We were lucky to catch up with Daniel Wawrzyniak recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Daniel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
The idea behind our business was easy- we are lifelong anglers who love to fish, and wanted to turn that passion into something. What that “something” was is a different story. During COVID, with the world shut down, we wanted to do something that not only challenged us, but helped us connect with each other( being brothers Dan and Andy), as well as the world during that weird time. Fishing just happened to be the most logical segway for us- we knew it, we loved it, and wanted to dive into that industry further. At first, we played around with the idea of a podcast. Along our search, we started seeing other things out in web, and happened to stumble upon bait making. This piqued our interest. Something fishing related. Check. Something that would challenge us. Check. Already having some key connections/leads in the fishing realm. Check, As my brother and I started doing more and more research, talking to other bait makers, and compiling all the necessary requirements, BIGG Mouth Fishing was starting to come together. We realized very quickly that in addition to creating a physical product, the BRAND was a product as well. So we had to run the business as two separate ideas working together to accomplish the same goal. The first part is creating a high level finished product. We went into this business knowing that we are not revolutionizing the fishing industry. We are not creating a new product or reinventing the wheel. What we are doing, is creating a high level product that can only be done with quality materials. What separates us from other bait makers is that we do not cut corners or lessen our quality with cheaper materials. We believe that our anglers deserve a quality product for a fair price, an aspect of the industry that is missing. Anglers are either paying top dollar for a product or paying for a cheap product that doesn’t last. So what makes us different? The second part of our business is the BRAND- the ability to promote our products, interact with anglers, create content they can interact with and more. When you interact with our company, there is only the two of us. If an angler attempts to contact a company( if they even provide a response that is not computer generated), who are they really talking to? When you interact with us, you are talking to the marketing team, the design team, the bait makers, the accountants, etc. This interaction is something we provide to our anglers that other store brands cannot. Put those two parts together- and you are getting high quality products with the service of a small, family owned business. The best of both worlds.
Daniel, 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?
As stated before, we are anglers first, and businessmen second. Now this does not mean we do not want our business to be successful. It means that at our core, we believe in providing for our anglers rather than our bottom line. It seems that making baits almost comes second to the research we do in products, materials we use, colors, trends, pricing, connections in the industry. Our belief lies in the idea of a quality product speaking for itself. Anglers are extremely observant, and pick up on the smallest differences, nuances, and aspects of what makes a lure great or unsuccessful. From the molds we choose, our packaging, our marketing, we make it our goal to work with other US based companies who also care about quality. At times, we have to make changes, have to think outside the box, and have to listen to our anglers on what they are noticing. Being two brothers who work different 9-5 jobs, we are extremely proud that we have been able to build this Brand into a successful, and profitable, business in less than 3 years. We also understand that does not happen without our anglers. The biggest obstacle to small business( in our opinion) is exposure. How do you get others to see, and try, your product? We are extremely thankful to our anglers who support our vision and share this with others. At the end of the day, it is our goal to help anglers catch fish and leave the fishing industry in a better place.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
So we do manufacture our own product, ad we learned along the way that you need to have goals put in place for what you want to accomplish, and take steps with that goal in mind. Now, at times, you might have to move backwards in the short term to move forward in the long term. We learned that not every choice will be a winner. This has taught us to focus on what is working, and perfecting that while fixing other problems in the background. As long as what you are doing is taking steps to that final goal, you will always be improving. For us, we wanted to create the best product possible for a fair price. That means we wanted to ramp up our production at a level that still promotes growth without sacrificing quality. There have been times when we have to tell customers, “No we can’t do that” Other times, we force ourselves to look into what customers are asking for and learn, “Yes, that is possible.” Overall, having that big picture goal really helps us when considering manufacturing ourselves.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
For us, its constantly being online and creating genuine relationships with anglers. Asking them what they like, listening to their stories, and taking feedback all play into our product and what we provide our anglers. When you make connections, you are no longer just a business trying to make a sale, but a brand that cares about the success of it’s followers. Taking the time on social media, at events, and other interactions really helps us promote our genuine desire to be connected with our anglers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.biggmouthfishing.com
- Instagram: biggmouthfishing
- Facebook: biggmouthfishing
Image Credits
Dr_Photography17