It was maybe two and a half years ago when photographer and website design whiz, Corey Kruitbosch of i9 Studios and Western Fly Fishing, emailed me that he and his son, Jack, were thinking about starting a website business focused on selling fly fishing stickers.
This sounded like a fun idea and it wasn't too long after that the Fly Slaps website went live. It's been really neat to watch this father and son grow their idea and expand their offerings from decals to artist collaborations to apparel.
There is a handful of kid and teen shop owners in the fly fishing industry and I'm always impressed with the motivation and follow through that they have in building something from an idea. I asked Jack if he'd answer a few questions for this interview and explain a little more what Fly Slaps is all about.
Where did the idea for Fly Slaps come from and what were the steps that it took from it being a conversation to the website going live?
My dad and I were looking for cool fly fishing stickers to buy but we couldn’t find many in one place. We thought it would be a good idea to put them all in one store. So then we decided to make a website. The first thing we did was buy inventory, then we put together a WordPress website.
Fly Slaps turned two years old recently, what have you learned in keeping the business going and how has that shaped the future?
We have learned that the business will be steady and to just keep working at it every day. Ordering inventory is also tricky, you don't want to have too much but you don't want to need to constantly reorder stickers.
Fly Slaps is all about stickers so what all do you have stickers stuck to? What are some of your favorites decals that you sell?
We have stickers on lots of stuff; thermoses, the truck, the cooler, fly rod cases and camera cases.
One of my favorite stickers is the Nate Karnes Elements of Fly Fishing sticker. I also like lots of Tyler Hackett’s stickers and I like his Hookin' Hogs sticker. He also designed some cool Whitefish and Tarpon stickers for FlySlaps too.
It's great that both you and your dad fly fish. Where are some favorite places to go?
We both like to fish on the Weber River when we get a chance. Last year we went fishing in Key West and my dad almost got a Grand Slam but the permit got away.
Fly Slaps is an after school and after work job for you and your dad so how tough is it to manage everything? Who’s responsible for filling orders and getting things into the mail?
It really isn’t very difficult to keep Fly Slaps going but it does take some time to fill orders and get them into the mail. Usually my dad or I will fill the order then the other person will check that order to make sure that it's right before packaging it. Sometimes my mom will fill orders if we're busy.
Once when we were at the post office, the postal worker recognized our envelopes and wondered what they were all for. We gave them some stickers the next time we went in!
Not many teens have the hustle to start a company and keep it going. What's it been like to work on Fly Slaps and is there anything in particular that you've been able to buy because of the website?
I have put a little bit into my car and we have a savings account for college that we add to every month.
Jump over to the Fly Slaps website and look around. Now through the end of the month, use discount code "TFM2020" for 10% off your order.
Follow along with the latest shop news and new products on Facebook and Instagram.
This sounded like a fun idea and it wasn't too long after that the Fly Slaps website went live. It's been really neat to watch this father and son grow their idea and expand their offerings from decals to artist collaborations to apparel.
There is a handful of kid and teen shop owners in the fly fishing industry and I'm always impressed with the motivation and follow through that they have in building something from an idea. I asked Jack if he'd answer a few questions for this interview and explain a little more what Fly Slaps is all about.
Where did the idea for Fly Slaps come from and what were the steps that it took from it being a conversation to the website going live?
My dad and I were looking for cool fly fishing stickers to buy but we couldn’t find many in one place. We thought it would be a good idea to put them all in one store. So then we decided to make a website. The first thing we did was buy inventory, then we put together a WordPress website.
Fly Slaps turned two years old recently, what have you learned in keeping the business going and how has that shaped the future?
We have learned that the business will be steady and to just keep working at it every day. Ordering inventory is also tricky, you don't want to have too much but you don't want to need to constantly reorder stickers.
Fly Slaps is all about stickers so what all do you have stickers stuck to? What are some of your favorites decals that you sell?
We have stickers on lots of stuff; thermoses, the truck, the cooler, fly rod cases and camera cases.
One of my favorite stickers is the Nate Karnes Elements of Fly Fishing sticker. I also like lots of Tyler Hackett’s stickers and I like his Hookin' Hogs sticker. He also designed some cool Whitefish and Tarpon stickers for FlySlaps too.
It's great that both you and your dad fly fish. Where are some favorite places to go?
We both like to fish on the Weber River when we get a chance. Last year we went fishing in Key West and my dad almost got a Grand Slam but the permit got away.
Fly Slaps is an after school and after work job for you and your dad so how tough is it to manage everything? Who’s responsible for filling orders and getting things into the mail?
It really isn’t very difficult to keep Fly Slaps going but it does take some time to fill orders and get them into the mail. Usually my dad or I will fill the order then the other person will check that order to make sure that it's right before packaging it. Sometimes my mom will fill orders if we're busy.
Once when we were at the post office, the postal worker recognized our envelopes and wondered what they were all for. We gave them some stickers the next time we went in!
Not many teens have the hustle to start a company and keep it going. What's it been like to work on Fly Slaps and is there anything in particular that you've been able to buy because of the website?
I have put a little bit into my car and we have a savings account for college that we add to every month.
Jump over to the Fly Slaps website and look around. Now through the end of the month, use discount code "TFM2020" for 10% off your order.
Follow along with the latest shop news and new products on Facebook and Instagram.
