The daredevils at TNT Dunk Squad like nothing better than to execute high-flying trampoline stunts and acrobatic basketball slam-dunks for Los Angles Clippers and Lakers fans, college-basketball audiences and special-events crowds worldwide.
But if they want to expand their business, the gymnastic duo will also have to do some online tricks.
In the last 20 years, with their team and others, the pair have performed in more than 70 cities worldwide and at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
It has been a part-time endeavor, with revenue last year of just $45,000.
About 18 months ago, owners Brian Smith and Keith Cousino decided to crank up their game and turn their entertainment showcase into a full-scale business.
By chance, they stumbled onto the low-profile world of school-assembly performances and realized they were on to something that could be big.
Although the schools don't pay as much as TNT's marquee clients, the number of potential jobs is much higher. But finding the PTA parents who book talent for school assemblies with themes such as teamwork and healthy living has been harder than expected, said Smith, 40.
"How can we market to these schools and get this whole thing going faster?" Smith said. "I called this one guy who'd been doing it for years, and he laughed and said, 'When you figure it out, call me.' "
With few funds and little marketing expertise, the pair managed to land about 35 school jobs last year for their Pasadena business. Their goal is to book at least 100 school assemblies by the end of this year. So far, they have 40 scheduled.
Smith said he and Cousino, 41, briefly considered social media as a cheap way to reach more customers but dismissed it as "silly and somewhat of a waste of time."
They are not the only small business to miss the potential that social media has to build sales, says Rebekah King, principal of ReBiz Works in Irvine, a one-person shop that specializes in social media marketing and training.
Social media sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and online communication tools, such as Twitter and the content-update utility Ping.fm, could raise TNT's profile, introduce it to new customers and provide an easy way to keep in front of its growing community. Also, content on social media sites is counted in search-engine results and can move a business higher in result rankings.
To be effective, a business needs a plan.
