We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dominic Harris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dominic, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses.
Austin GellyBall/Austin GellyBall North is 100% a family business. The opportunity was presented by my brother, and his cousin is the creator of GellyBall. With out that family tie who knows if I would have had the opportunity. A lot of work goes into getting ready to do these events, from setup, promoting, prepping and so much more. None of what have been done thus far would have been possible with out my family. My son and I spend the majority of our weekends providing an awesome experience for those who choose our service. Having my son with me offers a great experience to understand what responsibilities go into running your own business. Hard work is a big piece, but more than is a understanding of doing good business. We have had the opportunity to travel and work some of the worlds largest festivals. From Summerfest which is the worlds largest musical festivals to Air and Water shows. We get to spend time together, work hard and with GellyBall you cant help but to have fun. It all comes with balance tho, he is still a kid and making sure time is given to enjoy childhood. My family has been a major supported from the time I revealed what GellyBall is and what I planned to do with it. They believed in it so much that they help when I need assistance at these larger festivals. I cant say enough about how important they have been to the success we have had thus far.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Dominic Harris, people from my child hood call me nick others call me Dom. I was born in Milwaukee, WI where I did high school and my first round of college. Milwaukee is my hometown where a vast majority of my family remain and is where I spend time doing my business as well. I decided to move to Austin TX about 6 years with my son when my job presented the opportunity. I have been in IT for more than a decade and we have enjoyed the journey. My friend and I met when I first moved here which has now became a brother presented this opportunity and asked if I would be interested. It took me 30min to decide that this is something that can profitable, I will enjoy doing and can be done with my son. GellyBall is a great activity that gets the blood going and the tears falling from laughter. Weather you are playing or watching, you will have a positive experience that you can take with you when the event is over. I experienced this with my own family and several years later we still laugh and play back the videos. This what we create at Austin GellyBall/ Austin GellyBall North, fun memories for all ages at any event you can think imagine. That is what we do here, help make a birthday, festival, corporate event or what ever more fun to add to those memories. That is my why, that is what I enjoy the most out of every event we do. The laughter that everyone have and knowing that years from now when they talk about that moment, we had a hand in making it possible. We take every encounter seriously to provide an awesome time because our customers will be our biggest advertisement in generating more business or repeat business.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
Getting my business started came directly from own pockets. Working 40hrs a week and managing my funds was the way i was able to repay the loan to get started and make back the money it took to start. The idea is to try to make back as quickly what you put into it and then get an idea of how you will do in the long run. With GellyBall being new in the industry the projection is great, the risk still exist but with less hesitation. All the money make from every event when right back into the business. It pays for all of the operating expenses, marketing and even fees to setup at the larger festivals. The less out of my own pocket to keep the business going allows for me to find ways to invest in expansion ideas to grow,
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
My best source for new clients has been Google and my previous customers. It is so important to ensure your Google profile is complete and that you take your time to complete SEO functions. Being at the top of searches grants a lot of clicks to web sites and different social media. On the Google page my customers have taking the time to leave pictures, videos, rate and most important comments about their experience. A lot of new customers have already attended one of my events and are excited to host for themselves. They have seen what we are able to do and they are excited when we arrive. They share with other people, we are booked within multiple friend networks.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.austingellyballnorth.com/ https://austingellyball.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/austingellyballnorth/