Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
With golf, as with any sport, practice makes perfect. But if youdon't practice, you won't ever be perfect--or even prettygood, for that matter. As an executive for The Coca-Cola Company,Mike Connor spent many hours on the links improving his handicapwhile making business deals. All the while, he kept hearing thesame complaint from his golfing buddies: "If I had time topractice, I'd be a better golfer."
After seeing an advertisement in a golf magazine for backyardputting greens, Connor realized that, given the rapidly growingnumbers of amateur golfers, his pals probably weren't the onlyones who would pay for the opportunity to practice the game intheir backyards.
"I knew if I came up with a quality, cost-effectivepractice golf product that could be installed in a backyard, thenpeople like me would certainly be interested," says Connor,40.
In 1995, with $250,000 raised from private investors, Connorstarted Short Game Inc., a McKinney, Texas, company that installscustom-designed putting greens in backyards, golf training centersand hotels. To get the word out to golf nuts, Connor installeddemonstration greens at local golf tournaments and offered aputting green as a prize in a contest sponsored by SportingNews magazine.
Connor expects Short Game to gross $1 million this year. Thecompany has been offered licensing agreements and will soon expandto other states.
Happy Feet
If you've ever bought shoes too small for your feet, youknow ill-fitting footwear can make walking a miserable experience.For someone afflicted with clubfoot, arthritis or diabetes, evenshoes that are the right size can be painful.
That's one reason sales are stepping up at The Shoe Fits, anIndianapolis shoe store specializing in footwear for people withfoot problems. Owner Sheryl Hepfer, 36, a certified pedorthist (apharmacist who fills prescriptions for custom-made shoes), workedat a custom shoe store in Indianapolis for 17 years before strikingout on her own last July to found The Shoe Fits.
Referrals from doctors have helped Hepfer build her clientele."A lot of patients can't find comfortable, nice-lookingshoes to fit their [orthotics]," she says, "so doctorssend them here to make sure they get a proper fit."
Hepfer, 36, who sold $150,000 worth of comfortable shoes lastyear, hopes to hit sales of $180,000 this year and is trainingemployees to open another location in Louisville, Kentucky.
Something Old, Something New
Anyone can slap a few coats of paint onto a piece of oldfurniture, but turning a dresser into a work of art is a job bestleft to an expert like Wanda Michaelson, founder of Natick,Massachusetts-based Perspective. Michaelson, 49, ran a furnituremanufacturing firm for 10 years before she sold it and learned theart of furniture finishing and painting. In 1994, with $30,000 instart-up capital, she opened her custom-painted furniturebusiness.
Perspective specializes in trompe l'oeil, painting images sorealistically on a surface, it fools you into thinking there'sactually an object there. (One family asked her to paint a remotecontrol on a coffee table.) "It makes furniture morepersonalized," Michaelson says. "It's also a good wayto recycle heirlooms that don't match anymore."
Success is no illusion, though: With direct mail and newspaperadvertisements sparking more orders, Michaelson is gearing up forfurther growth.
Contact Sources
Perspective, 3 Byron Rd., Natick, MA 01760, (508)650-5766
The Shoe Fits, 8528 Moller Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46268,(317) 471-8880
Short Game Inc., P.O. Box 2616, McKinney, TX 75070, (800)591-7888, (214) 220-9576
