Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy and Tom Hazzard.
Tracy and Tom, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We are a husband and wife design team, Hazz Design Consulting, who have worked together on and off for over 25 years as product designers for major brands and retailers as well as million-dollar Amazon sellers. We operate as ghost designers, behind the scenes for brands like Martha Stewart Living and retailers like Costco.
People buy our designs every day but don’t even know. In 2009, like most entrepreneurs and business owners in an economic downturn, we realized that we needed to diversify our business and build up multiple streams of revenue so we set out on mission to do that. Eventually that led us to digital marketing and podcasting, starting a niche innovation podcast about 3D Printing called WTFFF?!, which stands for What the Fused Filament Fabrication (which is the geeky way to say 3D Printing).
During both the launch and years that we have been podcasting, we developed team, systems and patent-pending ad mixing that enabled us to start a new business, Brandcasters, focused around done-for-you services helping entrepreneurs, speakers, authors, experts, publications and celebrities grow their businesses by Brandcasting their original message. So now, not only have we diversified our revenue stream, but we have turned both businesses into significant growth opportunities.
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?
It’s not always smooth running two businesses at the same time, or adding to that mix running two fast-growth businesses with your spouse and three daughters (ages 3, 8 and 22) too! While most would say their problem is balance, for us, that’s not even the goal or of interest. Balance is fleeting and momentary. We strive for something that is sustainable and realistically achievable. We operate in “harmony” and shift between the what and the who. We wouldn’t recommend it for newlyweds or new partners though.
The seamlessness with which we can take the lead or the supporting role in our business and personal life has only come from years of practice and hard earned respect for each other.
Please tell us about Brandcasting & Hazz Design.
For our Hazz Design business, we specialize in helping brands grow their retail products with original and inventive designs that out-sell the competition. We are proud of our 8.6 out of 10 success rate for product launching in an industry where 7 out of 10 consumer products fail.
For our Brandcasting You business, we are most proud of the fact that we really provide a done-for-you complete program. Speakers, Authors, Coaches and Experts can get their web/social/audio/video platform set-up and working for them in as little as 3-27 days without hiring and coordinating 5-7 different companies or consultants. We are also proud of our ability to help podcasters specifically monetize their show earlier and more effectively with our ad mixing innovation.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Our favorite memory is the day we met at Rhode Island School of Design in the late 80’s. It happened the first day of school at a dorm meeting. Everyone went around the room, introduced themselves and where they were from. Tracy said she was from Southern California and Tom immediately cracked a joke and called her a “Valley Girl”.
She was of course offended, after all she didn’t live anywhere near the Valley! But, later that week, she met him again when he was playing guitar in a mutual friend’s room.
Evidently a little insult is all it took, because we were married before we graduated and that friend was our best man. 25 years later, it still makes us both smile.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://brandcastingyou.com and http://hazzdesign.com
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/hazzdesign

Image Credit:
Courtney Paige of Daybreak and Dusk https://daybreakanddusk.com/
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