Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cassidy and Micah Rude. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cassidy and Micah, appreciate you joining us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

First, it needs to be said that we are a small family business and that some would look at our idea of scaling up and ask, “So, when are you going to start?” The goal of growth has not been to impress or grow for growth’s sake but rather to make better use of our precious time as we run our business from our home. We started making beeswax wraps in December of 2018. We were given the idea and the know-how from Micah’s sister. Beeswax wraps are a reusable alternative to plastic wrap – cotton fabric coated with a mixture of beeswax, pine resin (for stickiness), and jojoba oil (for flexibility). We would heat the mixture in a crockpot and then brush the mixture onto a square of fabric on a pancake griddle. Our best seller is our Starter Set – a 3 pack of different sized wraps. We could wax 50 sets out of one crockpot of wax. That means 150 individually waxed pieces, brushed and hung up by clothespins for at least 12 hours. So, with schedules and such, we could do roughly one batch a day. Setting up and tearing down the station in our basement after each session. It is not hard work but it is sticky and we were trying to keep the stickiness contained. But the demand was stronger so we started our slow-moving process of growth. First, more clothespins and clothesline to hold enough for a double batch each night. Then, moving into a new room where we didn’t need to set up and tear down for each batch. Then a slightly larger griddle that could hold a whopping two squares at a time! This griddle also had a terrible thermometer and would go from too hot to too cold constantly and we had to always be adjusting the temperature. But it was much faster. We’ll add that throughout this time, the initial cutting, ironing, and lint-rolling of the fabric was Micah’s duty. But the waxing required both of us. This meant waiting until our three (now four) kids were asleep and then starting right up each night during busy seasons. Or, if we are honest, plenty more screen time for them than we would have chosen so we could get a jump start on the batch. There had to be a better way. What came next was one of the best things that could have happened – our biggest failure. Micah started thinking of a way to make more at a time. We were constrained by our small bedroom-sized room and a desire spend as little money as possible. This led to ball bearings, cutting edges off of the griddle, and long strips of fabric pulled across the griddle and then cut into individual squares the next day. It did not work. The pieces were not waxed evenly and we ended up having to cut them and re-wax the individual pieces just as before. So, if pulling the pieces across the griddle did not work, maybe we needed a big enough griddle to hold a large piece of fabric. Back to measuring and dancing through the room pretending we were holding large sheets of fabric to see the maximum size we thought we could handle. What we ended up with, after some design and welding help from a friend, is a roughly six foot by four foot griddle where we can wax large sheets of fabric at a time, hanging on a new permanent sliding system still equipped with clothespins. We can now do four batches in the time it took to do one, with time saved in the other steps as well. This is not factory-sized growth but has made an enormous difference in our time together as a family – even in busy seasons. Plus, our products are handmade and we are not looking for a factory anyway.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We live on a beautiful lake in northern Minnesota and want to do our small part in keeping all shores plastic-free. To this end, we started making beeswax wraps in 2018 as an alternative to single use plastic wrap. Since then we’ve added pottery to the mix, creating pieces designed to last a lifetime. In our products, process, and packaging, we strive to think creatively to reduce waste, put time and intention into each item, and create products we think will help you to use less plastic. For our beeswax wraps, one area that sets us apart from other companies is our wide selection of patterns. We make them in small batches using designer fabrics that change over often and keep your fridge and countertop looking beautiful.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

We do a mix of retailing our products through our website or craft shows and wholesaling to kitchen, grocery, boutique, or general stores. We have tried reaching out to stores directly but, as you would imagine, hearing from us about our great products does not really move the needle for them. However, hearing from their customers who have purchased one of our items online or at a show has been the largest source of stores reaching out to carry our products.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

We sell our products through our own website, hosted by Wix, on Etsy, and through Faire, a wholesale marketplace. Initially, we started only with our website. Based on the sales we thought we would make, it was cheaper to pay the monthly website fee than sell through Etsy which takes a percentage of each sale. After a couple of years we had a better grasp on the work and decided the more places for people to find our products, the better. So, we added Etsy and later, Faire. Each site has features that work better or worse than the others and we appreciate all of them for the niche they hold. The biggest drawback to selling on multiple platforms is managing inventory across those platforms. There are apps and tools that can help and are something to look into but, as it stands now, we spend much more time than we would like uploading new products and updating inventories.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shorproducts.com
• Instagram: @ShorProducts
• Facebook: @ShorProducts

Image Credits
The family photos are by: Ali Hormann Photography