|
|
|
|
For Immediate Release
|
Contact: Jim and Linda Howard
Phone: (866) 453-4438
|
A Hole in One on the Net
|
|
When Jim Howard, of Seminole, took up golf in 1988, he was so hooked on the lure of the little white ball that his career as cash manager paled into dangerous insignificance. All he wanted to do was be out on the ‘long green’ first thing every morning, with the smell of fresh-cut turf and the song of the birds in the breeze.
And when he was at home all he could think or talk about was golf. His sons, Chris and Steve, had the wisdom of youth to join their wacky father on the fairway.
When the golf bug hits, it’s time for the golf buggy to be wheeled out of the garage rather than the Chevy. Work, its daily routine, and its predictability held nothing for Jim compared to being five under the card on the sixteenth at the Bardmoor Golf Course . . . something had to give.
One evening Jim and his wife, Linda, were sitting by the pool enjoying the smell of night blooming jasmine, having a drink, listening to music, and watching shooting stars. They were inspired to start a website selling golf specialty gifts.
Jim was not a pro to reap millions from the Masters, and so here was their answer. The net would net them a living, and the golf course would net them a life.
Unfortunately, it costs money to launch a successful web business, and Jim’s layoff from a 29 year career as a cash manager with a local power utility could not have come at a worse time.
The best minds in the world – many of them golfers – have invested millions – no, billions – in their idea of one good website, and even today cyberspace is littered with the wreckage. Perhaps the fact that Linda and Jim knew nothing of the dot.com bust may have helped them.
For every idea, no matter how humble, needs faith for it to succeed. Linda says that their faith was justified when they won a surprise $5,000 in the Atlanta Mart Summer Show drawing. They immediately invested every penny in their fledgling dream of
www.DesignerGolfGifts.com.
The website was the easiest part since Linda’s sister was an experienced webmaster and could do the web design. The real work came in seeking out the gifts to make their shopping site so successful, and this was where Linda’s 20 years of interior decorating experience came into play like a 9 iron.
Linda arms a family brigade with walkie talkies to fan out at golf shows and gift marts to find gifts that are worthy of golfers to surf their site and stay for awhile. When a family member finds a golf treasure, they radio others to come rate the potential golf gift. They are a picky and opinionated group so only the best of the best makes it on the site.
Today they have truly joined the “Pros” . . . those lucky enough to make a living out of the noble sport of St. Andrews. In the last year, simply by putting their heads down, pursuing their dream, and not even looking at the megaliths crashing all about them, Linda and Jim became what many would think of as the dream small internet business.
The Net dream, we all know, is to make a living at home, doing what you love, and communicating with the world in the process . . . that’s exactly what the Howards do. In a company uniform of golf duvet slippers and golf shirts, they receive orders for a unique range of gifts designed especially for golfers, sourced from all over the world.
Want a gift for your golfing friend’s new baby? A pair of baby golf shoes including tiny cleats would fit the bill.
How about a personalized book of “Everything I Know About Golf”? Not a single printed word adorns THESE pages so the whole world knows how much the golfer REALLY knows.
There is even a tipsy golfing buddy wine holder
. . . the golfers can’t stand without a bottle of wine to keep them in balance.
They get thousands of visitors to www.DesignerGolfGifts.com every week. Imagine thousands of customers ambling through your local golf pro shop and you can begin to see what a great little business they have established.
Son, Chris, has been so inspired by Mom and Dad’s success that his family started www.AngelicBabyShowerGifts.com in honor of their new little member to the tour Kenedie Madison.
Son, Steve, loves nothing better than a round with Dad, and Chris. Mom comes along to keep score and drive the cart . . . talk about Mr. Toad’s wild ride ! ! !
So if you log on to their site, you can expect great service like you used to get at a Mom & Pop store from the Howard family golf pros even if most of them are out on the long fifteenth.
For Interviews, Articles and Photos
Contact:
Jim and Linda Howard
Phone: (866) 453-4438
|
|
|
|
|
|
Toll Free
(866) 453-4438