Military wife Roxxette Brown turns hobby into viable business

“Being the spouse of someone in the Military can be a life of excitement and travel and meeting people from around the world. When your mate is given orders to serve overseas and you have to stay behind on a base somewhere in the states, it might get a little lonely, unless you find a purpose, have a hobby, or some kind of project that keeps you going. When you find something to do in your spare time that ends up earning money, that’s a win-win for the entire family and that’s exactly what happened to me,” said Roxxette Brown.
According to Brown, when a close friend of hers invited her over to her home about a year ago to help her make some pretty cups, she had no clue that “cup-making” would turn into a business for her, let alone one that would keep her so busy that her social media addresses would stay full of requests from customers seeking to purchase her fancy “Bombshell Bling Cups.”
“I always heard about the freedom that could go with being an entrepreneur and that was always enticing, but it took me a while before I jumped into this thing whole-heartedly. It was scary at first to just drop everything, a regular stable job, etc., to go into business. I was used to having a steady job. After marrying my husband Sean who is in the Army, I became a stay-at-home Mom. For a little while, I kind of felt like I lost my identity. It was out of my character to just be at home, taking care of my children, but not doing anything else. “
Thanks to her girlfriend who had started a business making fancy cups, Roxxette Brown was introduced to a new concept. “She invited me over to her home one day to have a girls’ day, and she said, “We’ll make cups,” I said ok. She does different kinds of cups. She tried to make the bling cups, but she was having a hard time with it. They actually take a lot of patience to create. When I took a stab at making the bling cups, I surprised myself. I found that I was very good at it. I became completely obsessed with making them. It came easy for me. It felt relaxing. My friend gave me some items to take home so I could make a few more cups, which I did, for family. My family members loved the cups I created for them. I posted pictures of the cups I made on my social media pages and started getting positive feedback and requests to purchase my cups.
My girlfriend encouraged me to start a cup-making business. At first, I hesitated, because I didn’t want to step on her toes. I didn’t want to become her competitor. She reminded me that we made different kinds of cups and she said, “Go for it.” So I did.
I named my business “Bombshell Bling Cups.” I opened an Etsy Account where I could market my product and things have actually taken off. I’ve been at this for about a year now, and the orders keep coming in from cities across the country.”
For those who are not familiar, Etsy is a shopping App that’s very popular for entrepreneurs and business people who have products and services to sell online. Consumers who like hand-crafted items and manufactured items plug into Etsy. This stay-at-home mom says she also gets orders for her Bling Cups through Instagram, Facebook, and TicTok. Businesspeople who advertise their merchandise on Esty do have to pay a fee, but according to Roxxette Brown, the price is worth it, because if your products are good, the customers will contact you for orders.
While Brown’s custom handmade rhinestone bling cups business is still a newer business, she says her requests for orders are through the roof.
“I ship my “Bombshell Bling Cups” anywhere in the U.S. I don’t currently ship overseas, but that’s coming eventually. I do priority shipping for my customers, so the product usually gets to them within three to five business days.”
Currently based in Texas, Brown says her biggest encouragement has come from her husband, two children, and other family members as she embarked upon this business. She shared that it feels good knowing that she too can contribute to the family income and even put some money away for their children’s higher education aspirations. She stated, “At the end of the day, being that I’m the mother of two children who are both in elementary school, I genuinely appreciate being able to work from home and earn a nice income. It’s wonderful being in the position to set your own hours, work at your own pace, love what you do and be your own boss. I feel super blessed.”
To see some of the “Bombshell Bling Cups” Roxxette Brown creates, go to her website at https://etsy.me/35QOKBm.