Greg Gharst grew up in a family that loved sports - with parents who trucked out to every beach and field where their kids’ teams were playing on, the nuisances of being a sports family became clear, the number one being umbrellas that blew over in the wind, were unwieldy to carry and fell over.

When Greg was 15, his father got tired of holding his umbrella and tying it to his chair only to have it blow away.  After one fateful day of playing soccer, Greg’s father took him to his machinery shop, gave him a design to work with and instructed him to “have fun.”  Twenty pounds of junk metal and welding later, the first Umbrella Stand prototype was created.   A week later, parents were standing in line wanting one of their own.  

For the next 2-3 months, Greg spent as much time cutting, welding and grinding the metal to create the Original Umbrella Stand.  He got a job at the age of 15 at a local Carl’s Jr. and worked there for three years to pay for the patent.  The majority of his paycheck was set aside as an investment into his innovation.  

Greg called the Original Umbrella Stand a “labor of love,” and truly, it was.  From the first of its creation when he was trying to untangle the bare bones of manufacturing the umbrella stand, he started making them, shipping, boxing and packaging them ready to use.  

The Umbrella Stand was made by a family for families, but it doesn’t end there.  Greg got the idea of using the Umbrella Stand as a fundraiser through his own experience of your typical soccer fundraiser.  His mom was a team mom and his dad a coach and a member of the board of directors for his club.  They were involved in anything and everything to do with sports.  Over time, they got tired of buying candy for fundraisers that they didn’t need just to support their teams.  Greg used that as motivation to use his Umbrella Stand for something good.

What makes the Umbrella Stand fundraiser so unique?  Interested parents, coaches or commissioners merely call Greg at Umbrella Stands, sign an agreement at a set price, sell the product at a set price and receive $5 back for every stand they sell.  At the end of the term, return the stands you didn’t sell or extend the agreement for whatever you haven’t sold.  

The difference The Original Umbrella Stand fundraiser is that they make an effort to keep people as honest as they can.  All proceeds go to the kids.  They pride themselves in saying that there is no risk and no up-front money involved – you sign up and get shipped the product.

Click here to hear Greg Gharst talk about The Umbrella Stand.

Find out more at: http://www.umbrellastands.com/