyway.) Just ask foradvice, and you'll get it.
Team Player
Consumers interested in buying Steve Niewulis's athleticproduct frequently contact him directly. But instead of selling theproduct himself, he steers them toward his distributors. That'sbecause he knows the key to long-term success is in a distributionnetwork that exposes his product to lots of potential buyers.
You'll lose accounts if you don't establish a workingpartnership with the vital companies in your distribution network.Niewulis helped Baseball Express sell more products--andthat will pay off if he ever needs the catalog to cut him someslack.
Score Big
Steve Niewulis needed $50,000 to launch his athletic product.Typically, start-up capital comes from savings, family, friends orcredit cards. Another resource that helps entrepreneurs raise moneyis American Venture magazine (503-221-9981, http://www.avce.com), which lets yousubmit ideas for investors to review (either in print or on the Website). American Venture also features ads from companiesthat can help you raise money in a variety of ways. Cost for aone-year subscription (six issues): $10.95.
Contact Source
Tap It! Inc., (888) TAP-IT-98, http://www.tapit.com
