Who We Are
by pickleballfun on Jan 29, 2013
Hello Blog World!
I am Anna Copley co-founder of PickleballCentral.com. The other founder is the love of my life, David Johnson, my husband. We've been in the pickleball business since 2006 and have grown our business with the sport.
Like our business, I'm going to learn how to blog by just doing it. You'll see this blog grow over time. I'd like it to be full of the best pickleball content on the web, but for today, it is a simple introduction.
Let's see can I add a photo?
It worked! That's me last year at restaurant overlooking Puget Sound in Edmonds, Washington.
How about another picture.....
David, Anna and our two pickleballs, Ella (10) and Olivia (7)
This is our family Christmas 2012 picture. That's David and I with our two little pickleballs, Ella (10) and Olivia (7).
PickleballCentral.com started tiny, just David selling a few pickleball tee-shirts through Cafe Press. It was his hobby. The idea came to him at dinner when I was complaining about not being able to find a pickleball tee-shirt to give my mom for her birthday. I scoured the internet but couldn't find anything pickleball except paddles and balls.
David is a 'serial entrepreneur'. This may sounds menacing, but it just means he's experienced at running with ideas, building companies and turning dreams into reality. We both loved the idea of a pickleball business. I played with my parents and when he was single, he used to play a lot of pickleball and actually had a court in his backyard.
For years PickleballCentral was just a tee shirt website. David notice increased activity and added paddles and balls drop shipped by Pickleball Inc. Another couple of years went by and again, David noticed growth.
In 2009, David left his job and began working full time on PickleballCentral.com. I wasn't involved with the business. I thought it was kinda silly and not important enough for me. I was wrong.
In January 2010 I took a weekend seminar called, The Forum by Landmark Education. I learned that I don't have to take myself so seriously. I can have a career working to bring fun, health and social interaction to people and that, that is important.
In March 2010 I left my job and joined David working full time at PickleballCentral.com.
We hired Pam to help us with shipping in October 2011. (I'll post pictures of our staff in the coming days.) We added Judy and Elise to help with customer service in Sept. 2012. Hans, a high school student, started in March 2012. He helps with bagging balls and folding apparel and all kinds of other tasks. Stephen is our bookkeeper and general business analyst. He started in October 2012.
We're all working here, at our house. The bedrooms are converted to offices. The living room has a portable office cubical placed in front of the fireplace and the shelving units everywhere. The girls sleep in the master bedroom and David and I sleep in the dining room.
We've loved having the business in our home. We've loved the access our kids have to us during the working day and the flexibility. Now, January 2013, we're about to sign a Letter of Intent to lease an office/warehouse space 7 minutes from our home. It's time the company had it's own space and it's time we had our house back.
That's our story.
Here's what we say on our About Us page:
Who We Are
We are David Johnson and Anna Copley and a team of manufacturers, shippers and designers. We are located in Kent, Washington, a suburb of Seattle.
We're proud to offer the widest selection of pickleball equipment anywhere. Paddles and balls, of course, but we also have shoes, books, DVDs, jewelry, bags, nets, clothing, silly pickle stuff and a passion for pickleball.
Our daily goal is to serve our customers the way we want to be served. That means we pay personal attention to each order and strive to exceed customer expectations.
What We Do
We started PickleballCentral.com in September 2006 as a hobby website. After three years, the sport of pickleball was booming and our little side business had grown into a full-time enterprise serving thousands of customers.
PickleballCentral.com is the largest reseller of pickleball equipment on the internet. We are growing quickly and plan on continued rapid growth by steadily adding more products and resources.
We are committed to honesty, superior customer service, innovation and being the best. Compare us to other online pickleball stores. You'll find the absolute best service and the best selection in online pickleball equipment and apparel at PickleballCentral.com.
PickleballCentral.com's Golden Rule:
Serve customers the way we want to be served when shopping on-line.
Why We're in the Pickleball Business
We hear stories all the time about individuals who now have a new lease on life because of pickleball. People who thought they were done being an athlete are now out playing pickleball three to four times a week. We see people laughing and sharing a thrilling game together. We hear about people losing weight and lowering their blood pressure. This is what we care about. This is why we are in the pickleball business.
Our Safe Shopping Guarantee
PickleballCentral.com takes great pride in offering a safe and secure online shopping experience. We also respect your privacy and we're committed to protecting it.
Contact Us with Any Questions
There are lots of paddles to choose from and lots of factors to consider. We know how hard it is to choose a pickleball paddle.
Call us and we can help you make your decision (888) 854-0163. Our local phone number is (253) 854-0163 or you can email us at info@pickleballcentral.com.
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