By: Stefanie Galeano-Zalutko
Some people are born with fire in their belly and a penchant for leadership. Pamela Deats-Connaly, owner and operator of Texas-based Custom Built Awards, embodies such characteristics. With the mind of a mentor and the spirit of a cowgirl, Deats-Connaly proves that breaking the mold, making sound investments, and focusing on genuine relationship-building pay dividends. As a result, she has been a beloved household name in the awards and personalization industry for 47 years.
“If you’re going to grow a company, you need to figure out what you do and do it well. You gotta know where your heart is and find your niche,” Deats-Connaly says. “Me: I’m not an Avon saleswoman. I’m a trophy lady.”
That sharp self-awareness kept Deats-Connaly straight and steady during trying times.
Like many young entrepreneurs, she tag-teamed a business opportunity that did not go as planned, but she handled the adversity and set the tone for the next four decades.
“One day, my high school sweetheart and former business partner asked me if I had saved any money,” Deats-Connaly recalls. She’d lent him $1,000 toward a small shop. “When I asked where my money was a while later and he said the business wasn’t working out, I was mad as a hornet. I sat down and wrote a resignation letter to my job because I was about to be in the trophy business.”
At the time, Deats-Connaly was a single mother of three children and needed to cover her family’s basic living expenses. Sales was second nature to her as a way to make a living, but starting a business was a much greater risk.
“I had to spend $50,000 I didn’t have,” she explains. “But I knew what I could sell if I got it going, and I did. You can’t operate on scared money, or you’re going to fail.”
Failure, she says, wasn’t an option.
Building a Business
What began as a small business evolved into a multimillion-dollar legacy. Today, Custom Built Awards is a 13,000-square-foot compound serving customers nationwide. The 28-person team specializes in custom-built-to-order trophies, plaques, name badges, ribbons and medallions, select signage, and gifts for businesses, schools, organizations, sports teams, churches, and special occasions.
“One thing that differentiates us is that we’re not an internet-based business,” says Deats-Connaly. “I believe you should talk to and know your clients personally.”
Deats-Connaly points to a recent 20,000-piece order thanks to that ethos.
“I’m sitting on the other line with him, chatting about church,” she adds. “I care about the person, and that matters.”
While the company focuses on volume business, Deats-Connaly says no customer request is beneath her.
“Never forget where you came from,” she says. “I remember just starting, and a person who believed in me handed me an industry contact list.”
Deats-Connaly says she contacted every person on the list. If they spoke with her, she hopped on a plane to meet them in person.
Today, Deats-Connaly still approaches every business day with the same contagious tenacity and genuine support. Not only does she take an interest in the people behind the transactions, but she also educates fellow industry professionals. She is quick to give back to the community and is proud to share a homemade meal with her work family every day.
Deats-Connaly may steer daily operations like a wise ole wrangler, but she proves magic happens when one leads with a pure heart.
Stoic Decisions = Sustainable Growth
Over the years, Deats-Connaly balanced strong intuition and a keen business sense to position Custom Built Awards for exponential growth. She’s invested in vital areas to sustain the company through predictable fluctuations and turbulent economic cycles alike.
She credits a clear value system as pivotal to the company’s long-term success. That includes standards such as superior materials, cutting-edge equipment, strategic operational expansion, devoted personnel, and loyal partners.
Deats-Connaly also remains hyperaware of personalization trends, stock market performance, and their collective impact on the industry. As a general rule of thumb, she says the trophy market is typically status quo in a good economy but “crazy” during a downturn. While families may cut back on discretionary spending, such as shopping or going out to eat, during tough times, they often overcompensate by increasing their involvement in youth activities.
“Right now, our economy is holding its own. My sales are up 15% to 20%,” she says, noting that while gas prices and tariffs are troublesome, she’s already created a buffer by building up business ahead of those changes.
She also negotiated and purchased needs in volume and used savings to buy stock.
Following Printing Trends
Deats-Connaly also closely monitors advancements in materials, techniques, and equipment. That includes Direct-to-Film (DTF) and Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing, both of which have been windfalls for Custom Built Awards.
“The direct-to-transfer method is really innovative,” she says, and points out she’s been experimenting with substrates like acrylic with the printing technology.
An admitted equipment junkie, Deats-Connaly enjoys the challenge of finding new and exciting ways to improve business efficiencies.
“When we started engraving, one little slip-up and you had to start over,” Deats-Connaly says. “Now I manufacture my own trophies.”
You Are Your Word
While quality and service at a fair price are central to the perennial business model, Deats-Connaly emphasizes that promises made are promises kept at Custom Built Awards.
The business owner reflects on the impact her business has on customers, from company personnel receiving a lifetime achievement award, to the seven-year-old boy eagerly awaiting a hard-earned trophy at the end of the all-stars, or a customer who had a poor experience elsewhere and now needs help on a short turnaround.
“These are real people, and it’s my job to make sure the end user who receives that award feels good inside,” she says. “When someone walks in and sees their award on the table during a bid or presentation and they [audibly] suck in the air around them like a bride who enters [the reception hall] for the first time, then I did my job.”
Family First
Deats-Connaly points out that strong business practices and equipment investments would be futile without a smart, loyal staff to run the day-to-day operations.
“On my management team, the youngest has been with me for 17 years, and I have another woman who has worked with me for about 40 years,” she says, noting that part of that retention means ample compensation and valuing employee input.
Even still, Custom Built Awards has had its share of hurdles. She recalls the near-detrimental impact 2020 had on the company.
“I had just won Retailer of the Year at the APA Expo, and things were really looking up, then COVID-19 hit,” Deats-Connaly says. “I had to borrow a million dollars just to save the business. That humbles a person.”
“But I had God with me, a staff that is second to none, and clients I adore, and we made it through,” she continues.
When it came time to construct the newest building, Deats-Connaly included a large chef’s kitchen where everyone could meet, mingle, offer a blessing, and share a meal. A heart of the home at work, she says. The crew cooks meals four to five times a week and often sends guests home with leftovers.
“It’s more than what we do; it’s who we are,” she adds.
Giving Back
For Deats-Connaly, one of the greatest joys of success is sharing the fruits of her efforts. As a recognized expert in the personalization industry, the businesswoman has the privilege of mentoring small shops and leading educational sessions at the APA Expo, where she discusses setting up a showroom, choosing the right equipment and software, attracting ideal clients, and avoiding costly mistakes.
Her advice is clear and consistent: Carve a niche, be unapologetically you, and grow slowly.
“You can’t be everything to everyone. This isn’t Walmart. You can’t go and pick up your meat, drugs, panties, and tennis rackets all in one place,” she says. “Usually, we come to this realization the hard way.”
More recently, Deats-Connaly has turned down some new business due to capacity. She still specializes in volume business but only solicits one or two new clients per year. Doing so ensures fresh revenue without diminishing the quality of service. After decades at the helm, she is laser-focused on the right fit.
“I don’t cold-call anyone who doesn’t need us, but I want to work with customers who appreciate who we are and what we do,” she says.