We had the good fortune of connecting with Kevin Hoy and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Kevin, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I would say the most important factor behind the Smart Apron’s success as a brand is the simple fact that we truly believe in our products and the benefits they provide to our customers. There is a lot to be said about creating a great logo, picking the right brand colors and having a catchy tag line but truly none of that will shine through if you don’t whole heartedly believe in the product you’ve invented.
Smart Aprons are designed selfishly for our customers as they’re made to last and have countless features to save time and money, and we always reasonably price our Smart Aprons, with pricing consistently lower than our competition such as; ChefWorks, Hedley & Bennett and Williams & Sonoma.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My career, in terms of Smart Apron, started due to wanting to make a ‘better apron’ that would organize all of my various work items and didn’t have aprons strings. However, when you create a business to support a product or service, you enter into a world of unknowns and travel into unfamiliar territory containing every barrier and circumstance life can throw at you, all in an effort to stop you from becoming successful.
So was it easy, absolutely not, as when you start your business, there really is no slowing down, no taking a break as you must become obsessed with your product, service, business, if you want it to succeed. People always ask me how long did it take to get where you’re? And the answer is, I’m constantly learning from successes, and more often than not, failures, and the time you spend can’t be calculated as it never ends, and you have to be prepared for this reality, as this is the main reason dreams are abandoned.
Although at first glance, a Smart Apron design may appear simplistic, however, the engineering and structural specifications required to create each individual Smart Apron design is very complex, this mirrors starting a business, as it may appear simple, but is truly the opposite.
Last, but certainly not least, we are a veteran owned and family managed business, and we strive every day to offer the best work aprons on the market which are designed to benefit each and every customer.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If a good friend was visiting us here in sunny Arizona, I would first tell them to travel here between November and April, that’s for sure, as the heat during our summers are too much to handle.
So, I’d set-up my friend in a comfortable place in Scottsdale, as I’d take him to downtown Scottsdale at least a few days, to shop and hit the local restaurants, such as Social Tap to grab some great food and drinks. Also have a happy hour at Ivy & Olive on the waterfront, as that is an amazing place to hang out at. Well, Depending on the weather, you can’t go wrong with some paddle boarding at Tempe Town Lake, and hitting some of local Tempe taverns, like Culinary Drop Out.
I’d also take my friend to up to the Flagstaff, hike four Peaks and enjoy the amazing sights and sounds there. After, a busy week of sight seeing, I’d make sure my friend has time to chill out, and I’d take him to local areas so he can experience the ‘everyday’ Arizona lifestyle. Of course, we would ensure he leaves with plenty of Smart Apron swag and retail packaged Smart Aprons to hand out when he gets back home!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have a whole slue of people I can give credit to, like my friends and family for their continued support of Smart Apron. But I like to recognize Hans Schramm, as he is one of the original founders of Smart Apron, and has spent years putting the time, energy and effort into supporting Smart Apron.
And secondly, to my son Kieran Hoy, Smart Apron, Director of Marketing, who has advanced our brand from a little to unknown Amazon product, to recent milestones of 300+ positive reviews on Amazon, an Amazon Choice Pick and in the top 20 Tool Work Aprons on Amazon. In addition, he has created our product listings for Etsy, WalMart, US Foods Direct, Sysco/SOTF and Edward Don, just to name a few retail and wholesale channels we partner with. Kieran has also invented our newest Smart Apron designed called the Mini and it will be available in fall 2022.
Again, there are so many people to thank as we have traveled on this ‘Smart Apron Journey’ for several years and without their support we would not be where we are today.
Website: https://thesmartapron.com/
Instagram: https://thesmartapron.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-hoy-8ab3ba130/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smartapron/
Image Credits
Rick Pascale, photographer