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Taking imperfect action

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

Alexander Mish

Contributor
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Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
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Nov 3, 2023
39
36
Hello everyone, i decided to stop wasting time on finding the perfect idea, and just do something, i will get precious experience this way, and then would be able to spot and pivot to more profitable problems afterwards.
I thought of what i knew already, and it was perfume - i researched it extensively for personal use previously.
I started searching for problems - the first and obvious one was that you have to spend a lot of time researching all the perfumes to really find appropriate ones for you. Your choice depends on your budget, occasion, your mood, what you wish to feel, what you wish people would think about you after meeting you, and so on.
Then i researched the market for perfume sets - biggest one in my country is marketplace Ozon - there is no options for "mood" or "event".
All perfume boxes are like "male perfume" or "sports perfumes" or "the newest perfumes of 2024" and a lot of crappy Knock-offs of popular perfumes.
In the comments people all say that the product is cheap - smells bad, does not resemble the original, does not stay long on skin and clothes, and other moments - vials break during transport, they leak, break the spraying cap, missing some amount of fluid after they arrive - overall bad quality.

I decided to make a perfume gift box - 5 vials of perfume in a beautiful box. You can gift it, or use it yourself. Because of the package - even if you don't use it, you can still put it somewhere and it would look good. People can also buy perfume for special occasions without wasting time looking for what to buy, and hundreds of dollars just to try it.
For example - a “serious meeting” box, with warm, spicy, non offending perfumes, and some light and fresh aromas. Or “evening walk”, or “office”. Something like that.

What do you think? It would be cool if you suggest, what situation you would like a perfume for :)

Also, niche problem i’ve seen - allergic reactions. The skin becomes red and itchy. So i could find what ingredients cause this and find perfume without them. But this is rare problem, so I don't know if it worth it.

I would like to hear your thoughts - is it worth it? Maybe i could test the market somehow?

I know where to get the good perfume for cheap. I use it myself, and compared it with originals - it smells the same, has good diffusion, good longevity.

So this one is crossed out.

Then i started to look how to solve the leaks - on forums on perfume.

Found the factory that makes good bottles. Also this problem can be solved by packing securely - i found supplier of inserts in boxes, so that bottles of perfume would not move during delivery.

People also complain that there is no cap on bottles, so they can't bring perfume with them.

I also think about creating an instruction on how and where to spray perfume, what is longevity and diffusion for each of them - so people could choose the appropriate timing of use before the event. And maybe include specific information - for example that this perfume can color you clothes if sprayed.

I am in process of getting it all together - choosing size, package, perfume combinations, and ordering all prerequisites.

But I don't know what to do next.

I am somewhat familiar with b2b, but no experience at all in b2c.

I dont know how and where to get customers?

I would like to hear your thoughts on how would you move forward, what would you do? And maybe some sources - books, videos, articles on how to do it?
 
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akshayazariah

Contributor
MEMBER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
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78%
Feb 24, 2023
27
21
But this is rare problem, so I don't know if it worth it.
Generally speaking, rare problems are worth more $$$. That's the basis of direct response marketing.

Solve specific problems, charge more.
 

Daim

New Contributor
MEMBER
User Power
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136%
Apr 11, 2024
11
15
Hello everyone, i decided to stop wasting time on finding the perfect idea, and just do something, i will get precious experience this way, and then would be able to spot and pivot to more profitable problems afterwards.
I thought of what i knew already, and it was perfume - i researched it extensively for personal use previously.
I started searching for problems - the first and obvious one was that you have to spend a lot of time researching all the perfumes to really find appropriate ones for you. Your choice depends on your budget, occasion, your mood, what you wish to feel, what you wish people would think about you after meeting you, and so on.
Then i researched the market for perfume sets - biggest one in my country is marketplace Ozon - there is no options for "mood" or "event".
All perfume boxes are like "male perfume" or "sports perfumes" or "the newest perfumes of 2024" and a lot of crappy Knock-offs of popular perfumes.
In the comments people all say that the product is cheap - smells bad, does not resemble the original, does not stay long on skin and clothes, and other moments - vials break during transport, they leak, break the spraying cap, missing some amount of fluid after they arrive - overall bad quality.

I decided to make a perfume gift box - 5 vials of perfume in a beautiful box. You can gift it, or use it yourself. Because of the package - even if you don't use it, you can still put it somewhere and it would look good. People can also buy perfume for special occasions without wasting time looking for what to buy, and hundreds of dollars just to try it.
For example - a “serious meeting” box, with warm, spicy, non offending perfumes, and some light and fresh aromas. Or “evening walk”, or “office”. Something like that.

What do you think? It would be cool if you suggest, what situation you would like a perfume for :)

Also, niche problem i’ve seen - allergic reactions. The skin becomes red and itchy. So i could find what ingredients cause this and find perfume without them. But this is rare problem, so I don't know if it worth it.

I would like to hear your thoughts - is it worth it? Maybe i could test the market somehow?

I know where to get the good perfume for cheap. I use it myself, and compared it with originals - it smells the same, has good diffusion, good longevity.

So this one is crossed out.

Then i started to look how to solve the leaks - on forums on perfume.

Found the factory that makes good bottles. Also this problem can be solved by packing securely - i found supplier of inserts in boxes, so that bottles of perfume would not move during delivery.

People also complain that there is no cap on bottles, so they can't bring perfume with them.

I also think about creating an instruction on how and where to spray perfume, what is longevity and diffusion for each of them - so people could choose the appropriate timing of use before the event. And maybe include specific information - for example that this perfume can color you clothes if sprayed.

I am in process of getting it all together - choosing size, package, perfume combinations, and ordering all prerequisites.

But I don't know what to do next.

I am somewhat familiar with b2b, but no experience at all in b2c.

I dont know how and where to get customers?

I would like to hear your thoughts on how would you move forward, what would you do? And maybe some sources - books, videos, articles on how to do it?
First of all your idea is good as you are not merely trying to "dropship this" as you are trying to create it yourself which is an amazing thing and as far as we are talking this idea can literally be scaled up to millions if you try hard and efficient enough so it is or potentially can become a CENTS idea.

Second the "allergic reaction" problem can be your main thing, your biggest value skew or your upper hand whatever you want to call it because you can then charge in terms of value rather than competition analysis which a normal perfume company will have to (unless they are doing specific or good marketing). I suggest to use it anyhow because such things at the end prove out hidden gems for you.

Using categorized could be a good thing only if it spikes interest in people you are targeting. use Google or Chatgpt for that analysis.

And last but not the least in the start try to make a website and use targeted ads to get to customers then use some delivery service to get that perfume to them or you can start a store in your backyard or locality and then expand to different locations (depends on your initial budget, target audience and approach. First one is: Cheaper, more or less specific and mostly a cold approach. Second one is: Expensive, more specific if your social circle is big and offers more warm approach). BE SPECIFIC to the niche that you choose and target their pain points correctly, it will do wonders for you.

And if you need help in making a good website which you will need in both cases, you can contact me as I am starting out as a website designer. BTW Good Luck on your venture.
 

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