.Manly Bands is a direct-to-consumer seller of guys's rings. The company introduced in 2016 after John Ruggiero, the founder along with his spouse Michelle, couldn't discover a suitable wedding event band.This is actually Ruggiero's 2nd appeal on the podcast. In April 2021, our team explained the provider's founding, distinct band components, and also extra. Ever since, Manly Bands has gotten its producer. The making of bands from, say, Jack Daniel's scotch gun barrels or even Fender guitar strings makes powerful online video, mentions Ruggiero, ideal for storytelling on social networking sites and also somewhere else.The entire sound of our discussion is actually embedded below. The transcript is edited for size as well as clarity.Eric Bandholz: Give our company a review of what you perform.John Ruggiero: My better half, Michelle, and also I started an online ring business called Manly Bands in 2016 to resolve a trouble of wedding event bands for males. We were only married. I have huge hands as well as could not locate a band that I liked that was certainly not overpriced. My alternatives were actually ordering coming from a magazine or even having one thing customized.I found yourself buying from a website. The ring got there in a standard mailer, without any container or customer service. It was actually an awful adventure through today's ecommerce specifications.Our experts got wed, relocated to Florida, as well as required a task. Our team told ourselves, "Our experts're both entrepreneurs. Why don't we generate our personal organization?" Our experts talked about the types of issues our team 'd seen and also just how to address them. My band expertise showed up, and our team decided to attempt to address it for various other men.Our target when our team began was to spend rent. We assumed creating a pair thousand bucks a month from this will be excellent. Our company considered it a lifestyle organization, not high-growth. It was actually simply Michelle as well as me in our garage making bands and also sending all of them bent on customers. Our team had actually appealed something. Our notification reverberated along with leads.Michelle and I create a superb crew. I think of tips, as well as she's the implementer. A ton of our excellence heads to her creative thoughts. She names the bands as well as establishes personas. She attaches the bands to clients. Defining a band only as "eight-millimeter dark" really did not suffice.We made bands from unique components, such as Port Daniel's gun barrels or unique steels. Business took off. Ever since, we have actually developed significantly. Our team right now have more than 55 folks in the Manly Bands loved ones. About one-half of those are actually band craftsmens that operate in our lately gotten production outlet in Utah.Bandholz: When did you obtain a supplier?Ruggiero: About a year and also a half ago. Our experts had actually been their client for many years, so we understood all of them effectively. The majority of their service was actually wholesale, which failed to passion our company-- heading to mom-and-pop jewelry experts. They kept their wholesale customers and also trademark name. Our experts obtained several of their assets as well as took over workers.Bringing on a manufacturing team has been just one of the most effective things our experts've performed. It is actually been actually amazing to walk out there and view all of them bring in bands out of Fender guitar cords or even metal coming from an M1 Abrams storage tank.Bandholz: How carries out internal manufacturing effect advertising and marketing?Ruggiero: It's been massive. Taking an electronic camera to the opposite side of the office and also recording the crew utilizing lathes to cut the steel rods or scotch gun barrels into bands creates incredible video. Our company have our video camera workers out there constantly. Our team use that footage on our social media and in our advertisements and also newsletters. We make an effort to ensure that due to the fact that many providers in the males's band area do not produce. They drop ship or order coming from abroad and afterwards deliver it out. However our company desire it to last a life time and be actually something people can take satisfaction in.Our team have actually possessed a ton of success along with our military culture collection, where we source one-of-a-kind military products. We have the M1 Garand rifle stock, the lumber component, coming from World War I. Viewing our crew put that in the turret and also reduced an item out for a ring is actually interesting.Our advertising and marketing for those bands talks about the background, the soldiers, where the item was actually utilized, and also things like that. My wife and also I analyzed filmmaking in college. Our company use our abilities to inform and also narrate. For instance, I recently received an email coming from a client who shared that his gramps made use of to steer M1 tanks. The customer gifted among those rings to his grandfather, and also they had rather a mental swap. It's nice to help clients connect with their past and produce something significant.Bandholz: Where can folks purchase a ring from you?Ruggiero: ManlyBands.com. Our experts possess pictures on Instagram, too. I get on Twitter and also LinkedIn.