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Read more from our EO Mentors!
Friday, March 21 at 1 p.m. Eastern
JA and the EO present:
Craig Pollard
President
Progressive Innovations, Inc.
Vista, CA
Craig Pollard graduated from the University of Southern
California in May of 1991 with a degree in business administration. His
emphasis in the "Entrepreneur Program" sparked a strong desire to one day run
his own business. Having wonderful ideas for the golf industry throughout
college, but lacking the funds to launch any products, Craig always remained
focused on his lofty goals.
After a couple of lucky breaks and a whole lot of determination, Craig started Global Tour Golf in 1994. What began as a one-man operation in his garage, Global Tour Golf soon blossomed into a company that now employs 33 workers, and is among the largest golf distribution companies in the country.
The following discussion was hosted by Craig Pollard, Progressive Innovations, Inc., on Friday, March 21, 2003. Don't miss our next discussion.
| craig_pollard | Hi Everyone! My name is Craig Pollard, and I am the president of Global Tour Golf. My company is one of the largest golf distribution companies in the United States. |
| craig_pollard | I started the business by myself nine years ago. The company now employs 33 people, and is very successful. |
| craig_pollard | I welcome all of your questions today, and hope you all learn a little bit about what it takes to start and run your own business. I’m sure I will learn a lot from all of you! |
| craig_pollard | Hello Everyone, I am looking forward to today's discussions/chatroom. Fire away with any and all questions and I'll do my best to give you a good answer. |
| dingoboy | <Q>Does your company have a web site? |
| craig_pollard | <A>Yes, we have several websites, one for wholesale customers and several for retail customers. ggolf.com is our wholesale site where a user needs a password and user name. |
| ps109 | <Q>where did you go to high school? |
| craig_pollard | <A>Villa Park High School, Villa Park, CA |
| hansolo | <Q>Did you have to have a lot of money to start your business? |
| craig_pollard | <A>No, I had to get a job after graduating from college for a couple of years to save enough money to launch my first product. It cost me $35,000 to start my company. I had saved over two years about $10,000 and got a loan from a bank for $25,000. |
| EddieB | <Q>Mr. Pollard, did you play golf in school? |
| craig_pollard | <A>I didn't play my first round of golf until I was a senior in college. I've been hooked ever since |
| maggie | <Q>Can you tell us a little about Progressive Innovations? |
| craig_pollard | <A>Progressive Innovations, Inc. is our corporate/legal name and we "Do Business as (DBA) Global Tour Golf. My company has two divisions. One for what we call corporate premium items which are sold under the name Progressive Innovations. These products all have corporate logo's, i.e. Becks's Beer Company has us make logo golf tees so that they can pass out to customers etc. Global Tour Golf sells to golf courses and sporting goods stores. The products we manufacture and distribute to them are primarily commodity based items like plain golf tees, ball markers, sunscreen, towels, etc. Global Tour stocks over 1,200 golf accessory products. We service our accounts through a network of outside sales people that call on our customers on a daily basis. My primary function/role in the company is developing and marketing new products. |
| Mr.klinksclass | <Q>Do you have stores located around the country? |
| craig_pollard | <A>We do not have retail locations. We manufacture and distribute to the existing retail locations. Global Tour Golf i s a wholesale distributor. We do partner with several retail websites, but that business is completely different than our core business model. We provide a fulfillment service to web based companies that don't have the infrastructure (office/shipping/customer service) that we can provide for a percentage of sales. |
| EconClassfromMichigan | <Q>what do you like the most about your job? |
| craig_pollard | <A>I never use the word job when it pertains to my career. A lesson I learned in college. When I graduated from college I knew that my goal was to start my own company in an industry that I love. One of my professors in college gave me great advice. He told that if I choose a career in a field I loved or had passion about then I would never have to work a day in my life. I love sports and golf is a passion for me. The things I like the most about my company are that no day is the same. Owning your own company is organized chaos most of the time. There are no set hours or day of operation for me. Some weeks I spend 100 hours a week at the office, some weeks zero. I love the fact that I can do what I want when I want. That comment sometimes is a double edged sword. |
