My Story in a chestnut shell......

[Big Poppa]

As I get older I sometimes look back to the times and eras and phases of the company from running the cash register at 9 in the store to getting hangnails putting backlabels at 12, to the shipping department and the dreaded after school box flattening, to the always hated inventory.....Going to work at 15 at Island Guitars.....off to Quilter Sound to run their retail at 17 (now known as QSC) to forcing the sales manager of Ernie Ball to let me take the Impala in the parking lot and go to work as a road rep for just commision..my dad didnt hire me and didnt know that I was doing it until he asked where the Impala was. The gas crunch hit and I had sold too much stuff to lay me off and I was put on the phones selling..there were three of us. Bill Reed and I.

Bill gave himself carpel tunnel bragging about selling strings to England and Japan and France. He said that was all the international business that was worth giving. I was moonlighting helping my godfather Tommy Walker ( who brings tears to my eyes thinking about him and what he taught me...RIP Tommy you were the class act) with the amps he designed and Leos new basses. In exchange for what I did Tommy had an Export Manager named Uschi Eastman give me a mailing list and I created a flier and after hours sent a solicitation for business in 22 different countries and got orders for all of them. BIll left pissed, ( he called when my dad passed and said that his only regret wasnt staying with us) and my dad told me at 24 that I seemed to have all of the answers and I would get a year to run the thing two possible alternatives...sink or swim. He told me that I would get a raise if I grew the biz ...fired if I didnt. With some great help we were able to increase business a third that year and I got a raise and the next year we doubled that...... I look back at decisions that I made so confidently and wonder what would have happended if I was wrong.....

I think back to Earthwood and then on to Music Man and meeting Dudley Gimpel and the pioneer days fo trying to figure out how to make Leos bass and what the hell we were going to do with all of the industry laughing at the Silhouette........How we kept on . How my dad sat Back and didnt say a word but allowed us to find our way
.

The hardest part was telling my Dad that the remaining contribution he did didnt work....Art director. I hired talented raw artists from Cal Poly and he said "Over his dead body and I said would he like the casket in mahoghany or stainless......
I got lucky and won the equilivilent of the oscar (communication Arts award) two of them in fact. From there I quit for a day and came back and bought the business but lost my brothers and sister over the deal. I have a relationship with one brother and my sister and I value that tremendously Employees started dropping like flies in the string part of SLo and the desedt move to my dad passing to watching my kids dive in and making sure that I did what my dad did for me but hopefully more important not doing many things that my dad did to me.

So here we are and I had to get that off my chest. Im so lucky in that all of my life from the cash register on I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

[Beth]

and that, my dears, is why I am so proud to work at Ernie Ball/Music Man.

Beth

[Randracula]

That was a great read Sterling!

[fogman]

BP, thanks again for sharing the depths of it all.

Having this week off, nestling on the sofa with a spiked eggnog would have been perfect if you published that damn book about yours and your family's life.
You have so much experiences and memories that are a pleasure to know about.

[Psychicpet]

BP, seriously proud to play/sell your gear!

[midopa]

that was great read BP, thanks.

[fogman]

Originally Posted by Psychicpet

BP, seriously proud to play/sell your gear!

Proud to buy it!!!
When the newbie lurkers chime in and say stupid things, it's really sad that they miss the boat. There's so much more here than the guitars.
When I finally get my EBMM, people will tire of the stories I will tell them. I may even tell them about the guitar.

[TSanders]

Wow.

Just wow.

BP, you are in a league that is simply unmatched.

[Colin]

I loved the guitars before I knew much about the Ball family. I even named my Staffy (dog) Ernie. Then this thing called the internet comes along and now I get to enjoy insight, history and a lot of laughs thanks to the Ball family. I only wish there was something we could back to them. Maybe a forum produced CD?

[shamus63]

That was a cool read!

And Foggy, you're right...the newb's (or trolls, rather) that come around and talk trash really do miss the boat on how this *is* not only a family business with heart, but that guys and gals like us who establish themselves here at the forum are treated like family from the top on down.

Seriously, how many other CEO's spend time online with their customers/members (if they even have a website), and wear their heart on their sleeve...or spend huge chunks of cash to say "Thank You!"?

BTW, anybody who considers this "toadying" can kiss my ass!

[Psycho Ward]

Sterling, I can not put into words what you mean to me. I've been around the music scene for a long time and had the opportunity to meet many of the icons of the biz, Ray Kurzweil, Bob Moog (ok, my past is in the keyboard world...), but I've never seen the openness and the solid down to earth, totally real guy like you. You are a musician first and have the best insight to what the player needs and you and your company produces instruments that meets the need of the top professional... and still take the time to talk to the beginner (me). Class in the highest degree!

Merry Christmas to you and your family, the employees of the company and all the friends here on the forum. I love all of you!

[tkarter]

You Mr. Sterling Ball are a class act. The classiest.


tk

[pepperman]

Well, as a newbie lurker, let me just chime in and say that I am as impressed as hell at the care and consideration with the line and at the involvement with the customers that BP and EBMM shows. No, and I mean, NO other manufacturer is as concerned about CS as I have seen here. Sir, I applaud you and your compatriots throughout the years to make EBMM the flagship instrument builder that it is today. That was an inspiring story of hard work, innovation and hutzpah! Thanks for it. We could all learn something!

[Bass-sic]

Nice story BP....that is so cool that your sons have a desire to follow in their dads footsteps. What a blessing for you all to be able to work together, on something that your family is so passionate about.

You and your family have a very Blessed Christmas!

[Big Poppa]

thanks but I dont really know why I posted it......Maybe when you live under the shadow of Lucky Sperm sometimes you got to get part of your story off your chest.