Crunching Numbers
Now that we have three months of solid data to work with, I’ve been spending a lot of time creating financial models for Ballhype. I used to do this a lot at pretty much every job I’ve had since business school, first because I was in finance and then because I was the marketing girl who used to be in finance. I forgot that you really need to pace yourself with this type of project otherwise you end up paying for it with your wrist, which I have.
But the good news is that we are growing rapidly and if the trend continues we’ll be able to buy Christmas presents this year after all. I’m getting rather used to not spending money, or at least spending very little aside from the mortgage, so any amount of money we begin to earn will feel like we hit the jackpot.
And indeed, this afternoon we put the first Google ads on the site and got our first pennies in the bank. Woo hoo! We are rolling out ads on Ballhype very gradually so that we can experiment until we find the right balance between performance and usability. We’re hoping our users will understand that we need to pay the bills, and if they are in the market for a Barry Bonds bobble-head and happen to see such an item being advertised on our site, they check out the unbeatable price offered by the advertiser.
Posted by Erin 
09.Jul.07
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I like your site and how you guys are growing… Keep up the good work. I also like reading your blog to see how it is, doing what you do.
Thanks Mike! I don’t write as often as I should or want to but it’s nice to know someone is reading
Hey - I am new and like your site. I am a fellow (fed up with the Corporate World) B-Schooler and wondered if you guys were able to live off of the revenue from the site at this point or if you have “side jobs”. I am contemplating such a move, but wondered what other people’s experience has been like. Forgive me if this is rude, but…. what would you say the site earns you guys in a year (projected income or actual) now that you are up and running?
Hi Justin,
I can sympathize with the anxiety around making a decision like this. It’s tough! You’re asking for information I don’t even give my mother though… Let’s say that we’re excited by the growth in the business, otherwise we would not have stuck it out on our own now for a full year. Whether that’s right for anyone else varies depending on their personal finances, the potential business model, and how much they’re able to build themselves vs. having to outsource. Good luck!