.Manly Bands is actually a direct-to-consumer homeowner of men's bands. The firm released in 2016 after John Ruggiero, the co-founder along with his wife Michelle, could not find an ideal wedding ceremony band.This is Ruggiero's second appearance on the podcast. In April 2021, we talked about the business's starting, special ring components, as well as even more. Since then, Manly Bands has acquired its own producer. The making of bands coming from, point out, Jack Daniel's bourbon gun barrels or even Fender guitar strands generates engaging online video, says Ruggiero, excellent for narration on social media sites and also somewhere else.The entire sound of our discussion is actually embedded listed below. The records is modified for length and also clarity.Eric Bandholz: Give our team a review of what you perform.John Ruggiero: My spouse, Michelle, and I began an internet ring business referred to as Manly Bands in 2016 to solve a problem of wedding celebration bands for men. Our company were only wed. I possess sizable fingers as well as could not locate a band that I suched as that was certainly not overpriced. My possibilities were ordering from a magazine or having something custom-made.I wound up purchasing from an internet site. The band got there in a flat mailer, with no box or even customer care. It was actually a terrible adventure by today's ecommerce standards.Our experts obtained married, moved to Florida, as well as needed to have a task. Our team informed our own selves, "We are actually both entrepreneurs. Why do not we generate our own business?" Our team covered the kinds of issues our team 'd viewed as well as exactly how to solve them. My band expertise arised, and also our team decided to make an effort to fix it for various other men.Our objective when we began was actually to pay for rental fee. Our company thought creating a couple many thousand dollars a month from this would certainly be actually excellent. Our experts considered it a way of life service, certainly not high-growth. It was actually simply Michelle and also me in our garage designing bands as well as sending all of them bent on clients. We had hit on something. Our notification resonated with potential customers.Michelle as well as I create an outstanding team. I think of tips, and she's the implementer. A considerable amount of our success goes to her creative thoughts. She titles the bands as well as develops people. She connects the rings to clients. Illustrating a band exclusively as "eight-millimeter dark" failed to suffice.Our experts created rings coming from one-of-a-kind products, such as Port Daniel's gun barrels or unique steels. Your business removed. Since then, our team have actually expanded drastically. Our experts right now have over 55 individuals in the Manly Bands family. About one-half of those are ring craftsmens who work in our lately gotten production shop in Utah.Bandholz: When did you acquire a supplier?Ruggiero: Concerning a year and a fifty percent earlier. Our experts had actually been their customer for years, so we understood them well. Most of their service was wholesale, which failed to passion us-- visiting mom-and-pop jewelers. They kept their retail consumers and brand name. Our team got some of their possessions and also carried over workers.Prompting a production team has actually been just one of the most ideal points our experts have actually carried out. It is actually been actually incredible to walk out certainly there and also view them bring in bands out of Fender guitar strands or even metal coming from an M1 Abrams tank.Bandholz: Just how does internal production influence advertising?Ruggiero: It is actually been actually substantial. Taking an electronic camera to the opposite of the workplace and recording the staff utilizing turrets to cut the steel poles or even whiskey barrels right into bands produces awesome online video. Our team possess our electronic camera team out there at all times. Our team use that footage on our social media sites as well as in our ads and also email lists. Our team make an effort to advertise that because most companies in the males's band space don't make. They drop ship or even purchase coming from overseas and afterwards ship it out. However our experts want it to last a life time and also be something individuals can take satisfaction in.We've possessed a lot of effectiveness with our armed forces heritage selection, where our team source unique army materials. We have the M1 Garand rifle supply, the lumber part, coming from World War I. Seeing our staff put that in the lathe and also cut an item out for a band is amazing.Our advertising for those bands talks about the record, the soldiers, where the item was actually used, and factors like that. My better half as well as I analyzed filmmaking in college. Our experts utilize our capabilities to teach and also tell a story. For example, I recently acquired an email coming from a consumer who shared that his grandpa utilized to steer M1 storage tanks. The client talented among those bands to his grandfather, as well as they had quite an emotional substitution. It's nice to help clients get in touch with their past times and create something meaningful.Bandholz: Where can folks purchase a band coming from you?Ruggiero: ManlyBands.com. We have pictures on Instagram, also. I get on Twitter as well as LinkedIn.