“If you see it on TV, there’s a good chance that it’s ours,” says Bill. That’s because not only do they make the decals for NFL team helmets, they also make them for the CFL (Canadian Football League) and 35 major college football teams, including the USC Trojans, the Auburn Tigers, the Texas Longhorns, and the LSU Tigers, who were recently in the Bowl Championship Series. Athletic Decals, Inc. isn’t just limited to the NFL, though. Two MLB teams are also their customers – the LA Dodgers and the Kansas City Royals – as well as two NHL teams – the LA Kings and the Minnesota Wild. “They aren’t playing right now,” says Bill, referring to the NHL lockout, “But if they were, we’d be doing their helmet decals.” In addition to the big leagues, high school and youth league baseball, hockey, lacrosse, and football teams across America come to Athletic Decals, Inc. for helmet decals as well.

“Our business is based on quality and service,” says Bill. “Our goal is to provide the best decal and the best customer service we can.” Bill paired up with Chris six years ago to form Athletic Decals, Inc., based in Houston, Texas. He had worked in retail for 16 years when he met up with Chris, who had begun to work in the screen printing industry after college. Chris learned screen printing from the ground up and started in production and artwork, and eventually moved on to sales and management. During that time, he worked on developing decals that had primarily been used for hard hats and pioneered them into the decals that go on professional team helmets today. Chris made and sent out samples to the NFL and within three years, he was making helmet decals for half of the NFL. Soon after, he was employed by 28 of the 32 NFL teams to make their helmet decals. His company now has 13 employees, including Bill and Bill’s wife, Sue.

“You have to have a real passion for what you do,” says Bill. “Unless you’re involved in something you’re passionate about, you’re not going to be satisfied,” says Chris, who is a football fan and played for two years in junior high. “You have to have patience and learn from your mistakes in order to be successful,” he says. Bill and Chris work well together because they have similar work philosophies and concentrate on providing the best service they can. Both attend the same church and have families, for which Sundays are reserved. “You have to achieve a balance in your life and work hard to achieve that balance,” says Chris, who doesn’t agree with the retail trend of staying open 24/7.

Results Achieved with MYOB

When looking for accounting software to run their business, they found what they were looking for with MYOB software. Chris had always worked on a Macintosh platform for graphics and he didn’t want to have the dual platform work environment he would have to with other accounting software products. MYOB AccountEdge Network Edition met all their needs. He has a 5-computer network with a brand new Mac G5 dual processor hosting the company file and 3 seats for himself, Bill, and Sue. Bill and Sue are responsible for the accounting, while Chris handles the customer service and ordering.

“MYOB AccountEdge Network Edition is very good accounting software for the Mac and it’s networkable, which is what we need.” says Bill. “It’s terrific,” says Chris. “I’m thrilled with the dramatic increase in performance I’ve noticed when working in my inventory and card files.”

Chris and Bill also use MYOB’s Merchant Account Service to process credit cards through MYOB AccountEdge Network Edition. “It’s nice to just do a couple of steps and – bang – you have a credit card receipt. That’s been great,” says Chris.

Bill and Chris are excited to see their decals on the helmets of the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots when they play in Jacksonville, Florida for Super Bowl XXXIX. They’re also getting ready to put the decals on the Super Bowl XXXIX souvenir helmets that will be sold on QVC. “It’s cool because part of their product is our product,” says Chris. In addition to those helmets, they also put decals on the helmets that are autographed by football players like New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and Greenbay Packers quarterback Brett Favre.

“It’s always been my dream to own my own company,” says Chris. “This has been my specialty for 20 years.”