Hannes Hopley was on his way to purchase golf balls for his business with his brother when he heard about the 94.7 and Standard Bank Business of the Week promotion.
A dare
His brother spotted an opportunity to publicise the business, selling used golf balls at a discounted rate - and dared Hannes to send an entry through.
Hannes made a video and submitted the necessary paper work to the website.
A week later, he received a call that his business had been selected as the most innovative business of the week. He was more than happy to receive this news.
Hannes had seen a gap in the market and decided to open an online shop that specialises in used golf balls. Run from his garage in Alberton through his website, his business is the first of its kind in South Africa.
The customer is king
“It’s a unique business; we get balls, package them and sell them to our customers. What makes us unique is that we have the customer in mind. We know that people want to save money and play golf without robbing a bank, so we tailor-made a solution,” he says.
Hannes adds: “We make it a worthy experience for our customers; we bring a service that is not available and we get people from all over South Africa ordering our balls.”
Being chosen as Business of the Week means a lot to Hannes. He says “I appreciate this a lot and I am so happy that my business was chosen because it deserves to be there.”
The success of his business is evident in that he has never paid for advertising. “Word of mouth and my website have been my source of advertising and I am grateful for the exposure that this competition has given me.”
Asked about his business’s name “We got balls” Hannes says he wanted one to show he’s got the guts to take a road less travelled.
His advice to young entrepreneurs?
“When you have a good idea, your opinion matters. If it feels good then you have to do it. Believe in yourself and it will be done.”
In the future, Hannes wants to fulfill every order to make a lot of money.
For more information about We Got Balls visit http://www.wegotballs.co.za/.
To put your business in line to be innovative business of the week, visit: http://www.highveld.co.za/competitions/solo/standardbank_businessoftheweek2011/main.asp
