The Biggest TJ Leather Mistakes in 2021 - and How To Fix Them

January 22, 2022

TJ Leather started over seven years ago as a hobby, and you have helped it grow into a thriving business.

Some Wins

In 2021 we (together):

Raised $1000 to help an injured brother with hospital bills
Brought apparel into the mix
Started the Keep the Promise line, showing that you still care about doing THE JOB and serving people

Some Losses

The ol' rona

Yet, the last few months have been rough. The megatron variant took me down hard for two weeks. I couldn't go to work, couldn't craft any leather items, and spent all day in bed bemoaning my existence.

Maybe in transit, maybe lost

The supply chain issues also plagued the leather world. Some hardware backorders lasted months, and fulfillment speeds slowed to a crawl. And TJ Leather wasn't immune to shipping woes, as a handful of orders disappeared into the ether

*POOF*

See that 3.87 in orange in 2021?
TJ Leather packages were some of those lost in 2021

Speed of molasses

I still have some orders in progress from a while back. This is unacceptable and disappointing. Lots of love to those customers still waiting, you da real MVPs and I owe you big time.

The Comeback

Not all is gloom and doom, though. I've streamlined the production for most items, cutting down fulfillment times. There's been some department-wide custom orders, and private label work. Some of these items are out of this world - literally!

There's a deadline

TJ Leather needs to maintain a reasonable turn-around time while upholding quality. This is the reason custom shield orders will remain closed until April 2022. You, my dear reader, will be the first to know when the shields are back. At that point, orders will only be open for a month then closed again until all items ship.

Boston shields and all the different straps are on sale until January 31 at midnight. QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED, so act fast. All items will ship by the end of February at the latest, and won't be back until April.

Those not subscribed to the exclusive newsletter (a) don't get a discount; (b) will only have two days to shop before items go offline.

Looking ahead

The growth TJ Leather experienced last year has been astronomical. And 2022 is looking to be even better. Keep your eye out for:

Blog posts
Podcast episodes
YouTube channel
Improved user experience on website, especially with custom items
Wavebreak Leather - late spring will bring epic off-duty gear with chill vibes

Growth takes hard work and focus. I need to put all my efforts into that growth so you can have a better customer experience. The changes outlined above will set the stage for great things.

As always, thank you for everything. Stay safe and aggressive.

-TJ