BoloToss Bonanza

Shelley and David White in April began building and selling BoloToss, a game they designed, in their garage at 2241 E. Logan. The Whites have sold more than 1,000 units online to individuals in every state except Hawaii, and to customers in Puerto Rico and Canada. Dealer inquiries have come from Germany and Canada as well.

“Our dream is to see this one day in Wal-Mart in the game section,” Shelley White said. “You'll see croquet, horseshoes, badminton and BoloToss.”

Bolo beginnings

The Whites had enjoyed a backyard game at a friend's home, and White used it as a starting point, making changes to the basic idea, which evolved into BoloToss. The business started on a shoestring budget, without bank financing. Instead, the Whites used their own cash and credit cards.

The game is named for its playing pieces and the action required by the player. The playing pieces, or bolos, are two recycled golf balls joined by a cord.

According to Shelley White, the bolos used in the game are reminiscent of the bolas used by American gauchos or cowboys in South America to catch animals.

“It would wrap around their legs,” she said, noting that in the company's patent application, the playing pieces are called bolas, but are commonly referred to as bolos.

Bolos, when thrown at the small, three-rung ladder made of PVC pipe, wrap around the rungs, and players calculate points based on which rung their bolo reaches.

“A lot of people can play it because it doesn't require lifting something heavy like horseshoes does,” she added.

There are two versions of BoloToss, selling for $39.95 and $49.95, respectively, plus shipping.

The Whites declined to share how much it costs to manufacture each game. “I try to make a 30 percent margin on the games. I have to in order to pay for everything. Just the operating cost alone is quite a bit,” David White said.

Both Whites work in the business. Shelley White, a librarian at The Library Center, created the game's logo. She also did much of the research needed to obtain a trademark, which was issued in July, and a patent number, which is pending.

Last Christmas, the Whites decided it was time for David White to leave his job as a network administrator with Watts Radiant to focus on the business.

“After last year's sales, (we felt) this was the time we should start getting everything ready. This year we've decided to go retail, so we thought now would be the time to start getting ahold of retailers so we could get our item in there possibly by summer. There's just no way, with both of us working, that we could do it,” he said.

He now works on the business about 18 hours each day, cutting the materials, assembling the games, maintaining the Web site at www.bolotoss.com and filling orders. One employee, his nephew, Duane Gross, helps White contact retailers as potential dealers.

Marketing the game online is also David White's responsibility. In addition to the Web site, the game has been sold on eBay.com and Amazon.com for about five months. He also uses Google Adwords to generate traffic to the Web site by targeting the keywords potential customers might be searching for.

“It gets pretty costly. I was spending $2,000 to $3,000 a month (on Adwords), but I was getting the clicks. I was getting the traffic and it was the traffic that I wanted, so it paid off for me,” he said.

Going retail

Placement on the shelves at Wal-Mart may be the ultimate goal, but the Whites said there's plenty of time for that.

“We want to first maybe do specialty toy stores and party stores,” David White said. “That would be our first step. We don't really want to jump right into the big Wal-Mart chain. I'm not saying that we can't, but it takes a lot of production from that point.”

Jim Murrow, associate professor of business administration and economics at Drury University, said, “Selling online is a great way to determine if there's demand for the product.”

He recommends small steps, such as locally owned stores and other retailers, before approaching Wal-Mart, to test the waters and make sure the product moves.

But getting on the shelf at the mega-retailer doesn't guarantee success.

“If you can get on the shelf at Wal-Mart, you've done a good thing. But getting on the shelf isn't all you've got to do. You've got to get the product off the shelf as well,” Murrow said.

The Whites are building up inventory so they'll be ready to make the move to retail.

“We have almost all of our retail packaging ready,” Shelley White said. “We have all of our UPC bar codes done. The only thing that we're waiting on now is to get our brochure together and we're ready to start hitting some stores.”

David White said he'd like to see BoloToss at locally owned stores, stores in the Branson area, and national retailers like Cabela's, KB Toys and Dick's Sporting Goods.