Big Poppa
Moderator

50...it isn't just some number. It is really one that you have to digest, celebrate, reflect, and truly appreciate. Especially if you were there for all of them like I have.

The companies that have made it 50 years and that are still relevant are very few and I am deeply honored to have Ernie Ball join that club. It means validity of my fathers passion, creativity, and drive. It is a chance to soak in the work that I have dedicated my life to...it is watching my sons take it from

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This is for you Craig....
If dreams were cognizant of reality I would be toast. Why? Up to now the perception of the Rock and Roll star for young kids was Hot Chicks, Limos, Touring, Recording. The finest of everything and boatloads of money. The perception created the dream of being a rock star drove the kids to play the guitar and emulate their fav's. Like a kid wanting to be Tiger Woods in golf.....arrrghh. Barry Bonds in baseball...Now the biggest selling Rockstar is an energy drink.

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Where did we forget to remember things? I trace it back to the auto dialer...you basically had to remember peoples phone number. I resisted for a long time but put the stuff in my cell phone and let that part of my brain become dormant......that part of my brain sits on the couch with a bag of Oreo's. Maybe it was the calculator? Yeah...thats it I used to be able to ad and multiply...OK I still can do margins. The math part is sitting on the same couch with a bag of Cheetos.

Now

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I am a card carrying entrepreneur.

America was built on the backs of passionate entrepreneurs. Every success story, publicly traded company and institution today started as entrepreneurs and somehow lost their way. Here is my perspective.

My best analogy is the caterpillar. The slink along the ground and crawl and do what they want. They somehow stumble into this process that they don't quite understand....its called a cocoon. After awhile they break out and become

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In the old days....(about a decade ago...ok maybe two) a manufacturer did print ads, point of purchase material, artist endorsements and if you were progressive like my father you came out with a t shirt....(1971...the first promotional clothing in our industry) to market their product. There was no line or distinction between marketing and advertising. It was all the same. The last ingredient of your 'marketising' was that you left it to your dealer to tell your story.

They got

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