Starting a Business: The Journey of EVLA Darts

Starting a business has always been a goal of mine, but for years, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. Then one day, I realized something crucial: if you’re going to start a business, make sure it’s in something you’re passionate about. Something that you obsess over, something you can live for. For me, that passion has always been darts.

It wasn’t until I took the leap with my wife and we started a day spa in Two Rivers, WI, that I realized, "I can do this." We went through all the legal hoops, the taxes, and the behind-the-scenes stuff, and it gave me the confidence I needed to take on something else. Before that, I had tossed around the idea of owning a bar, but it just didn’t feel like it was the right fit for my family. Owning a bar is expensive, and from what I know, it works best when you're hands-on, constantly there. With two kids and a wonderful wife at home, I didn’t have it in me to live at the bar. Maybe one day, when the kids are older, who knows?

But back to the darts journey. One night, the idea hit me: what if I promoted darts products? Maybe I could even make some money doing it. I’m lucky enough to be sponsored by two amazing brands—Condor and Trinidad. I fell in love with Condor a few years ago, and it became clear to me that they’re the best in the business. Their products last long, and this was the turning point in my game where I really started to excel. I wanted to promote Condor like my life depended on it because I truly believe everyone should use their products.

So, I reached out to several retail stores asking for a personal code to promote the brand. I wanted to track my performance and see how I was doing. I’m a numbers guy—I like stats and seeing results. Long story short, no one gave me a code. Some promised, but never followed through. That’s when it clicked. I thought, "Why not just start my own store and promote their brand through mine?" And that’s how EVLA Darts was born.

The first task was finding suppliers. Not just for Condor, but also for other brands. I knew not everyone throws Condor, and I wanted to offer options for people who had different preferences. Finding suppliers was no easy feat. You need multiple suppliers who are willing to work with a startup company. And let me tell you, many suppliers have minimum order quantities that are no joke. If you don’t meet these, your account is deleted. It’s tough, but it’s a necessary hurdle.

Once I managed to secure suppliers, I had to start building the website. Here’s something I didn’t realize until I started: don’t rush into paying for a premium website subscription. Use a free version of a website builder first. This is crucial. Why? Because you need to make sure you can sell the product before you spend hours on a website that’s not functional.

Now, let’s talk about names. Creating a brand and values that align with your business is key. You also need to make sure that your name is available to register as an LLC and as a domain name. It sounds simple, but it takes time. When picking a name, make sure it’s something unique—don’t go for something like "supercooldartretailer". Find a name that’s meaningful to you because this is your baby. It’s going to soak up every minute of free time you have for the next few years. For example, EVLA comes from my kids’ names—Everett and Isla. EVLA. It’s personal, and it gives the brand a special connection to what matters most to me. Once that’s all figured out, you’re ready to go… or so you think.

For me, EVLA Darts has been a 3-4 month journey of working nonstop. I’m talking about working on EVLA Darts every day after my regular job—hours spent from the moment I get home to the time I go to bed. Weekends? Forget about it. I’d spend 10-12 hours a day working. It doesn’t always have to be this way, but in the beginning, it’s what it takes.

When you add products to your website, you have to go through a checklist: a product title, a description, a professional photo, alt text for the image, SEO for the product, categorizing the product, inventory management, and labeling (like a SKU). Sounds easy, right? Well, with over 300 products on EVLA Darts, it quickly adds up. Each product probably takes 10-15 minutes to list. Multiply that by 300, and you’re looking at over 75 hours of work. And trust me, there are mistakes along the way. So you go back and fix them. Then, just when you think you're done, you realize there’s always something more you can do to improve. It’s a never-ending cycle of learning and growing.

One thing I’ve learned is that Google Merchant Solutions is a beast. You need to apply, wait for approval, and then—fingers crossed—get approved to be displayed on Google. If you’re denied, you have to wait a week to resubmit, even if you think you’ve fixed everything. It’s frustrating, but it’s part of the process.

Another challenge is setting up policies that make sense to customers. You need to clearly explain shipping times, returns, refunds, and what happens if the customer is unhappy. Thankfully, we have an automated refund portal at EVLA Darts that makes the process smooth for the customer. It really enhances the shopping experience and builds trust.

Of course, none of this would matter if I didn’t have the product to sell. You can’t just start a business without inventory. I’ve been called a drop shipper a few times. And sure, sometimes I order products and ship them directly to customers. But technically, I don’t meet the traditional definition of a drop shipper. We have around 300 products in stock, though we’ve been working hard to keep things in stock. The challenge is, like most small businesses, we often have low stock levels. Sometimes, we only have one or two items left in stock. This makes it tough to turn a profit, especially when you have to pay for shipping multiple times. But for now, I believe offering variety is more important than quantity.

Lastly, the hardest part: getting people to find you. You need to promote your brand, get your name out there. For me, I decided to sponsor local players. I’ll write a separate blog about how to get a sponsorship and what we look for, but the key takeaway here is that local players are crucial for business. In fact, 95% of my sales are local, and those customers are the most loyal and most profitable. So, I chose players from major cities in surrounding areas who have a good following and impact in their communities. It’s been a game-changer for EVLA Darts, and I couldn’t be happier with my team.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is to keep the customers happy and sell, sell, sell! Starting a business isn’t easy, but when you’re passionate about what you do, it’s worth every late night and every challenge. So if you're thinking about starting a business, just remember: it takes a lot of work, but it’s also one of the most rewarding things you can do.