Meet Mike Pillsbury of A Better Belt USA in Spring Branch

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Pillsbury.

Mike, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My wife of 22 years, Tracy and I had to stop driving cross country truck due to her failing health. We spent most of our savings in the first two years of building our business, but by year three we began to make a small profit. Our business grew because of our dedication to quality and customer service. We know that, because we have a zero advertising budget. We worked gun shows for the first eight months, and “Word of Mouth” kicked in after that.

We were having our best year last year until Tracy was hospitalized in May for a bilateral lung transplant. Complications kept her in St. Luke’s for five months. Delivery times lagged due to the time I spent with her, and business trailed off somewhat. However, we are happy to report that she is doing very well. Business is beginning to grow once again.

I named the business A Better Belt USA because my intent from the very beginning was to offer top quality at reasonable prices. I challenge myself daily to keep looking for ways to improve our line of belts. If you check out our product line, you’ll find some innovation that no one else is attempting (I fancy myself a bit of an inventor). I am also a bit of a perfectionist, and that is why we have upgraded our belts so often.

I have also done some holsters, knife sheaths, suspenders, and most recently, a buffalo watch band for a customer that wanted his watch band to match his buffalo belt. I’ll take on new projects only if I feel I’m qualified and if the project doesn’t take away from my belt making. At one time I had custom holsters up on the web store, but I quickly realized that my personal pledge of “A Better Belt” was suffering. Even though holster making was very profitable, I removed them from the web site. It’s more than just “making a living” to me. When someone receives one of my belts, I want them to know that they have my very best effort in their hands.

Seven years and over five thousand belts have come out of this shop. One belt, just one, was returned for a refund. The customer received the belt as a gift from his wife, and he didn’t like the color.

I spent a lot of time in the shop, and get my release from work by playing in a local “horn” band called “Bow Legged Monkey”.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The two biggest obstacles in this business is the availability of specialty leathers and sizing. Many of our suppliers have shortages from time to time, especially with the exotic leathers. Hippopotamus for example took us one and a half years to stock. Shark is seasonal, and may be unavailable for months. I’ve even had trouble on occasion getting USA tanned cow leather. As a small shop, I have limited funds and space for leather hides. More than once, I’ve sweated whether I’d be able to get more leather in before running out.

Sizing (thanks to clothes manufactures) is another hurdle. Pants sold in the US are usually around three inches smaller than their advertised size. Even with instructions of how to measure for your new belt on our website, I still receive over a 10% return for size exchange.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about A Better Belt USA – what should we know?
A Better Belt USA hand makes custom belts and gun belts.

We are hands down the most customize-able belt available. Our options for colors, materials, sizing, stiffness, buckles, and sizing holes are unsurpassed. To my knowledge, we are the only belt company that differentiates between non-carry belts, inside the waistband carry belts, and outside the waistband carry belts. We are also the only company that offers a belt with pivot points in the back to improve comfort and lifespan of a belt.

Our customer service (before and after the sale) can be matched, but cannot be beat. That’s because I will do whatever I have to do to make sure I do right by my customers. Probably the one thing I am most proud of is that you can search the internet all day, and never find a negative review of my belts. I am not claiming that I never have an Oopsie, I’m simply saying that if something’s not right, I’ll fix it.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I believe A Better Belt USA’s success comes from a dedication to quality, fair pricing, and customer service. All three of these things are why our customers tell their friends about us.

I was a salesman for years for a few different companies. I learned during that time that there are basically three ways to drive business to a company. Hire a sales force, advertise, or make a product so good that people talk about it. Options one and two increase the price of your product without increasing its value. I chose the only option that puts the money into the value of the product.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2715 Lazy Spring Dr.
• Phone: 2814141110
• Email: mike@abetterbeltusa.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/A-Better-Belt-USA

Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.