The Hen House Millionaire: How Kathy Vegh Hughes Built A Thriving Boutique Chicken Coop Business From The Ground Up

Kathy Vegh Hughes is the "head hen" and founder of Cutest Coops, an Ohio-based company that offers functional yet aesthetically pleasing chicken coops. 

Vegh Hughes is a first-generation American who recounts how her father came from Budapest, Hungary, with a change of clothes and a ping-pong paddle but was able to develop multiple business ventures. He built companies including a ping-pong center, a pool hall and a related products retail store that eventually turned into five locations. 

She was the first in her family to go to college, went on to earn a Master of Business Administration and spent 19 years running the family businesses. 

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From Relaxing Hobby to Full-Time Business

She took inspiration to develop the business after she began raising backyard chickens as a way to enjoy fresh eggs and relieve some of the stress of everyday life, including her busy managerial duties. She could not find a coop that met her entire wish list, one that was sturdy, looked great and provided strong predator protection. 

She played around with several designs and features and turned her interest in creating a better coop into a business. She developed a much larger coop that included features such as a wine fridge and an outdoor area that drew family and friends. Other people encouraged her to leverage her business background in product sales and development, and she decided to create her own company offering high-quality coops. 

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Vegh Hughes launched Cutest Coops in the summer of 2019 with just $3,800 in capital and by 2021 reached more than $2 million in sales. Her business benefited from increased interest in backyard chickens and other home-based endeavors (hot tubs, decks, outdoor spaces), during the pandemic. Vegh Hughes now offers both premade and custom-built coops through the Cutest Coops website. She accomplished this while juggling her time as a mom and an entrepreneur. 

She focused the business on boutique chicken coops, with various storage areas, sturdy walls and roofs and high-grade wire and fencing to prevent predation. They also feature smartly designed cleanouts which enable chicken owners to save time and ensure their flocks stay healthy by removing waste more frequently. Armed with her first finished coop, she attended a home show in Columbus, Ohio, where attendees gave her positive feedback, which encouraged her to launch into full production. 

Her current lineup of in-stock coops includes the 4-foot by 4-foot Charming Coop, which offers standing-room height for owners and other features. Her largest in-stock coop is the Chalet Coop, a 10-foot by 9-foot larger structure with storage spaces, seating porch and a pulley system for a chicken run door. 

Vegh Hughes suggests other entrepreneurs can succeed if they test their products and receive feedback from potential customers that they incorporate into future designs. She also focused on crafting products with multiple benefits and selling points, as her coops blend usefulness and craftsmanship with a sense of whimsy and fun. 

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