We were lucky to catch up with Ruben Loyola recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ruben, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
Twenty years ago, I taught myself how to run all the different types of embroidery machines such as Melco, Tajima, SWF, Brother, and Happy, and have been working in the embroidery industry ever since.
The best experience I had was working as an Embroidery Manager in the Garment District for a full-service design studio and manufacturing facility in New York City.
Working with brands like Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta, Alexander Wang, DKNY, Marc Jacobs, Coach, and many more, was an incredible opportunity. The company’s owner and founder is a wonderful and caring person from whom I learned so much, and still keep in touch today; she is an amazing human being!
After living in NYC, we moved to Tampa, Florida and I landed a job at a retail business overseeing a small embroidery department.
In May 2019, however, our lives changed completely.
On a Sunday afternoon I ended up in the emergency room and two hours later I was in ICU for further evaluation. Long story short, I was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer.
After two weeks, I went back home and started my chemotherapy, and had to go to the Florida Cancer Institute for treatment once a month. Bills quickly piled up, but my wife said, ‘Don’t worry, everything will get better and we will find a way to cover the bills.’
We decided to use our knowledge of embroidery customization to make some extra income to cover the medical expenses.
So with next to nothing in our savings, we purchased a small PE800 Brother embroidery machine and opened an Etsy shop.
After a few weeks, we got our first orders and made an average of $800 a month running the machine after I came home from work. For the first six months, it worked well, but we knew that we needed to scale the business if we wanted to keep up with the bills and treatment.
So, in November 2020 I decided to quit my 9 to 5 job, and focus on starting my own custom embroidery business for the local Wesley Chapel area, customizing garments exactly the way we love; top-notch with no exceptions! Yes it was 101% a risk but only took us a few months to start getting new customers everyday, after a year we paid off our first and second machine and order more machines!
Now GASPARSTITCH.COM revenue is $18,000+ a month and we are already planning our expansion with DTF printing and more for 2025.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Gaspar Stitch LLC is a family owned and operated Custom Embroidery Shop with over two decades of quality service in the Tampa Bay Area.
Our goal is to provide you with fast convenient way to obtain embroidery on clothes without sacrificing quality. We strive to meet the needs of our customers and ensure they receive service and product on time. Contact us today so we can star customizing your Shirts, Hats, Aprons, T-shirts, Sweatshirts, or you can bring your own garments.
Proudly Designed and Stitch in Wesley Chapel, why GASPAR STITCH??? In 2016, we moved to the Sunshine State (Tampa), immediately we felt in love with the city. In honor of its history and the Gasparilla tradition, we decided to name our business GASPAR STITCH., making the perfect balance between the love for Embroidery in the Tampa Bay city that we now call HOME.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Why We Started Gaspar Stitch In May 2019, however, our lives changed completely.
On a Sunday afternoon I ended up in the emergency room and two hours later I was in ICU for further evaluation. Long story short, I was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer.
After two weeks, I went back home and started my chemotherapy, and had to go to the Florida Cancer Institute for treatment once a month. Bills quickly piled up, but my wife said, ‘Don’t worry, everything will get better and we will find a way to cover the bills.’
We decided to use our knowledge of embroidery customization to make some extra income to cover the medical expenses.
Birth of a Business
So with next to nothing in our savings, we purchased a small PE800 Brother embroidery machine and opened an Etsy Shop
After a few weeks, we got our first orders and made an average of $800 a month running the machine after I came home from work. For the first six months, it worked well, but we knew that we needed to scale the business if we wanted to keep up with the bills and treatment.
So, in November 2020 I decided to quit my 9 to 5 job, and focus on starting my own custom embroidery business for the local Wesley Chapel area, customizing garments exactly the way we love; top-notch with no exceptions!
Now GASPARSTITCH.COM revenue is $24,000+ a month and we are already planning our expansion with a 4-head machine.
We do it all in-house – from Richardson caps to polo shirts, custom golf bags to iron-on patches.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Bring Your Own Garments,
99.9% of all Embroidery business requires you to buy the blanks directly from them to get the stitch done so we decided to go the other route and allow all customers to bring their own garments for embroidery or printing and they love it! they get to buy at a discounted price or from their favorite brands and bring them to us to add the logo.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gasparstitch.com
- Instagram: @gasparstitch
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gasparstitch.custom/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ ruben-loyola-wc Vanity URL name
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/gaspar-stitch-wesley-chapel?osq=gaspar+stitch