It sounds easy enough, to get a product that boasts Made in the USA. But it is not! I have found it to be a very arduous process and one that we could not even consider just 2 and a half years ago! The biggest problem we have faced is the minimum order quantities for small companies are outrageous! We can not place orders that are the size of Wal-Mart or our US Governments! Interestingly enough we are further along than we were when we tried it a couple of years ago meaning someone has actually taken our calls.
It is my intent to write about the process of moving our production to the USA. I hope to educate some folks and get some attention to how difficult it is for a small business to survive trying to produce here in the USA. I will talk about everything from funding, or lack there of, to approving the quality of the product before it goes into mass prodcution. I will also talk about being a predominately female run company.
At this point we have received all of our equipment back here in NC. from the Dominican Republic. We are currently talking to 2 different US manufacturers that are excited to work with us and produce smaller quantities for us with all the components being made here in the USA. The "made in the USA" label can be misleading. Some components are actually cut and stitched soemwhere else out of the country and then sent back here to be assembled but can still boast "made in the USA" . Cruiserworks has insisted that all components be cut and stitched domestically.
It is important to work with a company that uses the same high end components that we use in the Cruiserboots and that can provide the stitching quality our customers expect. WE boast our boots last 8-10 years and have seen thousands of examples of this. The stitiching and components must stand up to this claim! We expect to see samples by the end of next week.
We also are looking for funding for the inventory and hope to here good news from a major bank next week. Cruiserworks has shown growth the last 3 years but because we are cash sales have not had good luck in securing a line of credit. The TARP or ARC program put in place for small businesses by the Obama team is a joke. The SBA has not been a whole lot of help either. The financial area is extremely frustrating. If you are not blessed with family money or know someone in the financial business you are going to have nothing but an uphill battle. You will be told "sorry" and "good luck" more than you want to hear! If you do not have a strong belief in your product or you are sensitive to critisim you will never make it! I have been told no since August of 2009 and I refuse to listen to that word!
I am all over the place with this Blog! It is my first. I hope you enjoyed it anyway and you come back!
Cara Crawford
