“Surround yourself with people much smarter than you, keep them happy, take care of them, let them know that you see them as important, amazing people, and they will take care of you.” This quote from John Ruggiero, CEO of Manly Bands, formed his ultimate words of advice to anyone looking to grow their company, and wholly encapsulated the means and purpose for having a well-versed, highly motivated team. At first glance, Ruggiero’s secrets to success appear rather clear. Streamlining internal processes, creating interesting, new products, and finding new customers were some of the steps Manly Bands took to grow their reach and profits. No one would fault you for believing that these are simply part of a checklist that anyone can follow to find some type of mythical corporate finish line. Unfortunately, the world is a continuously changing arena of countless ideas, demands, and technologies, that can render even the most intricate and best-laid plans obsolete or counterproductive. The good news is that a robust group of subject matter experts, with the freedom to exercise their knowledge and abilities, is the one pillar for your business that can anticipate and shift with the ebbs and flows of the market. They are a scalpel that can make strategic adjustments, rather than a broadsword based on high-level uncertainty and overreactions. They can find the things you didn’t even know you needed.  If you put the time and care into building that team of professionals, who believe in your business and its culture, they will steer your company away from danger and everyone will reap the benefits of success. Identifying Pain Points, Even the Ones You Didn’t Know You Were Feeling No one person can know everything, and even if they did, there are only so many hours in a day for them to enact their agenda. As Manly Bands grew, the cost of day-to-day operations expanded in kind. At first, Ruggiero thought this was simply the cost of doing business, and paying for additional overhead was a necessary evil. His first instinct was to offset this by pushing for more growth and revenue, which would bring additional expansions in overhead. It was his COO that identified numerous opportunities to trim costs and automate processes, via routine internal audits. From negotiating better shipping rates to opening a 3PL in Canada to save on export duties to implementing smaller, more efficient packaging to save on shipping, the team has continually made strides in mitigating all the various costs for logistics. For workflow technology, IT specialists built new AWS servers off their established Shopify base, running scripts to automate customer notifications. This saved countless customer service manhours and greatly hastened conversion, with final goods often being shipped within the same day. As established social media companies, like Facebook, increased their ad costs, the team found opportunities to save hundreds of thousands a year in advertising expenditures by utilizing alternatives, like Pinterest. After seeing the possibilities for optimization, Ruggiero stated that not applying this lean mindset from the beginning was a missed opportunity. He believed that the bills would just keep getting higher and higher. It was his team that pointed out that money not spent was money made, and there was a lot of low-hanging fruit for increased efficiency. Maximize Your Offerings to Every Single Customer One of the challenges Manly Bands faces is that satisfied customers will not return for future purchases. After all, most people intend to only need one wedding ring in their life. One approach that Manly Bands’ CMO identified was diversifying into products to cater to the entire wedding party. While offering the tried-and-true groomsmen gifts of flasks and shot glasses, Manly Bands is continuously experimenting with new products, such as colognes, watches, axes, and whittling kits. Rings and jewelry for the brides and bridesmaids, through a subsidiary called Rosie Ray, further expanded their reach to the other side of the aisle. They have also encouraged men to see their ring as a fashion accessory, like a watch or tie. This opened the possibility of selling multiple rings to one person. Manly Bands has aligned with this strategy by offering a wide range of rings to fit any occasion or style, including unorthodox construction materials like deer antler and meteorite. As Ruggiero suggested, a silicone band for the gym, a black tungsten band for everyday wear, and a meteorite band with an heirloom aesthetic for date night is just one example of how someone can cater their wedding ring to any situation. This has maximized the potential sales per person, a necessity when marketing to “once in a lifetime” customers. Turn Your Customer’s Habits and Passions Into Sales The other method the team implemented was finding and attracting new customers. In an effort to display their products in unclaimed territory, Ruggiero’s team researched opening a retail store. On the surface, this was a tremendous risk. It was a complete departure from the DTC roots that had served Manly Bands so well. Also, retail was feeling the severe negative impacts of the pandemic. Even Ruggiero was skeptical of its chances for success. Despite the challenges against them, their recently opened store is covering its own expenses and earning profits, a feat rarely achieved by newly opened businesses. It is generating enough traffic, that Ruggiero and his team are looking to expand further into retail. Aside from expanding its own reach, Manly Bands is capitalizing on the reach of existing corporations. Partnering with national and global brands also helped to attract new consumers. Licensing Jack Daniels to use the wood from their aging barrels to make rings was a unique way to attract an avid target audience. A similar agreement was reached with Fender to use guitar wood. DC Comics has granted the use of their logos and characters for Manly Band rings. These are brands that have a dedicated base of customers, who will often buy merchandise above and beyond the original product. It’s not difficult to find someone with a basement or den, decorated with a Jack Daniel’s mirror or a Batman action figure. The subtle and tasteful incorporation of the different construction materials and intellectual properties gives the groom a unique ring, that represents his identity and interests. Through their ingenuity, Ruggiero’s team has been able to leverage the purchasing power of retail customers, as well as market to fresh audiences through the loyalty and appeal commanded by numerous well-known brands. The Team Is Behind the Scenes, so Take Care Not to Forget Them The secrets to success may seem obvious, but you often only see the façade of a final, highly polished solution. Straight mimicry, without guidance or foresight, will only work for so long, if at all. From the outside looking in, you could identify things such as the creation of a new market space, partnerships with major brands, or cutting costs to internal operations as sure-fire keys to success. Believing this is completely normal, as it is easy to find countless examples of businesses reaping the fiscal and reputational benefits. While this is certainly true in the case of Manly Bands, they did make significant achievements in areas that many people overlook. Although streamlining their operations, fielding new products, and partnering with brands like Fender, Jack Daniels, DC Comic, and Major League Baseball certainly made them the powerhouse they are today, it is their team of carefully chosen subject matter experts that made it all possible. Through their abilities and freedom to optimize internal processes, the team at Manly Bands crafted the business into the finely tuned machine it is today. Secrets to success are just that. They are secrets. They are secrets that must be uncovered, researched, and implemented through the collective creativity, knowledge, and skills of a select, diverse and driven team.

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