ETCHing their way to success

Seven years ago, when Brett and Barbara “Babs” Miller got married, they wanted a fire-nurse themed wedding. The problem was, there weren’t many businesses open to create designs to fit that theme.

So they did it themselves.

“I’ve always been a crazy kind of person,” Barbara Miller says. “I decided to do everything from the flowers and centerpieces to the little tops on the cupcakes. Because of that, we were able to do our themed wedding.”

That was the beginning of a business venture known as ETCHpressions. The Millers officially began in June 2019 with Brett’s father giving them a business loan to give them the start they needed.

At first, Barbara created the designs by hand painting them onto cups, koozies, and other items. They decided to upgrade to sandblasting and using a machine to cut vinyl. “Brett decided it would be a really cool idea to take vinyl and put on tumblers as a template,” Miller states. “We sandblasted it to leave the image on the tumblers.”

Their first major order came on Christmas Eve when they received a request to make 100 tumblers. “We worked all night on those,” Brett says.

One day, someone requested them to sandblast images on Yeti koozies. However, they had some trouble with getting the job done. “Long story short, we destroyed three of them trying to sandblast an image on them,” Barb says.

It was at that time they decided to upgrade from sandblasting to using lasers. “We figured it was the way to go,” Brett states. “It’s less hassle using a machine with a laser.”

Along with that upgrade, the business went from being a hobby to a serious full-time gig. What was something to help make additional money on the side became their main source of income with their first big show at the Waseca County Fair in 2019. They made a push in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down most of the world.

“It was during the pandemic that we decided to make a go of this to make it full-time,” Brett states.

ETCHpressions has exploded since then, blooming into a business with a worldwide reach.

“Someone from Virginia looked us up on Facebook,” Barb says. “They found us through Frost Buddy VIP, a Facebook page we are a part of that shares our products occasionally.”

These days, the Millers work full-time on their business while still working part-time at other jobs. Brett works at the Waseca County Sheriff’s Office while Barbara works as a nurse filling shifts when needed.

The most unexpected thing for them about ETCHpressions was how quickly the company grew, going from an eight-foot table full of products at the Waseca County Free Fair in 2019 to having a space three times the size there in 2022.

“We didn’t expect such exponential growth,” Brett claims. “We started this as making money on the side. Now, we’re a full-time business. We didn’t expect this at all. Every night, Barb says, ‘We have our own business, Brett. We have our own business!’”

To add, Barb says, “We have toasts and prayers every night thanking God we have all the customers we have. We don’t want to be boastful. We want to make sure we have that personal touch and stay grounded.”

This business has been a therapy for the both of them, especially Barb. “During the first initial hit of Covid, as a nurse I picked up 8 weeks working with Covid patients. After that stretch, it was so refreshing and renewing to be able to sit down and not focus on the trials I saw people going through.”

One time, she made memory lanterns for Christmas. “When I was working on it, it touched me so much that sometimes I would cry. It was a release for me because I put everything I have into every product.”

The biggest challenge for them at this time is that they are spending most of–but not quite all–their time with the business. “We still have to pull extra hours at the other businesses we work at to make ends meet,” Brett states.

Barb adds, “It’s also challenging to finish everything. We’ve had to create cutoff times to make sure we can have the best turnaround possible.”

The two make a great team. Barb conceives and creates the designs while Brett takes care of the technical and physical tasks. “When we combine our creative minds,” Brett says, “we can accomplish quite a lot.”

And that is what advice they would give to those wishing to start their own business. “If you don’t communicate with those you work with, you’re not going to succeed,” Barb states. “Also, you can’t go into it with your heart. You have to go into it with your mind.”

“Have fun with it, too,” Brett says. “You’re going to have ups and downs. Take those downs as lessons and roll with it. Make sure it’s something you want to be doing. If it’s something you like half-heartedly, it’s going to be really difficult to make it succeed.”