You’re reading 3Bits & Change, Joseph's weekly email about building a direct to consumer business on the internet and the occasional Web3 issue. This email was written with the sounds of a growling dog. Follow @josephrueter on Instagram or Linkedin. Follow Vivront.com on Instagram and Facebook. If you haven’t already, subscribe!
Good morning,
And, we’re back. After some time away for the flip of the year we’re back at it. We spent some time on an island. We found time for the beach and pool but for some mild adventure too.
A few of you have mentioned that you want your knives sharpened but keep forgetting to order. Here is your giant button. Run along. :)
Bit #1 Business as Usual
Hire and train well. I don’t need to remind you but I’m experiencing the results and it’s so good.
We had the great fortune to have a very responsible 16 year old checking the mail, processing orders and getting knives sharpened while we were away. He did an amazing job. Amazing. If you did not know it… you would not know those were his first days on the job. He nailed it.
Please note, we’re looking for a different person to cover a few weeks in March in a similar fashion. Hit reply or ping me on another channel if you know someone. The commitment is a 1-3 hours a day. The work is checking a postbox, picking and packing orders and a bit of driving and waiting around. Easy and fun. Plus, they’ll get an inside view of an ecommerce business.
In volume news, we had significant gift card sales over the holiday weeks and saw a noticeable decline in shipments. Good to know. People like their knives at home during the holidays. Maybe it’ll replicate again next year. We’ll be ready and plan to ride the giftcard wave with more vigor next year.
Did you miss a gift for someone? Feeling generous or thankful and want to give sharpening?
Bit #2 Momentum is Building
We’re in those few days that come after vacation that consist of rebuilding habits and momentum. Speed is building.
Relationships with two national groups continue to be negotiated. Both will help with getting the word out about our mail order sharpening. Our test with social ads from a user generated perspective is taking lots of time but showing promise this week. We’ll get those ads in the paid social channels this week.
We’ve identified a commercial sharpening solution that will increase our volume capacity dramatically and will soon confirm those new tools will arrive in February.
Our Insta game is maturing with photos and a content strategy that seems to be working and growing. 50 whole accounts follow the account now. And, we’ll continue to play the hashtag game for it’s the only thing growing followers right now.
Follow along for food inspiration, some history and knife tips.
Bit #3 Fresh Products
Honing Rods.
Honing rods are a key tool in extending the life of your sharp knives. Do you have one? Do you use it?
If you have one, aim to use it 2-4 times a month or once every or every other week. Easy. And if you’re using Japanese knives, with their increased cutting angle, you’ll be likely to notice the difference of a little honing help in an even more pronounced way.
If you don’t have one, consider this 10 inch version with a natural handle above. We’re stocking this one right now because in a shorter version it’s easier to work with, it’s moderately priced, it’s attractive in finish and color and it’s durable from our tests so far.
Pre-Paid Envelopes.
Some of you, and a number of others, have wanted a pre-paid envelope to give as gifts. Sure, the thinking goes, it’s nice to give a gift card but eGift Cards are a bummer when you want a physical gift.
So, there are 10 of these pre-paid envelopes up for grabs right now. We’ll see how they go. Find them under the button.
And with the addition of the pre-paid envelopes our sharpening products count to five.
Sharpening Online
Sharpening Online with Loaners (German or Japanese)
Package in hand (for Retail environments)
Pre-Paid Knife Sharpening Package
eGift Card
Sum
Ok. There it is.
It’s good to get away. It’s great to have amazing help. Momentum continues to build and there are some fresh products.
Change
We’re going to aim to have ads in market every week for the first quarter. The learning is super important but not urgent. That makes it easy to prioritize below other things. But going forward we’re going to have social ads in play each week. Thumbs up.
I purchased my first NFTs last night. I mean, with Metamask and the whole ETH game. I had acquired some USD type NBA Top Shot NFTs last month as my first purchases. So, welcome to that party. More on that as time goes on.
On Your Way
May you have a wonderful Tuesday. Might you be encouraged in what you’re doing and find some challenge, any challenge, fade from it’s force in your life. Onward!