Starting a business while raising a family might seem out of reach. Between school schedules, household responsibilities, and the endless demands of parenthood, finding time to build something of your own can feel out of reach. Add in the fear of failure and uncertainty about where to begin, and that business dream often stays just that—a dream.
But what if building a successful business could actually bring your family closer together? What if your children could learn real-world skills while helping grow something meaningful? Lisa Robbins answered these questions when a simple request sparked an unexpected journey.
From 2004 to 2012, Lisa and her husband built and sold several online businesses, including a sporting goods store and a children’s clothing boutique. During those years, Lisa balanced business involvement with raising their four children while her husband managed their financial responsibilities. Through these businesses, she developed valuable graphic design skills using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator—skills that would later prove essential.
When Lisa requested a vinyl cutter for craft projects in 2013, her husband playfully suggested turning it into a business. That lighthearted comment led them to a $150 vinyl cutter at a surplus auction—a modest investment that would reshape their family’s future. Their seven-year-old daughter Maylee joined as a design partner from day one, bringing enthusiasm and ideas to their new business.
Finding Their Market
Operating under their company name TheTechnologyVault, they launched CustomVinyDecor in Lehi, Utah. Their initial designs were inspired by their own home, particularly their children’s bedrooms. Living in Utah County, surrounded by young families, they found a natural market. When Lisa told friends about her vinyl plotter, many were excited about having custom designs made for their homes and living spaces.
Their product development process was structured and precise. Lisa combined her graphic design experience with stock photography backgrounds to create attractive designs, often featuring quotes in eye-catching fonts. They researched market demand using Google’s AdWords tool and Amazon’s keyword research platform, creating designs that matched high-volume search phrases.
Their pricing strategy followed a simple but effective formula: product costs, including labor and materials, would be one-third of the sales price. As Lisa notes, “We didn’t have to worry as much about being competitive with price, because our products were unique and not so easy to substitute for. Our marketing focus was on getting eyes on our product pages and having the products priced reasonably enough that people would pull the trigger and buy.”
While they planned to sell primarily through their website, Amazon Handmade changed everything. Within days of listing their first designs, orders began flowing in. They made a bold move, creating over 1,000 designs within their first couple of months on the platform. After their first ten designs were physically manufactured, they switched to a just-in-time production model, making products only after purchase.
Their strategy paid off—within two years, monthly revenue reached $80,000 through Amazon alone. They expanded to multiple sales channels, including Etsy and their website, though Amazon Handmade remained their strongest platform. Nearly half of their sales came from custom orders, particularly personalized children’s bedroom designs.
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Growing Smart
As orders increased, Lisa built a team of 12 work-from-home moms in Utah County. Each team member received their own computer, vinyl plotter, and production supplies, typically setting up 10×10-foot workshops in their basements or spare rooms. They created standard operating procedures and implemented communication tools like Slack and Zoom to keep the remote team connected and efficient.
The team structure evolved to include specialized roles. Beyond fulfillment staff, they hired someone to handle order distribution through ShipStation and a manager responsible for supply management and troubleshooting. They negotiated bulk pricing with a local supplier in Salt Lake City who made daily deliveries, while their manager handled twice-weekly supply runs to team members.
They fostered team culture through annual luncheons, where they gathered feedback and made improvements based on team input. However, Lisa learned valuable lessons about hiring. “Sometimes we hired people based almost entirely on their need without doing as much vetting as we should have,” she reflects. “If we had to do it again, we’d be more selective about who we brought on.”
The business became a training ground for their children’s education and life skills. Their oldest daughter, who started at age nine, learned to manage nearly the entire operation. When Lisa and her husband took a week-long vacation to Costa Rica, she ran the business under her grandmother’s supervision. The younger children helped with tasks like peeling vinyl designs and taping shipping boxes.
As the business grew, they adapted family involvement. While the children stepped back from daily production to focus on schooling, music, and sports, they still earned money by creating new designs—which Lisa incorporated into their homeschooling graphic design curriculum. During the Christmas season, which brought twice the normal volume, the whole family jumped in to help with fulfillment.
Lisa discovered that success comes through steady progress and resilience. She emphasized:
- Moving forward despite difficult days
- Building a positive, hardworking team
- Remaining open to changing course when needed
- Taking time to understand customer needs
- Streamlining production processes continuously
- Creating clear systems for remote team management
- Balancing family involvement with outside interests
Eventually, through a business networking group, they found buyers eager to take over the business. As their family grew, they wanted to pursue new technology-related opportunities and ensure their team had local leadership. They handled the sale directly, using documents from previous business sales as templates.
Lisa’s path to success started with a simple question: “How can we turn this into a business?” She didn’t wait for perfect conditions or complete certainty. Instead, she combined her experience with vinyl decorations, graphic design skills, and understanding of her local market to start small and scale thoughtfully. By testing products on Amazon Handmade, listening to customer needs, and involving her family in meaningful ways, she built something much bigger than initially imagined.
For those considering starting their own business, Lisa’s story offers practical insights: start with what you know, test your market locally, and be ready to adapt when larger opportunities arise. Whether beginning with $150 or $150,000, the path to success starts with taking that first step and remaining open to where it might lead. As Lisa’s family discovered, you don’t need to choose between family life and business success—they can flourish side by side.
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