| ps109 | <Q>YOUR BIO SAYS YOU GOT LUCKY BREAKS. - CAN I ASK WHAT KIND? THANKS! |
| craig_pollard | <A>My first lucky break was the first tradeshow I attended in 1994. I had spent all the money I raised to develop my first product and took the prototypes to a tradeshow. I couldn't afford a booth at the tradeshow, but luckily some company that had purchased a space/booth at the show didn't show up. So I took the liberty of their space and put my product on a table inside the booth. About an hour later the head buyer for Home Shopping Network came by and like d my product. Two hours later the tradeshow officials came by the booth and asked me for my credentials, when I told them I didn't have any I was escorted out of the show. it was kind of embarrassing. Three months later I received a purchase order over my home fax from Home Shopping Network that would afford me to quit my job as a food salesman and launch Global Tour Golf full time. I've never looked back since except to laugh at getting kicked out of show.-----Pure Luck and Good Timing. |
| EconClassfromMichigan | <Q>Do you make $10 million dollars a year? |
| craig_pollard | <A>Lets just say I enjoy my lifestyle |
| tigerwoods | <Q>how did you pick golf as an industry if you never played until college? |
| craig_pollard | <A>I started playing golf regularly my senior year in college after that first round (twice a week). My senior year in college I only had classes on Tu. and Thur from 4-9pm. So I golfed in the morning. One evening I went to an ice skating competition my wife (at the time girlfriend) was skating in and saw her put these guards on her skates after she got off the ice. I'm a California guy so skating I had never done before or watched. Seeing her put those guards on her skates gave me an idea. I was having a problem when I was golfing in college because the course we played at was on a steep ravine. When we walked on concrete we kept slipping all the time in our metal spikes. I thought for sure their had to be a product to put over your spikes when walking off the course. When I couldn't find this product I decided to invent one. The product eventually became known as "SpikeMate" I later sold the patent and the distribution rights to another company. |
| ps109 | <Q>Did you always want to start a business? |
| craig_pollard | <A>Not until I was a Junior in college and I took some entrepreneur courses within the business school and they were awesome. I always had a problem with authority (not the police) anyway that like to give me orders, so it made sense that if I wanted to succeed in business I better become my own boss . |
| ps109 | <Q>how did you figure out how much money to raise to start a business? |
| craig_pollard | <A>I wrote a business plan on the company before I started. I figured out how much I thought it would cost and then doubled that number to be safe. When I was able to raise that money I started the company. Their will always be bumps in the road especially in the beginning. I knew going into it that over 95% of all new business's fail. I was prepared more mentally than I was financially. I didn't have a lot of money but if your persistent you will find away to get the money. |
| EddieB | <Q>Tight. I think it would be cool to be in charge of your own hours. what do you think about a franchise? my uncle owns a sir speedy |
| craig_pollard | <A>Franchises can be great. Like any business they have to make sense and fit your personality. Their are thousands of franchise opportunities. I am a big believer in that if you are passionate about what you do are properly funded and have the right management team you can make any business successful. |
| nsyncrules | <Q>Did anything make you afraid to start this business? |
| craig_pollard | <A>Yes a lot. 1. losing all my money, my house, etc. 2. quitting a good paying job Fear is a good thing as it is a great motivator. Anyone that's not afraid to start a business either has enough money to that failure doesn't matter or is not passionate about becoming an entrepreneur. Fear is Good!!! |
| EconClassfromMichigan | <Q>What was the product that you took to the trade show? |
| craig_pollard | <A>it was called SpikeMate a rubber oversole for golf shoes |
| ps109 | <Q>Did you have Junior Achievement has a teen? |
| craig_pollard | <A>No, I had never heard about it until last year, wish I had!! |
| ps109 | <Q> nice. is it hard to get a patent? |
| craig_pollard | <A>No, its hard to get a good patent that has tangible value. many patent attorney's can get you a patent, but few can get you a patent that's worth owning. . I own several and the plaques on the wall are worth more than the value of the patent. Fortunately I have a few that are worth being proud of. |
| JA_Webmaster | Thank you all for participating! Please check www.ja.org soon for details on the next JA/EO discussion. Thank you Mr. Pollard! |