Tapping in with business week 7 features Tipsy Golfer. Tipsy golfer is a golf apparel brand finding the cross between golf and drinking. On top of their apparel they have amazing instagram posts and a fun golf related blog! Make sure to read all about them and then check their website out!
Provide a general overview of the business:
My freshman year of college I started a golf apparel brand called a Tipsy Golfer. I thought it would be really cool to mix the two ideas of playing golf and drinking and layer those ideas into a clothing brand. We are in lifestyle golf apparel brand which specializes in selling funny T-shirts hats and koozies currently. We are looking to expand into more traditional golf apparel products as well. As someone who enjoys the game of golf i understood that being able to have fun while enjoying the game are not mutually exclusive. Mini golf apparel brands are very traditional and that they only focus on selling golf polos. Although golf polos might be a future product of ours, I started the brand with the vision of being a casual golf apparel lifestyle brand. The brand appeals to all golfers and golf enthusiasts alike. Our slogan is “enjoy the game responsibly” as we want to promote safe and responsible behavior on the golf course. We sell direct to consumer through our website, wholesale to different golf shops and have gone to conventions in the past. Our website is www.tipsygolfer.com and @tipsy_golfer on Instagram.
What made you want to start a business? I have always been pretty entrepreneurial and have always tried to find ways to make money in my spare time. Although there are many other ways to make money, I thought it would be really cool to have something where I would be able to learn a lot, create value and make some money doing it. From this, I was able to think about what I could create, and being an avid golfer myself, I thought Tipsy Golfer would be a great idea as a business to start.
How has it been balancing a business and college life? Balancing a full course load in college and working on Tipsy Golfer has definitely been challenging. Since I started this brand by myself, I am Tipsy Golfer. So anything the company does comes through me. Therefore, I have to treat the business as serious as possible. I’m putting my own money in and Only I can make the business work for me. If nobody is working on the business, then how can the business make money. Running your own business is definitely a grind but can definitely be worth it at the end of the day for many reasons. I feel like I have learned a ton just from the amount of research that I’ve done for my own business. There’s no replacement for experience many people say and I truly believe this. By starting your own business, your own website, your own podcast, your own blog, whatever it may be, you’re going to learn so much that whether it’s profitable or not, it’ll all pay off in the end one way or another.
What has been your biggest challenge? My biggest challenge has been underestimating how hard it would be to run a company all by myself. There’s a reason why companies hire hundreds or thousands of people to help them on a daily basis in all different areas of the business. When it comes down to it, I am doing the purchasing the marketing the emails the website or social media. Everything that comes out of Tipsy Golfer Team has the Tipsy Golfer Team on it is something that I’ve put my own time into.
What has been the most fun? The most fun thing about running my own business is being able to talk about it. Tipsy Golfer is a part of my story and will be a part of my story for the rest of my life. Whether it’s a great success or a huge failure, that won’t matter because it’ll be a great experience no matter what. Like I said before, I don’t really care how much money I make out of the situation but care how much I get out of it. It’s not always about what you get out of it in dollars but what you get out of it with regards to knowledge and experience.
What is your advice to other college students who want to start a business? My advice to other college students who are wondering about starting a business or want to start a business is to go ahead and do it. There’s no time like the present. Starting a business is like sharing your passions with the restaurant. I really enjoyed playing golf until I started a golf apparel business to sell funny golf T-shirts that people could wear and laugh about. I compare our brand to life is good with a mix of that preppy vineyard vines style. In business I’ve heard many people say that you’re going to fail multiple times for you succeed and I truly believe in this. Tipsy Golfer has not been easy in anyway nor has it been a great success or a great failure. But at the end of the day was whether it is failure or success does not truly matter to me. What matters most is what you get out of the experience. If you’re looking to start a business to make money that’s OK but you also need to consider what the business is going to do for you if the money is not there. Will you still enjoy running the business? Or will you hate it because you’re not making money? At the end of the day, if you’re a college student thinking about starting a business and you’re too afraid to fail you shouldn’t start a business. We need to embrace failure because eventually failure shapes us to succeed. The last thing I will say with regards to starting a business is that you’ll miss 100% of the chances you don’t take. You never know what can come out of something so why not try it?
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