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Rookie Rules Scoring a small distributor

By Don Debelak

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Steve Niewulis played in the minor leagues for the New YorkYankees before injuries to his rotator cuff cut short his career.Not wanting to give up baseball, Niewulis, 32, decided to combinehis baseball talents with a clever idea and create a businessthat's since taken him to the big leagues.

When he had played in an independent league in Florida, Niewulisnoticed he and the other players had trouble keeping their handsdry while batting. That problem inspired his big idea: He attacheda sweat-busting rosin bag to a wristband so a player could use itto dry off the bat handle between pitches.

In less than two years, Niewulis's Fort Lauderdale, Florida,company, Tap It! Inc., has sold thousands of units of his product,the Just Tap It! wristband, which retails for $12.95 and is used bybaseball players, basketball players, tennis players, golfers andeven rock climbers. His secret to success? Find a smalldistribution network, one that lets small companies with just oneproduct line succeed.

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