Location: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Owner: Carlos Gomez
History: Carlos Gomez builds storage sheds under the name, Fabritzi. About nine years ago, his brother approached him about building a doghouse. Carlos did so and it came out well, so he tried posting it on Facebook. It didn’t take off right away but after a particularly cold spell in Oklahoma, he began to see more interest. From there he was first contacted by people who wanted a warm doghouse and then by those who wanted something a little different. “I told them, if you can send me a picture, I can build it” and he has been busy ever since.
Products and Services: Carlos started with doghouses but has expanded into all sorts of animal housing, which he also delivers to customers in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. In the last two years, his buildings have also come to include rolling poultry houses, chicken houses on trailers that can be transported and moved between pastures.
In the meantime, in addition to doghouses and poultry buildings, Carlos and his five employees have also built structures for rabbits, goats, horses, cows, even skunks and one house for a monkey.
“Some people want something different or a little more creative,” he explained the appeal of his particular animal buildings. “I have made them with windows and porches, so that they resemble little houses.”
Marketing: Carlos has found Facebook to be a great marketing tool as he can display photos of many of his past creations. Many are exquisite designs, both large and small, that can include interior walkways, covered porches, with or without floors. “I got invited to attend an [agriculture] event and that was a great experience in that I took examples of what I’ve built. I got to meet people and show them exactly what I can build for them. Now any time, I get invited to an event, I try to go. It’s important for me to be able to show exactly what I have done in the past, because I don’t have a basic house or design that I go off of. Each one I build is custom designed, just what that customer needs and wants. I tell them when they contact me, if you can send me a picture of what you want, I can go from there. I want to make exactly what the customer wants.”
