Meet Joe Aul | Entrepreneur, Coach, Builder and Owner of Aul Bat Company

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joe Aul and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joe, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Its something I’ve always dreamed about. Passion drives desire and when you have a firm philosophical foundation on which to build, the only thing to do, is try it! I grew up building things with my Dad. And I mean anything! He is a genius when it comes to construction and my uncles’ are engineers who are fascinated with how things work. That skill and fascination is matched only by my affinity for baseball. An interest my dad and I both share as well. I played at an extremely high level and credit much of my later success to early development using a wood bat my Dad built for me. Fast forward to post college and I combined the love of baseball, skill for building and desire to start a business and began the Aul Bat Company.

What should our readers know about your business?
What sets the Aul Bat Co. apart is the fact that we’ve remained small but still are able to bring state of the art process to the art of baseball bat production. That means attention to customer and quality of product remain at the high end of the spectrum while keeping prices competitive, even among a typically low/negative margin product. We started in my Dad’s garage and have grown to be, by my estimates, the largest (per square foot) bat company in the world! It was and still remains incredibly challenging today since the wood bat is normally a negative margin product for most companies; and that artificially deflates the market price making it very difficult to remain competitive. We solve this problem by staying small and building brand loyalty and spending marketing dollars on the local economy, while using cost effective strategies to bring brand awareness to the larger market. The lessons learned are countless and every day presents a new opportunity to grow. I want the world to know that swinging a wood bat exclusively at every level is the only way to go. #swingAulornothing is more than a catchy motto, its a philosophy of life that says, “deep down you know this is the right thing to do, so just do it!” Swinging a wood bat is better for the game and better for you, so reject the culture of instant gratification, the “metal bat mentality,” and swing a wood bat instead and in the long run you will be more fulfilled.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Pittsburgh is the best city in the world! Ok everyone says that about their hometown, but I love my hometown. From its blue collar roots, to the world leader in technology and medicine with a unique blend of culture and diversity built on a foundation of faith and community. There are few places that match the small town feel but with big town resources and combine with affordability, stability and safety to make Pittsburgh a special place.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have so many people to thank but first and foremost, I want to thank our Lord! God is not cliché in my life, He is literally my everything and I am working to integrate this most important relationship into every aspect of my life. For the only tragedy in life, is to not become a saint. Next I want to thank my parents, especially my Dad, without him, none of this exists. My alma mater, St. Vincent College is critical to my story because it is there that I first developed my purpose professionally and where I began a spiritual transformation that I will be on for the rest of my life. I am forever grateful to them, in particular the monks, many of whom are now very good friends. I also want to thank all my close friends in the Catholic community who are a constant support and inspiration. And finally I want to thank the Daily News League, which gave me a market to start the business as well as life long customers and friends. They are a special group!

Website: https://aulbatcompany.com

Instagram: @aulbatco

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-aul-81b07b60/

Twitter: @aulbatco

Facebook: @aulbatcompany

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh4OWJzhvls

Image Credits
Joe Aul, Jack Aul, Zack Galasso