Brian Croft's Success Plan is a science. Sell the right products, market them in an attractive way, and create an atmosphere where people plan to work and stay.
The art is in the “how”.
Croft is president and CEO of HC Brands, a promotional products company that makes thousands of custom items, from water bottles to wine glasses, koozies to keychains.
He said his entrepreneurial journey began by respecting the heritage of the past, but also by focusing on innovation and community.
HC Brands, originally Holmes Stamp Co., was founded in 1954.
Brian Croft, president and CEO of HC Brands, said his company currently has more than 100 employees.
After graduating from the University of North Florida in 1998, Croft began working at the company owned by his parents. He purchased his company from his parents in 2009 with a “15-year mortgage.”
This month, he returned the favor with a celebratory meal at Ruth's Chris Steak House with the Crofts, their parents, and the CFO.
“When I got into this industry, it was a great foundation,” said Croft, 49.
“At the time, our company had about $800,000 in revenue and I was employee number 10. I thought that was great, but I wanted more than the $8 an hour my mom and dad were paying me. I wanted it.”
He approached his father in 1999 about developing a novel company website as a way to increase sales.
“And it failed pretty miserably for the first five or six years,” Croft said. “But I was learning, and so were the consumers. We were learning together what e-commerce is.”
A few years later, the company employed 25 people and had revenues of $2.5 million.
Original Holmes Stamp Co. accounting ledger. The company was founded in his 1954 year.
Currently, HC Brands has more than 100 employees. It also operates eight niche websites, including simplystamps.com, mykoozie.com, customsigns.com, nametagwizard.com, and more.
In 2023, it generated revenue of $17.2 million.
The move to e-commerce hasn't been without its challenges, including changes to Google's algorithms, the uncertainties of artificial intelligence, and, in Croft's case, changes to the company's business model.
In 2022, Croft sold his company-owned business unit, wholesale distribution company All American ID, to focus on expanding the HC brand's e-commerce footprint.
“Historically, this business has been built on a wholesale model. You can go to Staples or Office Depot and buy a rubber stamp or a license plate. We'll sell it to you for $10. They'll sell it to you for $20. That was the whole model,” he said.
“When e-commerce really started to take off in our business, we had all our wholesale customers, and then we had more e-commerce customers. It became very difficult to manage both.”
Mr Croft said this was a decision that had led to “softening sales” and voluntary and involuntary job cuts.
“Although it was difficult, it was the right decision for the business as we no longer had to manage two very different types of customers. One customer ordered by email and fax, and the other customers were ordering through an API in Amazon's backend,” he said, referring to the application programming interface, which is software communication.
“We're all about e-commerce right now. We're modern people.”
HC Brands President and CEO Brian Croft's company makes thousands of custom items, from water bottles and wine glasses to koozies and keychains.
In order to stay on top of trends, Croft said he would like to talk to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, global entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, and eCommerceFuel founder Andrew Youderian on the rebranded Twitter account. He said he is following him on X. ECommerceFuel says on its site that it's designed for “seven- and eight-figure sellers.”
As for developing the company's culture, Croft said the company remains interested in “organic growth” and providing jobs in Jacksonville, where 85% of HC Brands' employees live and work.
“I love Jacksonville. I'm not going anywhere. I want to give people the same opportunities that my dad gave me,” he said.
Croft and his wife Amy, a lawyer, have three children: Avery, 21, Natalie, 19, and Chase, 15.
So far, no children have expressed interest in joining the business. Avery wants to work with children. Natalie wants to become a veterinarian. And Chase wants to play ball.
Croft continues to hire employees.
“We want to give people the opportunity to work with us to help develop new customers.”
Its efforts are also carried out through philanthropy and civic means. Croft is involved with the San Marco East Business Association, a group of businesses, civic leaders and residents working to revitalize the San Marco neighborhood north of Phillips Highway.
HC Brands is located at 2021 St. Augustine Road E., about a mile from St. Mark's Square.
“Listen, I know I'm literally in the wrong direction. We have strip clubs and cheap hotels here. Not floating homes that cost about a million dollars, but I want to be part of the solution. I think so,” he said.
Mr. Croft is also involved with Haiti180, a faith-based nonprofit organization that provides resources and educational opportunities to Haitian children. He has visited Haiti his 10 times in the past 10 years.
“None of that has anything to do with being an entrepreneur,” he said. “That’s what makes me human.”
He calls it operating with a “philanthropic spirit.”
“Our job is to fund pranks, but our culture allows us to give back.”
