Today we’d like to introduce you to Allen Janzen
Hi Allen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Allen Janzen. I’m joyfully married to my wife, Anna, and we have been blessed with three boys, two of which are identical twins. Since the age of ten, I knew I wanted to become a firefighter after seeing live demonstrations at Los Angeles Fire Department fire service day. Seventeen years later, I achieved my dream of becoming a LAFD firefighter/paramedic.
Alright, 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?
Building a business hasn’t been easy. There is a huge learning curve. Each idea takes time to develop and leads to more questions to solve in order to integrate into one functioning system. I started by brainstorming ideas with friends, family, and coworkers. I also watched videos online and listened to podcasts to better understand business, social media, and brand development. I had to learn many platforms including Shopify for a website, Instagram and Facebook for social media, even QuickBooks for finance tracking and taxes. I also had to learn how to get logos made and placed on various products, packaging and shipping products, and eventually getting a fulfillment center to help with this process. There have been some uncertainties and growing pains, but ultimately, I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve experienced along the way. Since starting this online business, I’ve been able to give thousands of dollars to various firefighter charities, we’ve had sales in over 10 countries, and I’m excited to see where we can take this in the future!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Firefighter/ Paramedic for the Los Angeles City Fire Department. I have been on the job for 7 years and have been a paramedic for 14 years. It took a persistent 9 years to finally get hired as a firefighter. Prior to this I worked at a private ambulance company and taught at UCLA Center for Prehospital Care as an EMT/Paramedic skills instructor. I enjoy teaching on and off the job. I am also a family man with an amazing wife and three sweet boys, including twins! We love spending time together, traveling and watching sunsets.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Some of the first brainstorming ideas were with my wife Anna and a good friend Jacob. Jacob had the business development knowledge and experience to brainstorm ideas. Anna has been supportive with encouragement and prayer throughout the whole process. More than that, Anna has helped process hundreds of orders, folding and counting shirts, and has even helped at our pop up booths. She has seen the ups and downs of learning how to build this business from scratch. My friend (and firefighter/engineer), Mark was the first fire station contact that put their products up on my website. We had our first international sales with these shirts. From there I’ve partnered with several other firefighter owned business and non profits which has been a huge help for the overall growth of the business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.FirefighterCrafted.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firefighter_crafted
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FirefighterCrafted
