James Jones and William West started a company to make what they considered the ideal gym bag, one that would incorporate the features they both desired and that would be of a sufficient quality to withstand a regular workout schedule for several years. They each made a modest investment to start their new company—JW Sports Supplies—and began operating on the side while they continued their respective professional careers.
In this case, the owners attempt to better understand the impact that alternative decisions they could make about managing costs, changing prices, and different sales volumes would have on the company, so that they could better determine whether pursuing their venture full time was even a possibility. They both agreed that if they could see annual profit climb to around $300,000, they would consider making this a full-time endeavor. The case focuses on concepts related to cost behavior and cost-volume-profit analysis.
