Two and a half years ago, MJ and his wife Sharon went on a mission to find their six year old daughter a toy box. Being unable to find a quality, Australian made and reasonably priced solution. MJ, a cabinet maker by trade, went to work building a toy box.
How did you begin your business?
It began after we couldn't find a toy box for our 6 year old daughter that ticked all our boxes. I decided to make one for her. After, my wife put it up on Facebook and we had someone message us asking could we make one for them. So we did and in the process, I just made a couple more and put it up on Gumtree and they sold in three days.
It snowballed from there, we created a Facebook page to showcase our products. Last year we were super busy. It really ramped up, especially October, November and December.
In september my hobby officially became my full time job, and I handed in my notice so I can concentrate full time on S & M Customs.
Recently we invested in a panel saw and a CnC machine, as for two years, we were cutting out the names by hand. This helped us not just with the custom toy boxes but also with the toy kitchens, book shelves and beds we build.
We try to keep everything local, we purchase our paints from a local business, Australian wood and we recently got signage done by a local business. We believe in supporting local, and we contribute to the community through giveaways or sponsorship at any opportunity.
Before Interparcel
After the website, the hardest part was shipping our products. I couldn't figure it out, I tried multiple carriers. I even signed up for MyPost Business (Australia Post) but they wouldn't accept our packages because they were too big.
Thankfully, I happened to be in a conversation with a friend of mine and I mentioned how much difficulty I was having posting our packages. He asked me if I have tried Interparcel as he sent a car part from Queensland to Adelaide without any problems.
That day when I arrived home, I sent my first package with Interparcel.
After Interparcel
I began using Interparcel to send all my orders. When I completed the Shopify store, I got in touch with Interparcel and spoke to their Integration Specialist and they were a great help! They helped me integrate Interparcels Shipping Manager and talked me through all of the features including live quoting and branded tracking.
From then, I was able to give my customers instant quotes which was not possible with Australia Post.
The customer service I received with Interparcel was a giant help. I was able to ring up and talk to someone straight away, if I sent an email, I would receive a reply quickly. It was a massive help.
With Interparcel
Interparcel has been a great help during the growth of my business I have found;
- My shipment process has become smooth and easy
- I can provide my customers with live shipping
- A 100% reduction in shipping processing times
- A 40% reduction in shipping costs
Where do you see yourself a few years from now?
Currently our aim is to continue introducing new products as time goes on, we have recently released a custom wooden box, which has been highly requested by customers.
Our workshop is on our own property so we work from home, but ideally we would like to open up a showroom where people can come in and view our products and we could have our workshop in the back. We are very excited to continue this journey!
How Interparcel helped
Interparcel was recommended to S & M Customs as a shipper that can handle large items. After they had a chat with our Integration Specialist, who were able to walk them through connecting their Shopify store with our Shipping Manager. This has streamlined S & M Customs orders as they can sync and fulfil their orders in a few clicks.
Check out S & M Custom Toy Boxes here. Also follow their updates on their Facebook and Instagram.
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