Today we’d like to introduce you to Anuj and Sumita Patel.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
We got married about five years ago and have both worked corporate jobs since 2014. Never had we imagined starting our own business! DIY projects, home decor, and crafts has always been a passion of ours. Two years ago, we started posting some of the items we were creating for our own home decor on our social media channels to share with friends and family. All of a sudden, we were getting a lot of comments, questions, and messages about creating goods for others to purchase.
Since we were in our early stages of creating unique items and selling, we used to meet local customers at a Whole Foods parking lot to deliver orders. Customers would line up to pick up their orders out of the trunk of our car. There were times people would look at us puzzled after seeing 10-15 people standing in line behind a car in a parking lot. We would meet customers three times a week for pick-up and had designated pick-up days.
It wasn’t until about 2-3 weeks after meeting customers when we realized we could be onto something. From there, we started our social media pages, built our own website, and grew our business organically. What started as local part-time business has now blossomed into a full-time business.
Today we offer around 70+ different personalized custom engraved items. Our product offerings apply to all major life events and occasions – weddings, house warmings, holidays, birthdays, and general gifting. We have shipped to all 50 states, Canada, and even Australia!
Another aspect of our business we recently launched earlier this year is our Small Business 101 Class. Both of us have always believed in community over competition and wanted to share our tips and tricks with others looking to start their own business or grow their existing business. As of today, we have taught over 15 sold-out classes and continue to add more.
We are both big believers in doing good for others. Since our business started, we have made it a priority to give back to those in need. Each year we donate to different charities and organizations, provide complimentary products for charity raffles and giveaways, sponsor children for Christmas, and volunteer in our local community.
Today we both still work our full-time jobs and have three employees who help keep our business running and growing!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We definitely had our challenges and faced a few obstacles along the way of starting our business. A few of the challenges we faced were time management, organization, and work space.
Time Management – Since we work full-time corporate jobs, it was a challenge for us early on to find time to fulfill orders, market our business, participate in trade shows, and just find time for ourselves. We definitely had our fair share of late nights and busy weekends. Today we have dedicated set times and days we run our business which has made things easier for us and a lot more manageable.
Organization – Given our early success, we were buying all sorts of items for our business and storing things wherever we could. Cutting boards, shipping boxes, bubble wrap, business cards, etc. – stuff would be all over the house! We invested in heavy duty shelving, work tables, and storage which has made things much easier to find. We also have an inventory system we use to keep track of the different items we carry.
Work Space – We are a home-based business and we originally started from our kitchen counter. This worked for a few weeks, but we quickly realized we needed a dedicated space for all of our items and machines. We then moved into a spare bedroom in our house which we converted into a “craft room”. Within a few months, we had to move again given the amount of orders we were processing and having hired employees. It was really difficult to conduct business out of the spare bedroom. Space was the biggest challenge for us.
Today we utilize our entire basement and half of our garage to operate our business. We are currently looking for a small office space to move into next year to fully move our business out of our home and to provide us with more room as we continue to grow.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Home Bound Custom Decor is locally owned and operated by a husband and wife team based in Atlanta, GA. We strive to bring our customers unique, hand-crafted, and personalized goods for all occasions.
We specialize in laser engraved goods. We can engrave almost anything! We have engraved cutting boards, trays, tumblers, glass, pencils, leather, and much more.
We strive to offer unique, personalized, and meaningful products. We source quality products and test them first before launching them on our website. No single item is launched before certain criteria is checked off.
What makes you happy?
What makes us happy is working with each other. We love spending each and every minute growing this business and working together with our team. It’s all about the quality time and bonding experience.
Giving back also makes us happy. One of our favorite quotes is “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want.”
In a competitive industry, it’s very easy to abandon the mindset of community over competition that we mentioned earlier. We are passionate about giving back to those in need through our charitable donations.
Giving back and teaching others how to start a small business or grow their small business through our Small Business 101 classes also makes us happy. We want to continue to do good for others in different ways.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@homeboundcustomdecor.com
- Website: https://www.homeboundcustomdecor.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeboundcustomdecor
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/homeboundcustomdecor
