How is it that a 23-year-old former multi-sport athlete at Salem High is suddenly one of the most popular people in Derry?
Simply put, she's got what everybody wants.
Courtney Ciulla owns ClubHouse Tickets, an agency dealing in secondary tickets sales for a wide variety of sporting events, concerts and other special events.
In sports-crazy New Hampshire, with the Bruins and Celtics in the playoffs, the Red Sox picking up steam and the NFL Draft scheduled for this weekend, things are hopping for Ciulla.
"We can get anything that people want for any event nationwide, but we specialize in hard-to-get tickets."
Ciulla began her business in Plaistow but it wasn't long before she realized that the Route 125 location was not well suited for her type of enterprise. So last month, she relocated to an office inside SportZone off Route 28 in Derry.
"This is a great location and I really love Derry," said the former SHS Blue Devil. "(My business) is exposed to 300,000 people of my target market. These are families and sports fans."
Despite her youth, Ciulla is supremely confident in her ability to grow a success business in a tough economy. She earned her degree from Arizona State, where she majored in business and communications (and played varsity Rugby). But her most valuable experience has come from mentor Tom Ross, owner of Fozzy's ticket agency in Salem.
Ciulla began working for Ross in 2003, while still in high school. She continued her hands on training during winter and summer breaks while in college. Upon graduation, Ross was ready to offer her a full-time job with increased responsibilities.
Ciulla would have none of it.
"I wanted something of my own, I didn't want to come back and just be someone's employee," said Ciulla. "I needed something new."
What Ciulla wanted was her own business.
Sensing a good business opportunity, Ross contacted Rich Zannini, owner of Boss Tickets in Amesbury, Mass. and the two of them agreed to be partners with Ciulla on her first venture. Ciulla took out a personal loan to cover her third of the investment and ClubHouse Tickets was born.
"It was a really good situation," said Ciulla. "I wanted my own agency and neither of them wanted to put in all the risk.
"We've always been friendly with Boss. I really like the way he does business."
The technical aspect of running a ticket agency is easy for Ciulla. She has a solid grasp of business philosophy and knows the ins and outs of her industry. The biggest challenger for her thus far has been being taken seriously by some of the people that walk in off the street.
"Especially middle-aged men," said Ciulla, who admits the ticket agency business is still largely a man's world. "Some people will still look at me and ask to speak to 'the boss.' This isn't the 1950's. It shouldn't matter that I'm a girl. It's frustrating, but it just makes me work harder.
Ciulla also finds herself having to overcome some people's negative perceptions of ticket agents. She said she frequently has to explain to customers that she is not reaping the huge profits from enormous mark-ups that they think she is.
According to Ciulla, she purchases many of her tickets from season ticket holders or other people with extra tickets, and usually has to pay a significant mark up. Other tickets are purchased from the teams or event venues — not in blocks, as many think, but under the same guidelines as any individual. Often, she hires people to stand in line and purchase tickets at box offices or have them but them online. In most cases, there are fees, handling and shipping charges tacked onto the face value.
Also included in Ciulla's overhead is the value of tickets that aren't sold. And if a team goes into a deep slump or a band's new album is a bomb, the losses can be significant.
"We take the risk, we put the money up front," she said. "When people think we're making a killing, we're really just making a living."
All you need to know about Ciulla's commitment to her industry is that she was really unhappy that she had to miss the 2008 Super Bowl between the Giants and Patriots because she had exams that week at ASU. Oh, she wasn't upset that she couldn't attend the game in nearby Phoenix. She was upset that she was too busy to participate in the insanely busy ticket sales in the days leading up to the game.
"It's an exciting business," she said.
ClubHouse Tickets is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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