We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caleb and Madison Kroll a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Caleb and Madison, appreciate you joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?
Our business known as Rustic Pine Lettering LLC “officially” started in August of 2022. We actually just recently celebrated one year of running our small business! Prior to Rustic Pine Lettering LLC- we both have always been crafty- hands on individuals. Our creative minds are always coming up with new ideas. Whether it’s our own idea- or a special request from someone else. We are always open to bringing new ideas to life! It all mostly began with a single Cricut machine, and family requests for gifts- but within just a single year it turned into something much bigger. We quickly found our talents could be used on a larger scale!
We feel as if we started introducing our talents as a business at the perfect time! Not too early- but also not too late. Giving ourselves room and time to expand and grow at our own pace! Starting our business later in life could have been beneficial though- we could have introduced ourselves with even newer talents, material, etc. But, the small business community has shown us that everyone grows and expands at their own choosing. Which makes us feel that August of 2022 was a perfect time. We always have the ability to change and upgrade things in our business as we go!
Caleb and Madison, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We are Caleb and Madison! The proud owners of Rustic Pine Lettering LLC. A couple owned business since August 2022. The two of us have always been avid artisans. We strive to create unique handmade items! Our business started with one single Cricut machine- doing tons of custom vinyl decal requests! In a matter of two years, we have creatively branched out to woodworking, laser cutting, and much more. Creating a wide variety of products- that is still continuing to grow to this very day!
We are a product/service business offering unique vinyl work, home decor, gifts, wood projects, beeswax candles, keepsakes, and much more! We are a Rustic/Minimalist themed business- which is sometimes more eye-catching! We try to upkeep on the current trends of products which helps bring returning and new customers!
We are most proud of building our business. We did it together, completely from scratch! With what was at first just a simple hobby we enjoyed doing together- to a small business that continues to grow to this very day! It’s not always easy- but the challenges are what makes it stronger!
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
We are a couple-owned small business! We met back in 2020 and have been inseparable since! We both quickly found that we shared the same hobby of hands-on crafting, and it’s worked out perfect ever since! We have learned how to operate a business together, and we still are learning to this day! Each one of us have our own unique talents within the business that just make us the perfect fit! Our “roles” are each different, and that is part of what makes our business thrive! Its the perfect mix of uniqueness within us, that has helped us become wonderful small business owners!
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
Yes, we have our own website that we generate sales from, but to this day our Etsy Shop has been or biggest profit! We’re sure that everyone has heard more cons than pros to selling on Etsy, but the technique isn’t always best suited for everyone- and that’s perfectly okay! Within our very first month of designing and activating our Etsy Shop, sales took off right away! We have been shipping all over the United States since last September, and the process has been fantastic! We have had an excellent experience with Etsy, and we strive to have great customer service and shipping! Etsy is very unique with handmade items, and we love being able to offer them to people all over the United States.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rusticpineletteringllc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rusticpineletteringllc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rusticpineletteringllc
Image Credits
Featured Photo: Cedar Hallow Photography- Kara Headrick