Eric Steffen
April, 2025
Eleven years ago, I started my business with an idea, a couple sewing machines, and not much else. No clear roadmap. No guarantees. Just a belief that if I stuck with it long enough, something good would happen.
This year marks 11 years. We'll be celebrating my business anniversary—and my expanded workshop—on Saturday, May 3rd from 2-5pm. Swing by and say hello!
In the spirit of honest reflection, here are 10 + 1 things I’ve learned along the way.
1. Mastering a craft takes time.
There are no shortcuts. You can have talent and deep pockets—but the only thing that builds skill is time + application. Progress takes repetition, mistakes, small breakthroughs, and starting over. The better I get, the more I realize how far there is to go.
2. Price is determined by demand, not cost.
It doesn’t matter how much something costs to make—if people don’t want it, it’s overpriced. In a business, price is how you moderate demand. Higher prices are your reward for work well done and a story well told. Your job is to create something people feel something for.
3. Scrappiness is a superpower.
When you begin, you have to spend as little as possible. Unless you have deep pockets to begin with, your first goal is to survive. Don’t romanticize “starting up”—just keep it lean and stick around long enough to get good.
4. Stay close to your customer.
They will tell you what they want—directly or indirectly. Learn to listen. Your success lives in that space between what you want to make and what they’re actually looking for.
5. Growth happens when you’re not looking.
The biggest leaps always seem to come when your head is down, doing the work. It’s not about chasing every opportunity—it’s about showing up consistently enough for opportunities to find you.
6. Entrepreneurship is where business meets art.
Art is inspired from within. Business is driven from without. Entrepreneurship creates space for both.
7. There are two speeds: forward and stop.
Business will always feel like it’s moving too slow. But if you’re still moving—even just a little—then you're doing alright. Momentum compounds.
8. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Build a great product. Develop a cohesive strategy. Surround yourself with great people, and get out of the way.
9. A business is an idea, wrapped in a product, wrapped in a story.
When I started my business I had an idea to treat people better. I knew I had to wrap that idea in a product, which is custom jeans. And I discovered that I needed to wrap the product in a story. Customers will like a story, buy a product and resonate with an idea.
10. The reward are the lessons you learn along the way.
It's the lessons you learn between the valleys and peeks that give the journey its meaning. If you don’t love the process, it’s going to be a rough ride.
+1: You never really feel like you’ve made it.
Over every mountain peak lies another mountain. And even when you become the richest person in the world, you still feel the need to build a rocket company and try to take over outer space.
To everyone who’s supported this business over the last 11 years—thank you. You’ve helped turn an idea into something real. Here’s to what comes next.