Pivoting IS the Plan
Last week we learned that even though we were the right people to launch a creative food service product, the people in food service didn’t know what to make of our product. Thankfully, a creative marketing expert suggested we pivot to online influencers and just like that, our business model changed.
But how do you sell online when you don’t have a website? Oh no. Please don’t say it… Amazon?!
Since the mid2000s, Amazon had been my nemesis in the cell phone stores I managed. I trained all the reps (as a corporate trainer, that was my whole job) and I still couldn’t convince customers our prices and selection were better than what they could get delivered with Prime. The cut was deep, so please, for the love of all that’s holy, don’t make me sell on Amazon.
Plus, Juliano liked that we could avoid Amazon fees by selling direct from our own site. But that meant building one. If you want more than a Wix, the next step up is a WooCommerce site. And if you have no design skills like Juliano and me, the first step is admitting it.
Still, once you realize a real designer costs five to ten grand, you start convincing yourself that maybe, just maybe, you can become a UX/UI wizard overnight. So Juliano dove in, learned what he could and built a site that looked like a child made it and got a participation trophy for the effort.
We started DMing influencers on IG and linked out to natureswildberry.com in our bio. Day one, day two, day three… nothing. Week one, week two… still nothing. I was writing cool things about the berry but nobody was replying. Deep down, I knew I was making this harder than it needed to be.
So I asked myself, how can I get out of my own way and let the business do what it’s meant to? Make the miracle berry more affordable with more availability. It was just about to hit me but that pre-breakthrough moment is where we’ll pick up next week.
Now for the next flavor experiment…
The bulbs I wanted to test were onions and garlic. I grew up hating both for having zero redeeming qualities. People who loved them were just as suspicious as the vampires they were probably hunting. But since the berry smooths bitter, unlocks sweet from sour and boosts umami, I figured, why not?
I wasn’t about to eat them raw, since that’s not how I’d normally use them. So I grilled some and threw them on a burger...boom, whole new level. Then I added them to salsa and guac and it was insane. Now I’ve got them pickled, grilled and yes, even raw in wraps and salads. All thanks to Nature's Wild Berry working its magic.
Next week I’ll be back with another treat from conventional produce that’s catching on and how the berry makes it even better.
And as always, your hidden 48 hr 20% off alphanumeric code is hiding in plain sight. Look closely at the text—did you spot a word that’s formatted oddly? Enter it exactly as shown!
– Hank