What’s next after military service?

For Chris Stroup, US Army combat veteran turned small business owner from Fayetteville, North Carolina, it’s building a self-sustaining company that can support his family, help out friends, and give back to the veteran community.

His brand, Stroup Knives, is doing just that. Together with his family and friends, Chris creates reasonably-priced, quality-made handcrafted knives that are meant to be used.

You may have seen them on our feed before, but today, Chris is sharing more. Watch!

Stroup Knives products are as reliable as they come. Each piece is finely crafted for hard use and comes with a custom sheet bolted to the knife making it fully adjustable. In addition to the high-quality blade, the handles are notable for their rugged yet artistic designs—testaments to the craftsmanship of the artisans that make them.

The knives feature a distinct finish, which according to Chris, is unique in the market right now

“They’re rugged and durable so you can throw them on the ground and step on them and not worry about them breaking. I don’t recommend you do that, but you can if you need to,” he adds.

From Combat to Community

Chris and his team are no strangers to business challenges. He shares that the transition did not come easy. He was used to following set rules in the military, but being an entrepreneur meant that he has to create them for his own company.

“…you transition to being out of the army and everything is on your own. If we don’t sell knives or make enough knives, we don’t have enough money to feed our family.”

Another challenge for Chris is being a disabled veteran. A lot of his body parts do not function the way they used to which limited his job options. Stroup Knives then became a lifeline that enables him to support his family while helping friends that work in the company with him.

Experiencing these challenges himself motivated Chris to extend help to other veteran-owned small businesses and communities. Through donations, his team does its part to give back.

“We love supporting other veteran-owned businesses. We donate a lot of knives and money to veteran organizations.”

Passing on the Passion

Chris’ goal to make Stroup Knives a self-sustaining business goes beyond financial health. He tells us,

“I also want a business that we can involve the kids in so we can teach them how to run a business, how to manage employees, how to manage expenses, and everything involved with running a small business. And they’re learning how to use their hands to craft these knives in our shop. “

Running a veteran-owned business has been amazing for Chris’ family. The cherry on top is the amount of time that he can now spend with his kids, something he was unable to do while in the military.

“Now I can work from home so we’re able to drop them off at school, pick them up from school, and be here on the weekends so we get to spend all the time with the boys.”

He adds that his kids also help out in the shop so they’re learning more about the business. He wants to show them what hard work can do and create something that they want to be a part of.

Chris’ plans for the future of Stroup Knives includes increasing production to keep up with the demand.

 

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A post shared by Stroup Knives, LLC (@stroup.knives)

 

Brand Promotion Through Custom Banner

It’s amazing how social media tagging connects us to hundreds of UPrinting experiences and stories just waiting to be shared. And, yes, that is exactly how we discovered Stroup Knives’ story.

What’s even more amazing is hearing about the incredible feedback Chris shared with us about the banner’s quality, and more importantly, how it’s helping him promote the company!

“UPrinting’s banner printing service has helped with our promotional efforts in a big way. We take this banner wherever we go, it’s in the background of all the videos we do, and every time we set up a table or a booth at an event, UPrinting’s Stroup Knives banner is right there with us.”

They also had custom die-cut stickers and shipping labels printed for the boxes that are mailed out to customers.

If you want to know more about Stroup Knives, visit https://stroupknives.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram for updates.

Don’t forget to share their story and whenever you can, support your local veteran-owned business!

Do you have a UPrinting experience to share?

We would love to hear it. For a chance to be featured, email us at community@uprinting.com or tag us on Facebook and Instagram. Use the hashtag #UPrintingCommunity.

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