Welcome to Customer Spotlight – where we showcase the vibrant businesses within our community! 

In our inaugural feature, we're thrilled to highlight Homebound Custom Decor, a business dedicated to creating personalized gifts for any occasion. 

Through exclusive interviews, dive into the journeys, challenges, and triumphs of our customers. 

Join us as we celebrate entrepreneurship and creativity. Get ready to be inspired by the remarkable stories behind the brands that make our community thrive! Here's our interview with Homebound

-Could you tell us a little about your business, and what inspired you to get into this industry? We are a personalized gifts and goods business and we were inspired to enter the industry so that we could provide quality and timeless keepsakes for life's special occasions.

-How long have you been in business, and what has your journey been like so far? We started in Summer of 2019 by accident really. Anuj made a set of personalized hand stamped books for our house and I posted them on Facebook Marketplace to see if anyone would want a set. Before we knew it, we had 50 orders and started a business from our kitchen counter! After a year, we introduced laser engraving and bought our first laser (Glowforge). Now, we own 6 lasers and a UV printer and operate from a 2,500 sf warehouse.
-What accomplishments have you felt the most proud of? We are really proud that we actually started this business with a trip to Michaels and $50. That was our initial investment and we bootstrapped everything since then from profits generated from the business.
-Could you tell us what sort of struggles you run into, and how you overcome them? There has been an influx of competition in the crafting industry lately so it can seem overwhelming at times to try to stand out from other businesses. We strive to offer excellent customer service and build relationships with our followers and customers so that we will be their preferred option when they need to purchase a gift.
-Do you have any tips to offer when it comes to customizing hats? There are so many options to choose from it can be daunting. Try to choose 5 hat colors/styles at first and make those your signature items - this way you can control the amount of inventory you have to stock and the number of SKU's you have to track. There is such thing as buyer fatigue so you don't want to overwhelm your customer when they are shopping on your site.
-Which type of hats that we carry are your favorite? We love 5194 (SKU: HT_BKC_2810) - it's a trucker hat that is so popular with both men and women. It's versatile and good quality!
-What strategies have you found most effective in growing your business? We have partnered with influencers on social media to grow our business. We provide them the product we create and they share it on their platform - this has helped us grow our customer base and our online presence. We actually teach a course on how to do this!
-What are the biggest changes your business has seen over the years? We started our business at home and then shifted our operations to our basement and garage. We did that for two years before taking the leap to a warehouse. We used to operate two lasers and store our inventory at home, but now that we have a commercial space, its been great to have more space to add additional equipment, store more inventory and offer new products, and bring on staff members to assist with operations.
-Has BuckWholesale played a role into the success of your business? Of course! The hats are a fan-favorite and we were able to secure some corporate/bulk deals by offering hats. These have been great not just for companies, but for sports teams, realtors, construction crews, and so much more!
-What are future goals and aspirations for your business? We recently added a UV printer to our line up, which gives us the ability to offer color to our products. We would love to keep expanding on our equipment and are looking at possibly offering embroidery down the line as well!
-Do you have any advice for someone just starting out in this line of work? We try to focus on items that appeal to a larger number of people - this way you aren't tied into a niche and can depend on consistent traffic throughout the year. We focus on items that can be easily giftable for all of life's major occasions like weddings, baby showers, graduations, and housewarmings.
-How do you build and maintain relationships with your customers? We try to connect with them via social media by offering fun giveaways, insights into behind the scenes and making of a product, and showcasing small snippets of owning your own business. I feel they appreciate knowing what it takes to produce an item and where it's coming from and the heart that goes into it!

We hope all of our readers enjoyed this interview. If you'd like to showcase your business, reach out to us HERE