.Manly Bands is a direct-to-consumer vendor of men's bands. The firm introduced in 2016 after John Ruggiero, the co-founder with his better half Michelle, could not discover an appropriate wedding celebration band.This is Ruggiero's 2nd look on the podcast. In April 2021, we talked about the company's starting, distinct band components, and also even more. Ever since, Manly Bands has actually obtained its manufacturer. The creation of bands coming from, say, Port Daniel's whiskey barrels or Fender guitar strings generates powerful video, mentions Ruggiero, best for storytelling on social media and in other places.The whole sound of our talk is inserted below. The transcript is edited for duration as well as quality.Eric Bandholz: Offer our team a run-through of what you perform.John Ruggiero: My other half, Michelle, as well as I started an on the internet ring company referred to as Manly Bands in 2016 to resolve a trouble of wedding celebration bands for males. Our team were actually only gotten married to. I possess huge fingers and could not find a ring that I liked that was actually certainly not overpriced. My possibilities were actually buying coming from a directory or possessing something personalized.I ended up acquiring from a site. The band got here in a level mailer, with no box or customer care. It was actually a horrendous adventure by today's ecommerce standards.Our experts obtained married, moved to Fla, and required a work. We told ourselves, "Our company're each entrepreneurs. Why do not we generate our very own business?" We explained the forms of troubles we would certainly observed as well as just how to solve all of them. My ring experience showed up, as well as our experts chose to make an effort to handle it for various other fellas.Our objective when our company started was to pay out rental payment. Our team thought creating a pair 1000 dollars a month coming from this will be actually fantastic. Our experts considered it a way of living service, not high-growth. It was actually simply Michelle and also me in our garage making bands as well as sending all of them out to consumers. We had actually appealed one thing. Our notification sounded with prospects.Michelle as well as I create an excellent crew. I produce concepts, and also she's the implementer. A great deal of our excellence heads to her innovative thoughts. She labels the rings and builds characters. She hooks up the rings to customers. Illustrating a ring entirely as "eight-millimeter dark" really did not cut it.Our experts designed rings coming from special products, such as Jack Daniel's gun barrels or even unique metals. The business removed. Since then, our company have actually expanded considerably. Our company now have over 55 people in the Manly Bands loved ones. Regarding one-half of those are actually band artisans who operate in our lately acquired manufacturing outlet in Utah.Bandholz: When performed you obtain a manufacturer?Ruggiero: About a year as well as a half ago. Our company had been their customer for years, so we knew them properly. A lot of their business was actually retail, which really did not passion us-- heading to mom-and-pop jewelers. They retained their retail clients and trademark name. Our team got a few of their resources as well as delivered over employees.Bringing on a manufacturing team has actually been among the greatest things our team've done. It is actually been unbelievable to go out certainly there as well as enjoy them create bands out of Fender guitar strands or even metallic from an M1 Abrams container.Bandholz: Just how does in-house manufacturing effect advertising and marketing?Ruggiero: It's been big. Taking a video camera to the opposite side of the office and also recording the group making use of lathes to reduce the metallic rods or even scotch barrels right into rings produces incredible online video. Our company possess our camera crew around regularly. Our team utilize that video footage on our social media as well as in our adds and newsletters. Our company attempt to market that given that a lot of firms in the males's ring room do not create. They lose ship or even purchase coming from abroad and after that transport it out. However we want it to last a life time and be actually one thing folks can take pleasure in.Our company have actually possessed a bunch of results with our armed forces heritage assortment, where we resource distinct army materials. Our team have the M1 Garand rifle sell, the lumber component, from War of the nations I. Seeing our group put that in the lathe and also reduced a piece out for a ring is actually intriguing.Our advertising for those rings refer to the background, the soldiers, where the item was actually used, and also things like that. My spouse and I examined filmmaking in college. We utilize our skills to enlighten and also narrate. For instance, I lately acquired an e-mail coming from a consumer who shared that his grandfather made use of to drive M1 containers. The consumer blessed some of those bands to his gramps, and also they possessed quite an emotional swap. It behaves to help clients connect with their past and create one thing significant.Bandholz: Where can folks buy a ring from you?Ruggiero: ManlyBands.com. Our company have pictures on Instagram, also. I'm on Twitter as well as LinkedIn.