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.)