“Done is better than perfect", Free Belt CEO Interview
Introduce us to your business, how you got the idea, and how you sourced any materials.
Hi, I’m Hannah Park, founder of the company Funhouse Designs and creator of FreeBelt, the belt you can wear without buckles.
Under the motto of “Everyday life matters.”, the company aims to provide lifestyle/household/clothing products that will make positive changes in people’s everyday lives. Freebelt is the company’s first product and we already have the next product’s design almost finished. :)
The Idea
I’m all about simplifying and making life easier. Always on a lookout for life hacks, simple solutions for small things in everyday life, ways to get away with doing less work, and you know, be lazier. :)
So I never really liked belts. My biggest pet peeve was the buckles—I hate buckles. They’re so uncomfortable, bulky and unflattering, and above all, pesky. I hate having to deal with buckles in the busy morning, after I come home and want to jump into sweat pants already, and every time I go to the bathroom.
I saw something of this concept a while ago (was probably children’s), but that product had flaws and didn’t really work. Also I couldn’t find it when I wanted to buy a few more anyway, to make it work myself. I liked the concept so much that I started to make adjustment, hand-sawing and changing parts, and eventually create my own design from scratch. I was very happy and proud of the result. I loved my new belt so much that I never went back to regular buckled belts ever since.
Being not the most business-y person, however, I didn’t really think “Hey, this is something I can market”—It wasn’t my mindset back then. It was more of just whenever I looked at my DIY buckle-free belt, I thought “You know what, I like it so much, I think other people would like it too.” Then I began to think “This should be great for kids. It may even help people who have difficulties using regular belts. Like people with special needs and seniors.”
Starting a business
It was just one day, all of a sudden everything came together and clicked—I saw the business opportunity. My sister loved it and a lot of friends asked me where they can buy it. I thought I could do this myself. The explosive growth of “crowdfunding” must have been a big part of it, I would like to add.
Also, it’s been my dream to do something to support more ethical and sustainable manufacturing—especially in clothing. It bothered me that it’s become so hard to find actually ‘good quality’ clothing item that’s affordable for the mass consumers. It made me anxious that I had no idea where the products I buy came from.
The cost of “cheap/fast fashion” we’re paying and the impact that’s creating—the frustration for subpar quality products, which leads to a huge amount of clothing waste, the downturn of manufacturing industry in the advanced countries, and the unethical practice of third-world sweatshop factories… I’ve been wanting to do something to change that, even a little.
So I decided to bring this DYI item to the mass market, by manufacture them ethically and sustainably, and achieve the best quality possible. The best way to do so was manufacturing in Korea, where I grew up.
Living in a few different countries allowed me to step back enough to have a perspective on my own home country. I’ve seen what the downturn of manufacturing does to the economy in the advanced countries like the US and UK. Korea in my opinion is at the sweet spot, being now an advanced country which was until very recently a poor, fabric-industry driven economy. So the clothing manufacture industry hasn't completely died out.
That means by manufacturing there I can completely control what kind of material, labor etc. go into it, and it will still be significantly cheaper than made in US or Europe, so they'll have a broad, mass appeal—which is also very important to me.
Prototyping and sourcing Materials
When I made them for myself, I started by making adjustments on existing belts and suspenders, then gradually bought more new parts whenever I have an idea to make it better. When I finally landed on the structure and dimension that works great, I really wanted to perfect it and ended up buying a bunch of material from the fashion district wholesale market.
I had no experience in doing anything like that so it was scary at first, but I guess the first time entrepreneurs can really use some “fake it until you make it” strategy. I just show up to different markets until I find exactly what I wanted.
How did you go about manufacturing your product, as that is a major obstacle for many entrepreneurs?
As I mentioned above, I was determined to manufacture them in Korea from the get go so it was no brainer.
I simply reached out to belt and suspender manufacturers in Seoul. I’ve been spreading my time between New York and Seoul, Korea, and currently based in Korea for manufacturing. So I can easily actually visit the factories and test the samples.
How do you handle the logistics and inventory management of a crowd funding campaign, not knowing how much product you will end up needing?
That’s exactly why I chose crowdfunding, instead of stocking inventory from the beginning. I thought I can crowdfund the first batch and just manufacture that amount. That will provide some capital and better understanding of the consumer demand, helping me to determine the next steps. It will be a nightmare to deal with inventory not knowing how much product we would need at the beginning—nor do I have capital to self-fun all of that.
Tell us about the backend of your business and if there is any online tools or apps you use to stay organized?
How have you been able to get the word out about your product? Any direct or online marketing tips?
I’m not in the position to give any director or tips. It is my first ever attempt to start a business and I’m just learning as I go, doing this pretty much as a one woman show. I’ve been mostly using social media to get the word out—just keep posting and run a few Facebook ads if I can afford it.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
“Done is better than perfect.”, “If you’re not embarrassed by your work when you first launch, you waited too long.” The most important part I guess is to “Just do it.”
What tips do you have for crowd funders and entrepreneurs, from making a crowd funding video to making a website and selling product?
Again, I’m a very beginner myself, I should be learning from tips, not giving them. :)
What I mostly did was just keep asking myself “What would I do?”. Would I be intrigued by this content? What kind of campaigns did I like myself? Why did I buy certain products/back certain projects? What turned me off? You know put yourself in the consumer’s shoes. It sounds almost like a cliché but it’s really, really hard to be objective about your own product. I think it helps to remember that.
Lastly, what should consumers know about your product that is different from what is already on the market?
It sets you free from buckles. Just put on once and forget you’re wearing a belt all day. It’s easy and saves time. Never have to touch it in the bathroom, when you change or take your pants off.
It also stretches with you and is very comfortable. No need to adjust after a big lunch, sitting down, or for the bike ride home—no buckle digging into your stomach.
Plus this is something you can actually use for a long time. Not a sub-par quality product that’s frustrating from the beginning and becomes unusable quickly. It actually works, for a long time.
Thanks so much for talking with us!
Thank YOU, it was a pleasure!
-The Create Team
