Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Hounshell.
Hi Jake, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
What’s up everyone! My name is Jake Hounshell and I am the Owner & Operator of Shells Vintage Hat Co. I wanted to start by telling you the story of Shells Vintage. It all started in the summer after I graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2019. I was applying for jobs and living at home, not having any luck. One day I was shopping on eBay for a vintage Carolina Panthers hat, which I liked to do from time to time. I had a good collection of hats and people always used to ask me where I go them from. While shopping I saw so many cool hats for other teams and thought in the back of my mind, “Man, I would definitely buy that hat if I was a fan of that team.
It sounds crazy, but I woke up frantically in the middle of the night with an idea to start a vintage hat company. I got a degree in entrepreneurship in college and always dreamed of starting a business. The next day, I spent the whole day shopping for vintage hats online and spent $750 of graduation money on my first batch of hats. You should have seen my Mom’s face when they all showed up at our door in the next few days. She thought I was out of my mind. In the coming months, I sold a lot to my friends and created social media pages and a website, and Shells Vintage Hat Co. was off the ground from there.
I ended up moving to Charlotte, NC, and getting a sales job where I read off a script and made 250+ cold calls daily. I hated it. At the same time, I was working hard on my hat business, consistently shopping online for vintage hats and doing weekly drops. I was gaining traction through word of mouth and advertising. I hand-picked all of my hats, took customer requests, and was very specific regarding the design, fit, and manufacturer I bought from, which is why I started to stand out in the crowded world of vintage resellers.
I quickly realized I had a great eye for vintage designs, but I could not scale the business by just buying and selling hats I found online. I started marking my designs on Canva and found a trusted manufacturer. For the record, I had no experience in graphic design. My State Snaps, City Snaps, and other collections were formed from there. After releasing my first wave of State Snaps, Shells Vintage Hat Co. took off. I was able to quit my job and started doing Shells Vintage full-time in July of 2021.
I recently moved to Raleigh, and I run Shells Vintage Hat Co. out of my apartment today! The company is growing steadily, and I still learn new things daily. My story shows that if you set your mind to starting a business and work hard at it as a side hustle, you can be successful. I had no experience building a website, shipping anything, running business social media pages, creating content, keeping books, graphic design, or anything regarding running a business. I self-taught myself everything and took the risk to quit my job and throw myself into this business. If you want to start a business, be ready not to know (a lot), work very hard, feel uneasy, be a jack of all trades, and take many risks. If you are consistent, have a vision, and trust yourself, you can be your boss and become successful!
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road for any entrepreneur is never smooth. Whether you have done it before or not, my main struggles have been learning how to do everything involved with a business and making uneducated, naive decisions. Shipping products, keeping books, registering a business, finding a manufacturer, marketing, managing social media, you name it. Also, I have run into problems paying content creators and some social media pages way too much money and not getting what I asked for in return. Also, researching and using a manufacturer is trial and error, so I got some low-quality products and embroidery to start with until I found the right one. It is challenging because you must spend that money to see how they do. When it comes down to it, you must be careful about what you spend your money on and who you give it to. I have learned to spend good time and thought on these decisions. Nothing is cheap nowadays!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At Shells Vintage Hat Co., I create vintage-styled snapback hats representing customers’ states, cities, sports teams, and interests. My designs are inspired by all of the original vintage hats that I have bought & sold. I also find original vintage hats online and sell them to people, which is how my business started. Finding vintage hats is not easy nowadays, and it is not always cost-effective either, so I exist to create and find vintage hats for people at a fair price. I stood out in the crowded vintage resale market because I found rare hats, was particular about the designs I bought, had a perfect eye for what people wanted in terms of vintage hats, and sold them for a great price. I still specialize in and am known for doing these things, as I still do multiple vintage hat drops per week on Instagram & Facebook! FRIDAY FIRE is my signature weekly drop, in which I set aside the best hats I find weekly for an exclusive Friday drop.
When it comes to my designs, I make them to look and fit exactly like an original vintage hat would, which is what sets me apart. They look like rare vintage snapbacks from the 90s but are high-quality, brand-new hats. I use vintage fonts and elements to make the hat look authentic while also using colors and accents for college and professional sports teams. I use state outlines, city skylines, and other features to make the hats POP.
Regarding my business, I am most proud of my customer service and consistency in creating and finding my hat designs for people. What drives me are my reviews, customer feedback, and customer relationships. I take pride in responding to customers promptly and personally and creating relationships to fulfill their vintage hat needs!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
My favorite Podcast to listen to is Entrepreneurs on Fire, in which veteran John Lee Dumas interviews entrepreneurs (usually famous) from all walks of life. He creates short, simple episodes with relevant advice for any entrepreneur, and I have learned a ton from this Podcast! Reading has helped me learn so much about starting and running Shells Vintage Hat Co. I have read the following and recommend them to people interested in starting or owning a business!
– The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy
– The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
– REWORK by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
– The Power of Broke by Daymond John
– Good to Great by Jim Collins
– Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
– Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
– The Common Path to Uncommon Success by John Lee Dumas
– The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
When it comes to apps, Canva and QuickBooks are lifesavers. I do not have any graphic design experience, and I do all of my designs in Canva. I have little experience in accounting, and QuickBooks tracks everything.
Pricing:
- I sell hats with my designs for $30 – $40
- Original vintage hats vary in price from $27 – $40
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shellsvintage.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shellsvintagehatco
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/shellsvintagehatco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-hounshell-063919108
