San Antonian Guy Rubio[1] was visiting Maine when he came across a thrift shop that stocked maritime goods, including hand tools.
The tools came to mind a few years later when Rubio and his cousins, Falcon Craft-Rubio and Christian Craft-Rubio[2] , were thinking of launching their own business.
Rubio had noticed a burgeoning interest in handcrafted, American-made goods. By 2011, he and his cousins had settled on making sturdy satchels, briefcases and totes, and launched a firm called Bexar Goods Co.[3]
“We didn't have a background in textiles or leather,” Rubio, 31, said.
But he and his cousins thought “it would be really cool” to make and sell goods that would be suitable for work or in the field, he said.
“We wanted to make something that we ourselves would want to use,” Rubio said. Also, the three, who grew up together and had worked at a local pizza restaurant their family owned, wanted to launch a business they could all be part of.
At the time, Falcon, now 26, was a mountaineering guide in Colorado. His brother, Christian, 29, along with Guy, persuaded Falcon to learn the craft of leatherworking first and then teach them how to do it.
“We said, 'OK, man, we are relying on you to figure it out and teach us,'” Rubio said.
“It was hard to learn,” Falcon said, “and some profit was lost initially because I had to throw a lot away.”
Now, less than three years later, Bexar Goods Co., which makes its products in a Southtown workroom, sells to customers across the country and abroad through its website. In the company's first month, it had about 20 orders. Recently, orders have averaged 60 a month.
Initially, the company gained exposure from blogs and deal-of-the-day sites on the Internet, where it sold items at wholesale prices.
“So our first-year gross sales were pretty significant,” Rubio said, but net income was reduced because of the wholesale selling.
In the last two years, gross sales have grown about 45 percent each year. Net income also has increased because the company has pulled back on selling at wholesale. Now, “we're netting much more on each sale,” Rubio said.
The trio didn't go into debt to start the business, instead using savings for $25,000 in startup costs.
“It's all self-financed,” said Rubio, who has kept his day job as a geologist. “We had a much lower investment cost because we're able to take on all this ourselves,” including designing the company's website.
Bexar Goods touts the fact that its goods are handmade using U.S.-sourced products, including the leather, waxed canvas, solid copper rivets and brass hardware.
While the company sells some smaller goods, such as dog collars and leashes, its backpacks, bags and satchels are the core of the business and fetch the highest prices. Prices range from $135 for a canvas bag to $950 for the top-of-the-line leather satchel.
The company's made-in-USA products appealed to Ronnie Taylor Webb[4] of West Virginia, who purchased a canvas-and-leather tote from Bexar Goods several months ago. He praised the quality of the bag, along with the company's customer service.
“I would email a question and within minutes I'd get an answer back from one of the guys,” Webb said. “From a customer-service standpoint, it was one of the best experiences I've had.”
The next steps for the company, Rubio said, are to move to a larger space and keep finished inventory on hand. Now, there is a wait for most items. The three also want to reduce production time.
But there's no discussion about bringing others into the business.
“We're a three-man team,” Rubio said. “That's what we pride ourselves on.”
References
- ^ Antonian Guy Rubio (www.mysanantonio.com)
- ^ Christian Craft-Rubio (www.mysanantonio.com)
- ^ Bexar Goods Co. (www.mysanantonio.com)
- ^ Ronnie Taylor Webb (www.mysanantonio.com)
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