You are reading 3Bits & Change, Joseph's email about building a direct to consumer business on the internet. Today’s email was written to “chill vibes” station on the Sonos.
Good morning,
It’s Tuesday. School is back in session! New routines are forming. Each week feels a bit like the last and there is a comfort it that. The variety of summer has given way to the cool evenings of fall in MN and I’m thinking a lot about soup. I’ve not made any yet. But, I’m thinking about soup. Maybe you are too.
Last night I sat out in the cool air as the sun went down on the firepit I didn’t start. The neighbors had a window open. It’s that kind of weather… sleeping with the windows open weather. I opted to not smoke ‘em out. Maybe we’ll light it tonight after 18 holes of golf (read “business development”) today.
Bit #1 • The Jenny is here! Order one knife sharpened
This request has manifested a few different ways. One is the regular ask to sharpen just one hunting knife that comes from TikTok commenters. The other is for a filet knife sharpening from anglers, also on TikTok. Another is from folks that only have one good knife and don’t want to sharpen all of them. Just one. The entry level knives can be sharpened too. :)
“How should you keep track of what customers want? Don’t. Listen, but then forget what people said. Seriously. There’s no need for a spreadsheet, database, or filing system. The requests that really matter are the ones you’ll hear over and over. After a while, you won’t be able to forget them. Your customers will be your memory. They’ll keep reminding you. They’ll show you which things you truly need to worry about.” ―Jason Fried, ReWork
I’ve hesitated to add a one knife service because we’ve designed the existing experience to go as fast as it can and to make this as easy as it can be to service all the knives in a house. So we only ship Priority Mail (3 days max to any address in the country often faster) and we offer loaners for the cost of shipping them back to us (no rental cost). It turns out those are not the only barriers folks see with knife sharpening.
Customers keep asking, in different ways, for just one knife sharpened. It’s either because they only have one knife OR they want to trial us before buying the bigger package. And that’s the reason we’ve decided to add The Jenny - trial.
We’ve designed and are now offering the opposite of solve the whole problem. Rather, we’re going to slow the whole thing down like big ocean going shipping vessels and offer a product for just one (small) knife shipped SLOW via First Class Mail.
Why, call it The Jenny? Because our friend Jenny was the first to ask for this service and our friend Tim suggested it. Cheers to Jenny!
Let’s see where this product goes. vivront.com/one
Bit #2 • Does The Jenny sell?
So far so good. It’s existed for a day.
Here is an example from yesterday. A customer from Florida asked to have one knife sharpened. I politely declined. Then I had an unrelated text conversation (Sterling, it was you) where I changed my mind. I went back to the customer and offered one knife. They purchased The Jenny later in the day.
Whatever the reason (trial or hunting/fishing) we now have a new pilot product for just one knife. You’re the first group to know about it. It ships slow and it’s lower perceived risk. It’s simpler? It’s proven to grow the customer base in it’s first day by one. Here’s to more customers.
View it at vivront.com/one
Bit #3 • Do you offer drop off? A physical location?
Requests for dropping knives off have spiked in the last week. It’s easily doubled from the previous week in the chat channel alone. We’re now asked daily and often multiple times a day via phone, email and chat.
Thanks for all the love neighbors! And, thanks for sharing the word too!
We’re in lease negotiations with a landlord for a small space. It’s in a different trade area than we’ve been focused on in our search. It’d be the spot to put a second store in the metro. Maybe it’s our first store.
What do you think of the Minnetonka area for a sharpening service? What do you think about having a physical location being a shortcut to making it easier to trust an online sharpening service?
We have some work to do with a 5 year commitment on something not yet tested. The signals are good. We’re working to remove as many points of risk as possible.
Anyway, what do you think about a French named, Japanese focused cutlery and sharpening store in the Minnetonka area run by a German founder looking to celebrate home cooks and support improvement in school lunch efforts in our schools?
Sum
Our customers have been our memory. We’ve added a new product and it sold in it’s first day available. And, we’re super close to having a physical sharpening shop in MN. Super close.
Change
Add Vermont to the bucket of states providing free meals to all students. California was joined by Maine in early Summer. Link.
While Minnesota lawmakers aimed to offer free meals to all students the effort failed in the house. An administrative innovation of sorts will enroll an approximate 90K kids not currently enrolled. This will be done by accepting all Medicaid members automatically. The line, however, for qualification (poverty metrics) has not been adjusted. Link.
Staffing, food cost and supply challenges will continue to impact nutrition programs around the country this fall. Those families just barely not in the program will continue to struggle to get ends to meet.
Expect news stories to kick up in the coming month as full coverage from the USDA for all students lunch expenses expire from the previous year after the first month of school.
On Your Way
Get out and enjoy the early days of Fall. It’s a lovely time of year!
Schedule a soup for the weekend? How about a “tomato-kissed vegetable soup.”
Or something lighter for the warmer temps? A ginger tumeric noodle option here.
Follow Vivront.com on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.
Follow @josephrueter on Instagram or Linkedin.
Order kitchen knives sharpened or give the gift of sharp at Vivront.com.