Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Lockwood. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Jennifer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses.
My husband and I run Noxx full-time from our home and Gilbert and have been working together for the past 7 years. It can be tricky at times because we both come from restaurant management, so we’re both used to being in charge, but we have settled into our own roles within the company and really enjoy all the time we get to spend with each other. We’ve had to overcome many hurdles, but at the end of the day, we feel very lucky that we have this business together and wouldn’t want it any other way. Both of our parents have helped out in various ways over the years as well, and his currently sew beanies in bulk to help keep our inventory stocked… even our kids will get in on the action every once in a while. We always talk about them taking over the company some day and how cool that would be. Overall, I’d say working with your family probably isn’t for everyone – but it is the best case scenario for us and we love it!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I had worked in the restaurant industry since I was 16, but after having two boys just 13 months apart, we decided it would be best for me to take a break and just be a “full time mom”. Turns out, not working really wasn’t my thing and when my mother-in-law dropped off a box of craft supplies and suggested I open an Etsy shop, I figured I’d at least give it a shot. After experimenting with a few products, beanies were the ones that people seemed the most excited about – so that’s what I decided to focus on. We live in Arizona and my boys run hot, so even in the winter they never really “needed” a beanie, but I’ve always liked how they looked on, so I decided to make a “lightweight” beanie that they could wear, more for style than keeping warm. That’s really how Noxx was born. My husband left his job to come work with me full time and we’ve been making beanies ever since. Everything is done in house from start to finish. We cut, sew and ship everything ourselves (with the help of some family and friends). Aside from making a thinner, more lightweight version of the classic beanie, I think the main way we’re different than similar companies is we genuinely care about our customers on a core level. No matter how big we’ve gotten, I have always tried to remember and acknowledge our repeat customers or those whose refer their friends to us. If I know someone is ordering a chemo hat, I throw in extra freebies to let them know we’re thinking about them. If something is lost or stolen, we replace it, we’re always going to take care of the customer even if that means we lose out. I focus less on the dollar and more on doing the right thing and I always hope that will pay off in the long run. I’d love for our business to continue to grow so we can support our family and have some financial freedom, but at the end of the day I just feel really lucky that this is my “job” and am really grateful for all the people that continue to support what we do.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The best source of new clients for us has always been referrals. We hear lots of stories about people putting our beanies on their baby at the hospital when they’re born and the whole staff raving about how cute they are. In our VIP group, every once in a while, someone will post a “Noxx in the wild” story, That basically means they were out in public and saw someone they didn’t know wearing one of our beanies. Usually this results in them chatting with said stranger about the brand and maybe even making a new friend. (Fun fact, the first “Noxx in the wild” I ever saw personally was at Costco, and now that customer works for me!) Referrals are so amazing because they’re free and they’re *genuine* and that’s better than any ad you could ever buy.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
We have a VIP group on Facebook and that’s one way I like to connect with customers on a personal level. I also run all of our social media pages and answer our emails, so when a customer reaches out they’re talking to me – the owner of the brand and not just a customer service agent or bot. Aside from that, when I recognize a repeat customer I’ll try to write a little note on their invoice or throw in a freebie with their package every once in a while. We do several shop-credit giveaways a year and also randomly giveaway prizes to our most active followers just because. I think being aware of the fact that your loyal customers are really the ones driving your business (not you) and giving back to those people that have helped make your business a success is so important and something that I’ll always continue to do no matter what.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rocknoxx.com
- Instagram: @noxxaz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noxxaz
- TikTok: @noxxbeanieco