We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Hurt. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.
Alright, Kelly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?
Family business is something that we never thought would pertain to our family. Owning our business has given us many new adventures and opportunities since Shut The Front Door KC was thought of. Our family business has allowed us to spend more time with our children since we work out of our home. Our children have learned what entrepreneurship is all about. It has allowed us to establish many wonderful relationships with customers that become our friends! It makes us feel that we are giving back to the community and becoming involved with the community by providing unique products to support local schools, sports teams and other small businesses. It has been a family business from the start, and we hope that it continues for many years to come.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
In 2017, husband and wife team Brian and Kelly Hurt wanted to start unique, fun business using their own hobbies, talents and interests for inspiration. They were not sure exactly what they wanted to do, but it had to be something that would work with their busy family of 5. It was a family road trip to visit friends in St. Louis that sparked the original idea to start Shut the Front Door KC. The friends had a custom made, laser cut wooden sign with their last name hanging in their living room. She had ordered the name sign along with a group of friends, then painted it herself when the group got together for drinks and snacks while have a sign painting party. Creating custom wooden signs fulfilled Brian’s passion for woodworking and interests in laser cutting machines, and Kelly’s passion for being creative with arts/crafts, decorating and getting together with friends! On the drive home Brian and Kelly developed their business plan and brainstormed ideas to make it work. With Kelly working full time as a Registered Nurse and Brian working full time as a project manager, they didn’t know how much time they would have to invest in a startup business.
Their growth over the next few years was fast and exciting. Their laser cutting side hustle was growing into a brand that people knew and loved. Kelly would attend the paint parties in the evening after work. Brian continued his full-time job while prepping signs in the evening. Together they were raising their 3
children Anna, Connor and Vivian.
Demand for finished door signs, engraved bottles, ornaments, and custom requests continued to grow. To keep up with demand, Shut the Front Door KC had to add new equipment to cut larger and faster, and add the ability to apply full color directly onto wooden signs. They continue to operate out of their home, where their kids, friends, and neighbors have been some of the best assistants! New equipment and processes allow them to create one of a kind front door signs, ornaments, engraved cups and bottles, small business logo signs, and other custom projects. Their products can now be found at Urban Edge, a clothing and décor boutique store in Kearney, and on Facebook or at ShutTheFrontDoorKC.com. They also participate in festivals and vendor events like Parkville Day’s, Liberty Fall Fest, and The Holiday Boutique in Overland Park and many pop ups with local businesses! They love representing their city with unique KC and local school designs as well as many promotional items.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Time was starting to run thin between two full time careers, doctor appointments, sports practices and the general chaos of raising kids, and operating a growing business. Time became a limiting factor, and a tough decision had to be made. In December 2018 Kelly made the choice to step down from full time nursing to PRN to have more family time. The extra time would also allow Kelly to learn how to do design work and operate the laser equipment, and push Shut the Front Door KC to the next level.
Fast forward to 2020, when Covid shut down the world. Like so many other parents, Kelly was promoted to homeschool teacher in addition to running Shut the Front Door KC during an unprecedented time. Lockdowns and social distancing lead to bored kids at home after exhausting every activity, puzzle, game, coloring book, and a few gallons of bubbles. Kelly used her new design and maker skills to create simple projects for her kids to paint, and soon those projects turned into DIY kits for sale! Door hangers for kid’s rooms, wooden ornaments, yard stakes, coloring Easter eggs – you name it, we made it! DIY kits became very popular as so many people were looking for a new activity to try. Their business continued to grow through Covid with the help of their community, friends and family sharing all of their completed projects on social media.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
We found a local facility where we could learn to use different machines and create custom signs after our day jobs. In November 2017, Kelly hosted their first sign painting party in their own home with family and friends. The sign painting party was a hit, and they knew this idea would work! Painting parties soon took off like wildfire! Ladies would book a custom sign painting party with family and friends and have a great time. These parties opened the door for kids painting parties, new ideas and the start of custom orders. In the beginning, Brian would do the designing, cutting and prepping of each sign, while Kelly would handle the ordering, party planning and attending each party. Their goal of inspiring people to use their creative minds and having fun with their friends was working! As demand grew, going to a separate facility every day and missing out on family time became unmanageable, so they purchased their own equipment and turned their basement into a workshop space. Shut the Front Door KC was growing into a recognized brand for fun kids painting parties and girls’ night out that got women and kids excited to create something new!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shutthefrontdoorkc.com
- Instagram: @shutthefrontdoorkc
- Facebook: @shutthefrontdoorkc