Springtime brings change

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Moving forward can be glacially slow at times, not so much different from recovering from injury. At one point or another I seem to get caught up with what isn't happening more than what has already happened in the process.

Zippy has come to a cross roads. Our product is great, acceptance is in the high 90% range, we have sales and repeat sales, and it seems as if we are making progress in building the brand and reaching some of the millions of people who can certainly use Zippy to their benefit. So, what is the problem with success? 

Success has shown us that there is an issue with the size and shape of many golf balls that directly affects our future. Although the PGA requires that compliant balls are no smaller than 1.680 inches in diameter, there is no upper limit to the size and no rules regarding out of round balls. With the combination of these two elements in play we found that some balls will not rotate freely within the housing once the two parts of the device are welded together. So we started sorting each ball, using a fixture to catch oversized/out-of-round pieces before the logo imprint is applied. This process gives us a perfect finished product but has introduced a huge barrier to moving forward into large quantity production because we are only able to use about 20% of the balls we sort.

What this means, is, that it takes sorting 5000 balls to get 1000 in spec for production. The sorting takes hours and multiple trips to the supplier and may require a week or more to get enough balls for the next production run. Fortunately the supplier only charges us for the balls we can use, but the process is unsustainable, especially if we should get a large order of 5-10k devices. So what do we do?

While we are contacting golf ball manufacturers for spec balls, that route appears to be a non-starter. Golf ball manufacturers are not set up to provide golf balls for purposes other than golf. There appears to be only one additional avenue if we move forward.

Changes to the shell, in the range of + .03 inches between the two inner bearing surfaces, show promise of reversing the sort ratio from 20/100 to 80/100 to give us four times the usable product. This change could be the difference between the continuation of Zippy and being unable to grow/continue.

I am glad we have come this far. The changes we can make to stay viable are relatively minor, costs to change the fixtures shouldn't be too great. However, we are uncertain how much more debt to take on to make the changes given our current rate of sales to reach that point. Like, I said, we are at a crossroads, moving forward as we can, acutely aware of our fragility at this moment, wondering where it all goes from here.

Love to all. 

 

Welcome to Casa de Zippy

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There is a gigantic sense of gratitude in Casa de Zippy as we begin our fourth year of Zippy production. There has been a lot of work and love put into the work to get this far, and we are honored with the opportunity to bring you the best product we can, hopefully a world class offering. The reality of following the flame of a really good idea from wisp of idea to stock on hand and a nice web site to sell from is pretty amazing. We have had many friends and contributors who help us on our path, and we deeply appreciate each soul, each voice who has guided or chided as we moved along. A great joy goes with the wide ranging acceptance of the Zippy device in all its forms and it is an honor to feel we have made a contribution in the well being of your life through this simple offering. 

We hear from Zippy users about their experiences as we continue to grow, and those sharing opportunities keep us motivated to work toward introducing accessories to expand the functionality of the Zippy line. We've heard from elders coping with the effects of age and reduced circulation; athletes invested in the difficult work of training hard, performing at their peak, and shortening recovery cycles; musicians needing to keep hands, arms, and shoulders relaxed and supple; dancers for feet, legs, lower back, and hips; trainers, coaches, and therapists for their clients/team-mates; nurses and medical staff; mechanics; accountants; office workers; travel agents; students; and every-day fellow citizens facing normal aches and pains. We thank you all for finding Zippy to be useful in your daily lives and telling us about it. 

In 2014, Zippy went to two conventions, the Ohio Assoc. of Massage Therapy Schools Teachers and Administrators conference,  and the American Massage Therapy Assn. annual convention. At both events we found a willing market for Zippy and our sales and web hits began to grow. In 2015 we have already sponsored some regional AMTA related events. We want to say thank you to all the massage therapists who have discovered Zippy and who have told their friends. A double thank you to all of you who have found the "Buy Zippy by the Dozen" to be your purchase of choice. 

Zippy is pretty social and we want to get better. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linked In and interested in making each of these platforms work. It's a new world and we are slowly getting a handle on getting out our message, if somewhat intermittently. Watch for this to improve in 2015. If you have a suggestion or can help us out, please let us know.

The next post in the works is from our friend, coach, soccer goalie, etc. Danny Starkins.

Love to all.

Jimmy Zing.