Sumita & Anuj Patel A Couple of Influence

Now Anuj has always been a DIY kind of guy, so he went to work using books they already had and produced a beautiful set – not just rivaling but surpassing the ones Sumita had bought.

Sumita was impressed. And being the social media maven she was, Sumita knew these were a very hot retail item and thought, “Let’s put them on Facebook, in the marketplace, and see if anyone would like a set.” Two to three days and 50 orders later, it appeared they had discovered a need and started filling it. And that is how Home Bound Custom Decor launched!

That was July 2019. Within six months, that business had increased so much that they could no longer use the simple Google solutions they had been using to keep the operation organized. They went from meeting people in parking lots to having porch pickups to starting to ship. They needed to up their game so orders could be placed and paid for online, streamlining their processes. After some research, they chose Shopify and have been running the online business end of things that way ever since.

Even though their customers loved the books, came back, and ordered more for friends and relatives, baby showers, and weddings, they knew they needed to expand their offerings to take advantage of the following they had built. So, after some research, they found the Glowforge, and from July 2020, they began offering cutting boards to their product line, which was the Glowforge’s only job. Little did they this was going to actually lead them!

It was 2020, and online shopping was holiday sales. By November, they were Glowforge Pro so that they had a backup a week, so even though the first machine missed a beat and had tremendous sales Then, again in January, with the momentum added a third Glowforge Pro into their they know at the time where was where the action was for were ordering their second backup plan. It arrived within machine went down, they never sales for the holiday season. momentum continuing, they production capacity. moved operations from the bedroom, then to garage to keep up. grasp what made came to Sumita get a commercial things that creates is that each has Sumita handles the product side of things, the operations ideas into viable while she was caught a bit off guard, to have the issue expansion. and searched the when he found the Aeon line of Facebook groups part certainly found a strong talking with her, researching their machines in May became affiliates in January for the production of rotary finally moved into a warehouse they have added a Nova 14 and

By this time, they had moved kitchen to the spare bedroom, the basement and garage Finally, stepping back to grasp production sense, Anuj came and said it was time to get laser. Now one of the things strength in their business their own wheelhouse: Sumita marketing and new product while Anuj tackles and turns her ideas products. So initially caught she trusted him to in hand and fully supported this expansion.

Anuj researched all kinds of lasers and FB groups for information. That was Emily, That Mom With a Laser, and the lasers. While they consider the Facebook of their mentoring team, they certainly champion for success in Emily. After talking meeting her in person, and thoroughly researching options, they added a Mira 9 to their machines 2021.

They loved their Aeon experience and became 2022. They added a Mira 7 solely for products in their lineup when they finally in March of 2022. And since then, they an employee into their business!

They moved operations into the warehouse not only for space and capacity but also because Sumita and Anuj were about to become parents. Their first child was due and their goal was to have the business outside of their home before he arrived. They met the deadline. Milan made his appearance in May 2021, and there was now a clear delineation between work time and family time. Where it had been easy to slip off into the basement and work all hours, now it was about organizing and structuring their time so as not to be consumed by the business.

And while all this was going on, they both still had (and have) their corporate careers. Sumita is an attorney for a large corporation on the real estate side of things, and Anuj is in sales. Moreover, both have the good fortune to work from home, which has allowed them to take advantage of the momentum of Home Bound Custom Decor.

And why else did they need the capacity they were investing in? They had strategized and begun to build a wholesale element into their business. They started growing this branch of the business because a retailer reached out through Instagram. They were a photographer and had retail space within their studio. They wanted to offer the books they had seen in Home Bound Custom Decor’s feed. This gave the couple the nudge to find other storefronts that might also want