Having served in the Army for 22 years, Nick Adkins has a lot of experiences under his belt.
He worked as an aircraft mechanic for 11 years.
But despite all that, theres one thing that Adkins wasnt allowed to do: grow a beard.
I wanted it to be an intentional choice.
No Interest Til Almost 2027?
They were heavy and greasy, and they made his facial hair look too shiny.
Thats when Courtney suggested they make their own.
So I said, Why not?
I didnt even have a smartphone in the army at the end, he says.
Living in Alaska has presented its own unique obstacles for Permafrost Beards, as well.
We have a lot of folks that wont even ship things up here.
The company sold $600 worth of product in the first week alone.
The Adkins actually had to wait for more ingredients to arrive just to fulfill the influx of orders.
They thought the initial success was mainly due to friends, family and veteran support.
But the orders kept coming.
We started getting orders from folks we didnt know.
That was really exciting, says Adkins.
You know, it isnt just my uncle buying stuff.
They also branched out from strictly e-commerce to wholesale locations.
Their products are in seven stores in Alaska, one in New York and one way down in Alabama.
As its still a very young company, they consider this to be a part-time job.
His wife homeschools their two children, Ian and Finley, and manages their rental cabins.
But early mornings, evenings and even some weekends belong to Permafrost.
Large wholesale orders or gun shows will up the amount some nights.
The kids like to help anywhere they can, like attaching the logo stickers to bottles and tins.
Adkins says theyre pretty straight most of the time.
Adkins credits his wife for most of the work, and he stresses how lucky a man he is.
The couple love that Permafrost Beards is a family affair.
Its not just daily work for them; its a family bonding experience.
Ian, 12, is even starting to learn how to make some of the products.
Now, Permafrost brings in enough that they no longer need to supplement it with their personal money.
But they havent quite hit the point of profit, either.
The numbers tell a promising story, though.
The numbers for last year are $17K in gross sales and 540 orders, says Adkins.
This year to date, we are at $30K in gross sales and 500 orders.
Their year-to-date analytics reflect an order increase of 746% and a total sales increase of 1,550%.
They hope that more customer knowledge will reveal repeat customers and whats working.
We want to keep it a cash-only business, says Adkins.
They previously raised over $4,000 via a charity calendar, full of bearded fellows showing off their facejackets.
And at the end of August, they will be hosting the first officialMr.
Facejacket Beard Competitionwith registration fees going to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank.
Valuing the Respect of a Failure
Despite the uncertainty of the future, Adkins isnt particularly worried.
He credits his decades in the Army for some of that confidence.
And if you dont, you wont find out until you give it a shot, right?
I mean, go do it.
You gotta just go.
Kaitlyn Blount is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
