While the long-term future of brick-and-mortar stores remains to be seen, e-commerce stores like locally owned Mountain Moverz are prime examples of how you can own and operate a business from anywhere. 
Opening from their own home, Flatwoods native Lauren Mixon incubated the idea of the apparel company while pregnant with her first child. The catch, she and her enterprising husband Dalton were living and running their own business in Florida at the time but longed to be closer to family. Dalton took the leap and sold his Florida-based pool service company with the intention to focus on some other business ideas. As luck would have it, the couple found a home in Flatwoods across from Lauren’s sister. 

“Dalton has been an entrepreneur since he was 16-years-old,” Lauren explains. Dalton’s acumen for taking risks and making money led to the development of an idea Lauren had been pondering. It started six years ago with children’s bracelets. The couple bought bands of gold-filled metal from a supplier. The bracelets are custom-cut, polished and hand-stamped with a personal message, making them perfect personalized gifts. This of course grew to include women’s sizes. “Then we thought we should offer onesies, and well, it just grew into apparel from there,” Lauren said.
“Mountain Moverz was just this idea I had that centered around raising children and always wanting them to know they can move mountains.”
Her kid-centric business was gaining ground, but like everything else in the world, COVID had its impact, too. The price of gold went through the roof and became hard to obtain, and that’s when the couple pivoted to focus more on apparel, with a special focus on graphic tees.“We literally do everything except sew the garment,” Lauren explains. With a staff of designers who use the popular design application Procreate, they come up with the logo ideas first and once they agree on a design, they print them at their shop. 
Lauren and her team launch a new design every week and mail them to consumers all over the country. They do their own modeling and styled shoots, creating virtually all their own marketing material with Lauren being the face of the brand.
The real magic is how a locally designed tee or sweatshirt ends up on the backs of consumers all over the nation. “Dalton is the brains behind this operation. He knows how to take a risk and grow a base,” Lauren adds. 
Mountain Moverz has 78,000 plus followers on Instagram alone and an online website where you can purchase directly or even become a brand ambassador. The field of E-Commerce is highly competitive, and Dalton has taught himself the mastery of building a brand. “We’ve certainly seen the ups and downs of this business and how it comes together,” Lauren adds. Last year was a banner year and the company was able to upgrade by paying influencers to market their apparel. 

To build their following, the couple periodically records entertaining videos that go 
viral. They currently employ 15 individuals and continue to thrive from their walkable office location at the former Norman’s Locker Room in Flatwoods, Kentucky.
For more information, visit Mountain Moverz on Facebook, or mtnmoverz on Instagram.