Today we’d like to introduce you to Ronald Keener
Ronald, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
IN 2010 I got diagnosed with stage 2 emphysema & pulmonary fibrosis, throughout my diagnosis to date I was hospitalized multiple times & in 2017 I was hospitalized & underwent a multiple lung surgery and with complications I was put on home hospice care with 6 months to live, fighting to stay alive while on hospice care, I gave my heart to God and he spared my life and came off hospice care, still battling the struggles of my diagnosis, my 3 children and all 7 of my grandchildren have been my backbone, my strength and my spirit to keep going.
In 2022 I lost my brother due to covid to which it took a real toll on me then in May of 2023 i lost my mother to CHF and kidney failure, after the loss of my mother and my brother, I had just given up on life and slipped into a deep depression and stayed in bed and was just giving up.
My youngest sister came over day after day to get me up out of bed to do crafts with her but couldn’t get me to respond hardly, so finally after about 2 months of her coming over and trying to get me up out bed and my depression, just to shut her up and leave me alone, I got up & went & done a day of crafting with my sister, I believe it was at that point in my life other than my children and my grandchildren, I found a purpose to live again(figure of speaking).
So, I began doing crafts as an outlet, a therapeutic & a hobby. but that grew into doing craft shows, an online store to opening up my physical store called KEENCREATIONS.
And now one of my proudest joys is working for me & with me, my daughter Natasha, together we craft here at the store & building KEENCREATIONS together, Natasha is the Manager of my store.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it’s been a very hard road, but perseverance, pushing through my health issues and the hardships of the economy and starting up a business has its rewards and its downfalls.
In the crafting business, I’ve had to learn what a customer is searching for, staying with competitive prices, finding the right location for my business, gain customer base & foot traffic, then there’s advertising to get your business word out, its time consuming, costly, patience waiting, understanding your customers & needs & attentive listening to your customer’s needs.
Though I’ve only been in operation in my physical store here in Eaton, Ohio, I have gained a good customer base and good foot traffic and gained good repeat customer satisfaction overall.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
KeenCreations is a craft/retail store,90% handmade crafts & 10% retail, we handcraft items that we sell to customers with a Christian family friendly atmosphere.
Were known for pillows & t-shirts & our canvas work and we just introduced our brand-new product that is going well, handmade body soaps, oils for oil warmers and our scented candles. But we have a really popular item that we specialize in, our Highland Cow collection.
We sew and do our own pillows & our own iron on patchwork to our creations that we do, we have over 700 hand crafted items in our store, too many to ad on here.
We also offer special ordering, so if a customer wants a special photo of a pet, loved one ect. We offer that as well,
On a blanket, a t-shirt, canvas & even a 120-piece puzzle.
I think what sets my company apart from others, we stand by our moto ” Creative Minds Creating Creative Creations”
Creativity comes from within & and when you see a vision of something that can be created only from the mind, amazing things can be created.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I don’t see myself as a risk taker but in life you have to take risks from time, when I started my company keencreations in opening up my storefront, was a major risk especially in the crafting world,the obstacles of managing the right crafts/products, customer satisfaction, managing the bills to keep your business in operations, advertising & so much more,I’ve overcome some of these obstacles & improving, motivation & commitment plays a major role in risk taking,it’s never giving up, always strive & keep going no matter what obstacles you are facing, getting over the hurdles of the risks you take,takes patience & perseverance & I’ve learned from my mistakes in the risk taking and decisions,I’ve made the wrong decisions in advertising for one, choosing the right advertising where I’ve lacked in knowledge & have lost money in doing so,but have in improving my advertising for my company to grow.
Contact Info:
