Editing The Pen Addict 378/transcript (section)

== Future Product Strategy ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' And then the only thing. Like the other thing I see for the future is like a year from now. Like once you have good data on how it's going. I mean, you're just right for a subscription at a maximum or at a minimum. A four pack of people who buy them annually. I have. Of course. Get a break on the annual. Consider this. That's an easy thing. Right. But like that's a year from now thing.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Like I am also considering there would be different additions. Right. Like to make that a more of a enticing prospect for people. Like.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Like my four pack should be specific to the four pack. Like if it's, you know, red, blue, yellow and green books or whatever. Like that should be specific to that. If I. But like it's hard to come out with that now because people haven't tried with that. But like a year from now.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Also, it's difficult to do anything like that right now because I can't keep these things in stock. Yeah. Yeah. And it's been so difficult. Like I'm really struggling with it because I don't. So. So what happened was. Right. So again, it's funny. Like pen addict listeners. If you are. If you are a cortex listener who listens to the pen addict, you get a lot of extra detail. Um. Because. So the last episode of cortex that we did, we recorded it before we put them on sale. Um. And we revealed some of the numbers and stuff. And then me and Gray had this conversation about what the ideal was and like what we thought was going to happen. And my ideal and what I hoped was going to happen, but did not happen that way, is that we sold kind of like half of them pretty quickly. And then had a stock that would trickle away because then I'll understand a little bit more about how sustainable this business is. Right. That did not happen. We sold all 2,000 in a week. Right. So I know nothing about how sustainable this business is. Right. So now it's like, well, how many more do I order? I don't know. Like I've made an order, but I don't know if it's the right amount again. Because we sold 2,000 of them. What if only 500 of those customers want another one? Right. Right. So then, but now, what if, what if we have another 5,000 people that want them? Yep. So I don't know. So I'm still trying to work it out. Plus, I don't want to order an obscene amount because my plan is that next year, what we are calling the first edition is no more. Right. So my plan will be that we will order, I don't know, like lots more of second edition because then that will be hopefully pretty much the final product. Right. Because genuinely, the product that we have, I could keep selling it forever because I'm really happy with it. Sure. I want to make changes to it, but like for what we are selling at $20, which may also change if we are making changes to the book because I might be doing some more difficult things to it. I think for a $20 product, you are getting a very good quality product that works for people. But it just needs tweaks and I want to make those tweaks and I want to keep pushing it. But this is a very difficult business. You know, because people are saying, why don't you take pre-orders? That will help you work out demand. And like, yeah, that's logical, but I still am not sure exactly how long it takes to make these things. Right. Because the timelines have changed. Both times it has been different. So I don't want to say to you now, go and, you know, go and pay and we'll give you a book in two weeks because it might be nine or 12 or 20 weeks. So I don't want to do that yet. Eventually we will do that, but I don't have, you know, so there is a possibility that we might take pre-orders on this next one once I know these things are in the air. True. Right. Because once they're in the air, I now have a better idea of what that takes, but it's the production process. And it's like a whole, this is a very difficult thing to do. It is a very difficult thing to do as a side business. So I'm working it out. But like, I tell you, this is a very stressful thing, but I am really enjoying this part of my life right now. It is a very exciting and interesting challenge that I want to keep doing more with. So if you want a theme system notebook, there are two things you can do. And so you can choose which one you want right now. You can go to the Cotton Bureau page, which is also a cortexmerch.com. And you can put your name in to be notified when they go in stock again. And that is like a one-time thing. So you put your name in, you get an email, and then that's it. Right. The next time, you're not going to find out. The other thing you can do is go to the themesystem.com and sign up for the theme system newsletter, which will be a consistent thing, which I will be adding more to over time. Stock changes, examples, more information. I'm working out what that's going to look like.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But yeah. Cool. Well, that's all the feedback I have. I am pleasantly surprised at how I've taken to it, even though it's only been a couple days. I'm like, oh, I got it. Like, I'm feeling like, oh, okay, this is, I can make it me. So yeah, because I was pretty hesitant up front, just from the style and format. That's nothing I've ever done. We've talked about this a million times.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's true to me that you genuinely think well of this product.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Yeah. So it goes in my, I keep it with me so I can have it, even though I only fill it out once a day. It's not like an ongoing note-taking notebook. Yeah. I want it around and I want to keep working on it. So I'm very happy with it so far.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That is, I feel pretty good about that, Brad. I'm not going to lie. I feel very, I'm very happy about that. So thank you.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And I'd tell you if I wasn't. Are we good? We're good. I got more cool stuff to talk about, though.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I'm trying to get my composure here. I was very nervous about that.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Myke didn't know what I was going to say. So that's how we like it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' What did it say in the notes? Boy, does he have questions. Then I'll put you on the spot. That's what it says. That's the notes that I have here. Yeah. Yeah. This is, you know, I'll talk about this more as I have more to say. But we have more being made. So.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So you actually listen to Cortex. Like, we're not going to talk about this all the time. But if I'm going to use it, like, we're going to talk about it. Yep. Tough.

'''Myke Hurley:''' All right. Let's take a break and thank our friends over at Pen Chalet for their support of this show. Pen Chalet sell authentic, amazing rollerballs, fountain pens, ballpoints, mechanical pencils, and so much more. They have very fast and reliable customer service and they're always doing wonderful discounts. Twice a month, they have discounts on great products. They have closeout specials as well. And they do this stuff with all of their favorite brands. Pelican, Lamy, Pilot, Namiki, Sailor, Kaweco. They have all of them available. They're an authorized dealer. And they're doing the best prices that they possibly can. They also have inks. They have limited edition stuff. They have pen holders and refills. They sell international. They have great shipping rates. And if you are in the US and you buy over $50 worth of stuff, you'll get free shipping on that. They have 100% satisfaction guarantee. And they do special offers for Pen Addict listeners. Always go to penshalet.com and click the podcast link at the top of the website. Use the password Pen Addict to get your hands on the special offers available this week. And to get the code you need to save 10% on anything at Pen Chalet. They have some great stuff available right now. But we want to highlight a specific product in a moment. But you can get 10% of that product and anything else by going to Pen Chalet and clicking that podcast link at the top of the website. Use the password Pen Addict to get your hands on all this stuff. Our thanks to Pen Chalet for the support of this show and Relay FM. And we're now going to talk a little bit about the Team Fox Montegrappa pen that Pen Chalet have.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, so Ron and Pen Chalet have been a huge supporter of this podcast for years and a huge supporter of the blog for years. And the funny thing about Ron is I rarely hear from him. Like, we just go about our business. He does, you know, he lets us know the ads. And then, like, that's kind of it. So when I get a text directly from Ron, which rarely happens, like, my, you know, eyes kind of perk up. I'm like, oh, what's going on with Ron? What does he need? And he's like, hey, can you do something for me? And Ron's not that kind of guy. Like, he never asks, like, for the favors. So I was like, yeah, absolutely. I'll do anything you need. He's like, we have this project that we're part of with Montegrappa. They made a pen called the... A series of pens. A series of pens. So it's ballpoint, fountain pen, and rollerball. So it's Montegrappa tulip for Team Fox. And what Team Fox is, is Michael J. Fox's organization for Parkinson's research. So that's a, you know, a debilitating disease for a lot of people that you can go read about some information on that. And the designer behind this pen was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. And they decided to team up with Team Fox and Montegrappa and make this pen where the proceeds of all the sales of these pens go to Parkinson's research. And Ron asks, he's like, can you take a look at this pen? And would you mind promoting it? Because I really want to support the Parkinson's research. And, you know, I would appreciate it if you would, you know, do anything you can to help promote this pen. And I said, absolutely, I will do that, Ron. Like, so I'm being super transparent. But I'm doing it because it's something that Ron believes in. It's something that I believe in, in giving back and supporting different charities. If, you know, if you couldn't tell by now, we really, really believe in supporting others, you know, throughout. Throughout this podcast, throughout our podcast network, throughout our lives. Like, that's part of who we are. And I am super happy that Ron reached out to me specifically for this product. It's really cool looking. I have it in my hand. I just got it yesterday.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Its colorway is right up my alley, right? Yeah, boy. It's orange. It's an orange barrel and kind of a brick red cap and silver trim, real rhodium trim, rhodium plated trim and a steel extra fine nib. I mean, this is like if I was working with Team Fox, I might have come up with this pen design. Good looking. Because it's pretty rad. And I'm a huge fan now of Montegrappa ever since they changed to the Yovo nibs. Their steel nibs are awesome. Like, that's really, really, they're so enjoyable to write with now. Like, Montegrappa, ever since last year, I guess was it last year when the Montegrappa pen came out, right? I have to say it that way too, you know, so it doesn't become like a who's on first type of thing with fountain pens. When that pen came out and that nibs switched, I was like, yes, this is it. We're there. Like, I love this pen. I love how it feels. And this one, the Team Fox pen is, you know, more of a cigar shape, rounded ends. Just a really, really great pen. Proceeds go to help Team Fox fight Parkinson's disease. And I couldn't be happier that Ron reached out and asked us to work with him on this.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, I think it's beautiful. And I think people should check it out, right? Like, it's a good pen, but a great company in a beautiful colorway that helps support a charity, which is pretty awesome. So, can't complain about that.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep, yep. So, I'll have some more pictures. I just inked it up, like, literally right before the show. So, I'll have some more pictures of it up on Instagram. And I'll do a review of it. And we'll get the word out about this pen because it's fantastic.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So, you put something in the notes here. We got it.