Meet Bryan Hebbler of Innovated Vapors in Lake Jackson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryan Hebbler.

Bryan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2012, a friend introduced me to an electronic cigarette. After using it all day, I noticed that I hadn’t had the desire to smoke a cigarette. Without the intention of quitting smoking, I was amazed at how little willpower it took not to smoke. I am now 4 yrs. smoke free. I figured if I could quit smoking using this device, anyone could.

Back then, the product was in such an infancy stage that you could only buy online. My first online order was extremely difficult without knowing what I needed and the differences between the devices. Also, e-liquid was a crap shoot because I didn’t know what it would taste like until it was too late. Most of the flavors I bought didn’t taste anything like they claimed to. Needless to say, I wasted a lot of money. I needed someone to walk me through the process and there just was little help available.

I realized then how much more convenient it would be to have a brick and mortar store where people could come in and get educated about the product, learn the health benefits, and taste flavors before they made a purchase. I had no experience in retail but I strongly believed in this product and based on how much better I felt (then smoke free for 8 months), I knew it was the future and that lives could be saved because of it. That’s when I decided to take a chance and opened Innovated Vapors in January of 2014. I was fortunate enough to find good people in my employees that have stayed with me since the beginning. I really owe my success to them.

Our adaptability, staying current on products and knowledge, and great customer service I believe has kept us on top.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It was a pretty challenging road in the beginning. Originally, I planned on partnering with an old friend from high school back in early 2013. We had a great location in Pearland and were ready to sign on the dotted line but then he ended up backing out for personal reasons at the last minute and I was on my own. I didn’t think that Lake Jackson had the population to run a successful shop and retail space was limited. With my lack of retail experience, I thought about dropping the whole idea entirely with the thought that I couldn’t do it on my own. I tried finding investors but was turned down every time. I was told the concept was only a fad by a couple and one that showed interest passed away.

I sat idle for about 4 months but the idea just kept growing stronger. I had already spent months getting my business license, looking for a new place, and countless nights on the computer talking to China to educate myself on all the different products available (at that time, China was almost exclusive). Shops started popping up everywhere and I knew I would never forgive myself if I didn’t try. I was also semi unemployed at the time but I had a credit card and a small loan promise from my brother if I started running short on cash, so I rolled the dice.
Initially, I made a lot of mistakes. My first attempt in securing a location was denied by a different city after I was told it ok to open. Contracts had been signed, stock orders had been placed, and furniture was on the way. In panic mode, I found an empty spot in Lake Jackson, in a basically deserted shopping center, contacted the landlord and had the key the next day.

My first employee started making excuses for not showing up to work and I found myself running the shop on my own which was becoming more than I could handle. I am a single father (then raising a 13 yr. old) and it was taking all of my time away from him.

At the start, business was really slow because no one knew we existed and there were no anchor stores near us to bring in business. I was on my knees every day between throwing up and praying this would work especially since I had never done anything this drastic before.

Shortly thereafter, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Jennifer Williams by one of my customers. Like me, she had no retail experience but she had experience and contacts within the “vaping” community. and I really needed help from someone that shared the same passion so it was an instant connection. I taught her how to mix e-liquid (juice) with little experience and after a lot of trial and error, things just started clicking. We were definitely flying by the seat of our pants. Today, it’s a different story.

She now runs the store, manages 5 employees, does the batch mixing, testing, purchasing and dealing with return issues and customer service. She basically does it all and she has done an excellent job and we have doubled our business at least 10 times.

Please tell us about Innovated Vapors.
We provide a vast array of the latest products for all levels of customer experience and we are known for great tasting house juices. We also carry about 15 national juice lines from other vendors. We are known for great customer service and educating our patrons on how to properly and safely us their device, whether they bought it from us or not. We offer a great atmosphere with a full-size bar and dimly lit lounge area. We also have free Wi-Fi, televisions, a self-serve coffee bar, sodas and an amazing beef jerky. We pride ourselves on customer service and we all personally use the products we sell. I think you have to have that to be successful in knowing what you are selling to others. We try to give our full attention to each customer because we want them to walk away happy with their purchase and knowing they have a shop that will stand behind them. without that, we would be nothing. We try to be more than just a retail vape shop. We want our customers to feel at home and have a place to just hang out when they want.

I am most proud of how far we have come from where we started. I owe that to a great staff. These guys keep the wheels turning and we really do love our customers. We have all made great friends here.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over without knowing what I know now, I’m not sure I would. It was probably the scariest and most desperate time of my life and I was doing it all alone. My first attempts in getting started, from doing this with a silent partner, opening in the wrong location, the wrong employee, etc…, I’m sure I would have failed by now. Those obstacles turned out to be a Godsend in that all of the twists, turns, and rejections actually protected me and led me down the right road. Probably the best lesson I learned was to never give up. If your passionate and you believe in what you’re doing, that’s half the battle. The other lesson is that a rejection or a forced change of course isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Contact Info:

• Address: 411 This Way St.
  Lake Jackson, TX 77566
• Website: www.innovatedvapors.com
• Phone: 979-316-3969
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovatedvapors
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InnovatedVaporsLLC/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/InnovatedVapors

Image Credit:
Kat Johnson
Jill Veit

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