Meet Heidi Block

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Heidi Block a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Heidi, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I didn’t realize I’d found my purpose until I was already a year into my new business. I’ve always thought of my personal and professional passions as two separate things. On the personal side, I’m a lifelong lover of racquet sports and on the professional side a lover of brand building and innovation.

When I learned to play pickleball in the summer of 2021, I loved it right away, But I couldn’t find any good brands or sport content. As a lifelong brand builder, I saw an opportunity to fill that void and create an iconic pickleball brand.

At the time, none of my friends knew how to play pickleball., so I started teaching them. In doing so I also uncovered my purpose. While Play-PKL makes beautiful, custom US-made men’s and women’s apparel, equipment and accessories, we also provide everything you need to know to get started and improve your game.

I delight in seeing others discover and fall in love with pickleball as I did. Especially those who are active but have never actually played a sport before. And building a pickleball brand has enabled me to finally marry my personal and professional passions.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Play-PKL was conceived to fill a need in pickleball, which continues to explode in popularity across the US. In 2023, more than 36 million people joined the revolution, making it the fastest growing sport in America for the fifth straight year.

Play-PKL provides everything you need to play pickleball, except the court. From digestible educational content to free introductory clinics to paddles, balls, nets, bags and custom, US-made men’s and women’s pickleball apparel, we offer one stop shopping for a curated pickleball experience.

All of our apparel is sewn from high quality, comfortable, performance fabrics. Our skorts and shorts feature our specially designed pickleball pockets, which are set further back than traditional pockets, to keep the ball out of the way when you play.

2023 marked our first full year in business, and during that time we introduced hundreds of people to the game through free clinics, blogs and videos breaking down all of the basics.

We also launched over 100 new products and popped up at dozens of in person events in New Jersey, New York, Florida and Connecticut.

In 2024, we will add even more new styles and colors to our apparel line as we accelerate our e-commerce business and introduce the collection at select retail stores.

Come play with us!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Like most entrepreneurs, I am an eternal optimist. Despite many challenges along the way to launching and scaling Play-PkL, I never lose my belief that we will succeed. I tackle every setback with determination and keep looking ahead.

To build the business and craft the brand story, I drew from my many years launching brands and product innovations in consumer packaged goods. Operationally, knowing how to develop and source products that meet a consumer need is the same regardless of the industry.

When it comes to knowledge that is outside my skill set, I’m not afraid to ask for help. When I saw the complexity of apparel design and the creative and technical skills required, I found a talented young designer to bring the Play-PKL line to life.

The best advice I can offer to aspiring entrepreneurs comes from something I heard on the NPR podcast “How I Built This”: The difference between a failed and a successful entrepreneurial business is never giving up.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
My biggest challenge in business right now is scaling. I really expected the majority of my sales to come from e-commerce, but that channel has been slow to grow. I have focused step-by-step on the building blocks for it by developing rich content like blogs, backlinks, and relevant keywords and growing my social media following and email list. This year, I will launch paid media to help accelerate sales. But I am also working on a wholesale channel strategy to get the products into the growing number of pickleball shops.
And I will continue to seed product through select in person events and brand ambassadors.
I am optimistic about what 2024 will bring.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Productivity
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others

Leadership Development
Where does your generosity come from?

Over the years, we have consistently been blown away by the examples of generosity we’ve

Productivity
From Burnout to Balance: The Role of Self-Care

Burning out is one of the primary risks you face as you work towards your