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Walk The Line

Entrepreneur, April, 2001 by Michelle Prather

HOW FAR CAN YOU PUSH THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY?

WHEN A TRUCK DUMPS HALF A TON OF LEMONS INTO YOUR BACKYARD, IT WOULDN'T BE AN INSANE IDEA TO START SELLING FRESHLY SQUEEZED LEMONADE. BUT WHEN AN UNEXPECTED FLOOD THREATENS TO RAVAGE YOUR TOWN, IS IT RIGHT TO UNLOAD YOUR STOCKPILE OF SANDBAGS WITH A SIGN ON YOUR GARAGE DOOR READING "NEIGHBORHOOD SPECIAL: 3 FOR $5"? THERE'S A FINE LINE BETWEEN CAPITALIZING ON AN OBVIOUS OPPORTUNITY AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF AN UNFORTUNATE SITUATION FOR PERSONAL GAIN. AND ENTREPRENEURS--OPPORTUNISTS BY NATURE--OFTEN HAVE TO RISK THEIR REPUTATIONS (IN BOTH THE BUSINESS AND CONSUMER WORLDS) IN THE NAME OF SEIZING THEIR CHANCES AT SUCCESS, BE IT LONG-TERM OR NOT.

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We talked with some entrepreneurs who've spotted "sure thing" opportunities too potentially prosperous not to pursue and pre-existing businesses blessed by the gods of timing. Some have cashed out, and others didn't generate quite as much interest as they'd hoped for. So can we conclude that when a blatantly opportunistic endeavor fails, it's because the quality so many successful entrepreneurs swear by--having passion for a venture--was absent, and that consumers can smell a gimmick devoid of value miles away? Or is spotting an opportunity and capitalizing on it, by any means, rewarded and applauded in this Survivor era? A scientific answer, there is not. Each entrepreneur must be his or her own judge--and await public opinion, of course.

THE LUCK OF THE DRAW

When Marcia and John Diamond, education professionals and political junkies, registered the Electoral College Sportswear & Accessories (ECSA) trademark in 1994, they could never have imagined what was coming in the winter of 2000. The presidential election to end all elections garnered them international press coverage and produced a throng of orders for the company's products: T-shirts, sweatshirts and caps bearing the logos "Electoral College" and "Electoral College Athletic Department."

Back in 1994, ECSA Inc. simply seemed like a natural outlet for the Bangor, Maine, couple's political passions when Marcia, 38, took time off work after having their second child. And it was done without haste: They wrote a detailed business plan, spent months looking at possible graphic designs and attended small-business seminars. Their idea was to market collegiate-style merchandise and simultaneously educate customers by shipping the products with an explanation of the real electoral college.

To educate wasn't necessarily the motivating purpose, but, says John, 46, "we felt it should have some significance beyond simply taking advantage of a clever play on the name."

By 1996, word about ECSA was spreading in political circles, thanks to the occasional print ad, direct-mail campaigns and a bare-bones Web site. With repeat customers as their largest chunk of business, the Diamonds were satisfied with the cottage industry they'd created. Fast-forward to last October, when business began escalating, and then to Election Day, when C-SPAN discovered ECSA and aired a segment about its merchandise. That day alone saw the Diamonds answering 2.00 phone calls and Internet queries. The Associated Press picked up the story soon after, which led to talk of ECSA on radio stations across the nation and around the world, not to mention interviews with NBC'S The Today Show, England's BBC Tonight and a mention on CNN.

"We were hoping way back that, because 2000 was an open presidency, there would be more talk of the electoral college, but of course nobody could've anticipated what happened," says John. And the Diamonds never would've guessed that they'd have to hire 14 people, order six additional phone lines, move operations into a warehouse facility and resort to letting voice mail pick up calls for at least three hours per day so they could get some shut-eye.

Surprisingly, ECSA didn't receive any criticism from folks assuming the business was established to poke fun at the election's unfortunate turn. The Diamonds did, however, get many questions from people unaware of their pre-Election 2000 life asking how it was possible to erect a business so quickly.

That's not so far-fetched a mistake. There are businesses that appeared out of nowhere once the election took a turn for the uncertain. While political shirts Web site FloridaElections.net, launched in November 2000 by Cleveland Web design/hosting and e-commerce services firm Cool and Arty Productions, and VoteChad2000.com, the "first to offer chad for sale over the Internet," may not hold quite the political weight ECSA does, they, too, found there's money to be made from national crises.

We can't tell you how much in sales those little bits of paper actually generated, but Jory Rozner was pretty impressed with the $40,000 her Chicago-based Jewish media and marketing company, Zipple, made in only six weeks off the (Joseph) Lieberman Yarmulke sold through its Web site, Zipple.com.

Business Services Industry

Walk The Line

Entrepreneur, April, 2001 by Michelle Prather

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