Business of Billiards

Wednesday, June 22

11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Getting the Word out Farther and Faster

Using tech and marketing tools to improve your reach to Gen Y, Z, and Beyond

Lynn Switanowski, President, Creative Business Consulting

During this session, seminar attendees will learn how to use todays’ technology and digital marketing tools to improve the marketing reach to the critically important next generation of billiard and home leisure customers.

Attendees will learn how to integrate timesaving and attention-grabbing technology to save money – and time – as you deliver messages to reach both new and existing customers. When looking at business trends in the Billiard and Home Leisure Industry for 2022 and beyond, retailers must adopt new technology into the business formula. Whether it be new systems that maximize performance or using the Internet as a customer engagement and sales tool, or the advances of cloud-based technology to support small businesses for years to come

1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Design Trends Post Pandemic & The Next Showroom    

Jacklyn Ady, Product Manager, American Heritage Billiards

Home trends this year continue to be dramatically influenced by COVID-19. This session will cover general home design trends in furniture, retail, and leisure post-pandemic.

We will discuss reimagining what retail could look like in the new normal and consider staging the showroom as an attraction to provide unique experiences for customers. Attendees will engage in a hands-on design planning session with new suggestions for how to stage inviting spaces your customers will love.

3 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Growing from $2M to $20M      

Best practices that dealers use to streamline and grow their business

Dan McManus, President & CEO, LOU – Powered by Evosus

Many business owners dream about growing their business 10-fold or more.

But what about product availability? And is it really all about marketing and sales? Growth in the billiard industry requires a streamlined day to day operation (first and foremost) before cranking up your marketing & taking on new customers.

In this session, Dan will cover the “secrets” he’s learned over the past 20 years of working with dealers who have successfully grown their business. Topics will include:

  • Retail – creating recurring business out of one-time transactions
  • Service – increasing the value of your business every day
  • Inventory – optimizing product on hand to free up cash on hand
  • Custom Orders – simplifying complex orders while increasing ASP (Average Selling Price)
  • Reports & Data – using market information to drive business decisions

Thursday, June 23

11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Residential Design Styles & Game Room Trends

Jacklyn Ady, Product Manager, American Heritage Billiards

Sharpen your skills and help your customers create the game room of their dreams. This session will cover common types of residential design styles with clear definitions and visual examples.

We will review the latest styles and current trends in the residential home market and modern game room design.

Attendees will participate in a hands-on design planning session with innovative suggestions for helping customers style a complete game room sanctuary primed for all their favorite hobbies and leisure activities.

1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Instagram Strategy and Tactics: Telling Stories, Tagging Products and Social Selling

Lynn Switanowski, President, Creative Business Consulting

Instagram continues to deliver as a powerful marketing and commerce tool for EVERY business in 2022. Join us for this “All Things Instagram” session where we’ll show how to create content that is engaging across all the IG content streams.

Join us as we help your business get ahead and learn how to use Instagram effectively this year and beyond. Sessions includes time for brainstorming to generate creative ideas to make IG posts, IG Stories and TV that sell!

Session attendees will learn:

  • The most recent user statistics highlighting what IG content is producing the most engaging (and seen) content across the platform.
  • How to make IG content align with your business needs.

Attendees will also participate in live marketing content development session and walk away with 3-4 weeks of content to fill their IG posts, stories, and Reels.

3 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Optimizing Your Credit Card Processing Landscape

Colin O’Keefe, Founder, Merchant Cost Consulting

During this session, seminar participants will learn how to understand the complex credit card processing industry in order to improve and optimize their current systems.

Attendees will learn ways they can drastically improve their credit card processing rates and understand how to negotiate with existing vendors while gaining knowledge on how the industry works and its regulations.

Join us, as we help make sure your business is in the best place possible when it comes to accepting payments.

Meet the Speakers

Click the speakers’ names below to read their bios.

About Jacklyn Ady

Jacklyn Ady is a design and business leader passionate about product development, trend research, human-centered design, design thinking, brand identity, business, and marketing strategy.

Jacklyn is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design (Product Design) from the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in the Global Leader Program from Nagoya University of Commerce and Business (NUCB). Her career includes designing commercial and residential furniture, sporting goods, children’s toys, design research, and managing product development cycles.

She also teaches as an adjunct at the University of Evansville in ChangeLab, Master of Science in Leadership, and Organizational Leadership programs. She instructs classes on innovation, strategic decision making, and social entrepreneurship. She also serves as the Chief Innovation Coach for the Center for Innovation & Change.

Jacklyn is currently the Product Manager for the billiards division at Escalade Sports which includes American Heritage Billiards and Cue & Case. She is responsible for identifying and applying product design trends to create and develop innovation across the billiards category. Jacklyn designs and manages new product development, working closely with production and manufacturing to ensure high quality products.

Outside of teaching and work, you can find Jacklyn volunteering in her local community or enjoying the sports she loves: wakesurfing, snowboarding, or cycling preferably mountainside.

About Lynn Switanowski

Lynn Switanowski draws on over 20 years of business experience with Fortune 500 companies including Reebok, Aramark and Liz Claiborne where she was responsible for achieving all the financial objectives of individual business units with sales of over $50 million dollars.

Under Lynn’s guidance and leadership, the businesses she ran consistently achieved and exceeded their financial targets and her experience with establishing strategic plans for the businesses she ran produced consistent revenue and profit improvement.

Lynn’s management experience and creative problem-solving skills led to the re-engineering of traditional business models and made each and every business involved more efficient with their sales channel and distribution techniques. In addition to

her management roles, Lynn has experience with organizational realignment and restructuring for profit maximization. Lynn began her career at Federated Department stores where she held various buying positions and store-line management roles.

Lynn lives in Boston, MA and spends her free time traveling the world where she enjoys learning about different people and cultures as well as collecting the passport stamps that document it all!

About Colin O’Keefe

Colin O’Keefe is a former professional baseball player turned entrepreneur. Colin founded Merchant Cost Consulting 5 years ago after working for a large credit card processing company.

While working for the credit card processing company, Colin climbed his way up and gained extensive experience understanding how the payments industry works. During that time, he felt it was too complex for someone not in the industry to understand which led him to launch MCC. MCC is a cost reduction business that helps retailers reduce and optimize their credit card processing rates without changing software or processors.

Since launching, they have audited over 20 billion in credit card transactions and have achieved upwards of 100 million in savings for their clients.

Colin lives in Boston, MA and spends his free time traveling with his fiancé, golfing and hanging out with his two Portuguese water dogs.

About Dan McManus

Dan McManus has worked with over 500 retail/service businesses to streamline their data to day operations and growth. Many of these companies are billiard retailers. Along the way, he’s picked up best practices that have helped some of these businesses grow from side hustles to thriving businesses.

Dan is the CEO of Evosus, Inc. – a leading business software company working exclusively with dealers in the billiard / hot tub/spa/hearth and pool industries. For the past 30 years, his focus has been on helping companies grow while streamlining day-to-day procedures. More than anything, Dan enjoys helping business owners quickly figure out what ‘moves the needle’ and building execution plans that drive results.

Dan is originally from upstate New York, has an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and now calls Washington state his home.