What's up, Doc? They may not be old enough for medical school, but now kids can look the part

Entrepreneur,  July, 2004  by Nichole L. Torres

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Manufacturing the dolls in high-quality plastic with almost portrait-quality artwork, Krilov and Butler have since secured licenses from the NHL and Major League Baseball, in addition to Elvis Presley and I Love Lucy properties. With these unique collectible alternatives to bobblehead dolls now being sold nationwide in arena stores, specialty stores and online, sales should hit $1 million in 2004.

ON A SHOESTRING

WHAT: A company that prints advertising on parking-garage tickets and other types of tickets in the transportation industry

WHO: Christopher Gilliam of AdverTickets

WHERE: Dallas

WHEN: Started in 1998

HOW MUCH: $5,000

With an eye for untapped marketing vehicles, Christopher Gilliam saw prime advertising space on the empty backs of parking-garage and valet tickets. People had to take the tickets, he reasoned, and keep them in their cars or hold onto them for the valet. Gilliam, 41, worked for an advertising company at the time and pitched the idea as an addition to the company's offerings. When the agency didn't want to take the chance, Gilliam decided to make a go of it on his own.

With a little less than $5,000 to start, he hit the ground running. He trekked to local parking garages and advertisers to gauge their interest in the concept. The interest was there, but learning the ins and outs of printing was a challenge for Gilliam, as was finding a printer he could trust. In fact, a mishap with a substandard printer cost him a substantial portion of his startup cash.

Despite his loss, Gilliam, a marketer at heart, spoke to anyone and everyone about his business. With luck on his side, he eventually met a property owner in Dallas who leased him an office for a very low rate--with no big deposit upfront. Located over a restaurant, the place had interesting (read: funky) food smells wafting in at 11 a.m. each day, but the space helped Gilliam grow the business fast and rebound from the printer glitch.

To further spread the word, Gilliam crashed the National Parking Association's Parking, Transportation and Services Convention & Exposition trade show--"I didn't have money to get a guest pass; [I was] sneaking around the monitors"--and started meeting people and showing them the product. His stealthy maneuver worked. Today, AdverTickets has clients like Delta Air Lines, DreamWorks; Jiffy Lube, Lexus and Sony, and can be found in parking garages all over North America and in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Sales are expected to exceed $10 million in 2004.

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