#076 An extremely busy week (12/11/2023)

Photo: Trying out different angles while filming, looking like a complete idiot.

Welcome to this week's journal, where you can write a review of the past week.

Today I'd like to discuss a few key points: 1. This week's review, 2. Timing and seasonality in the bedding industry, 3. New bed sheet website introduction page, and 4. Startups. I'll explain each point below.

This Week in Review

This week has been extremely busy because the new bed sheets were launched last Friday (October 11th). The week or two before the launch is the busiest time, often involving taking photos, shooting videos, writing website introductions, and so on. I don't know why, but I always end up working until the early hours of the morning and then getting up early the next morning to continue working. Although the situation has improved, I still end up working through the night.

Sometimes, if a product is popular, that's fine; but if it's not, you might start to doubt yourself.

Timing and Seasonality in the Bedding Industry

The temperature suddenly dropped this weekend, and this time I was quick to react. Winter products were ready in October, but because they froze immediately after the new sheets were released, I had to launch winter products one after another right away. The Re Fleece quilt is scheduled for release on November 13th, and I'm already rushing to take photos and write an introduction.

New bed sheets website introduction page

I think the product page for this new bed sheet is better than other products I've done before. There are more pictures, a video demonstration, and the product descriptions are more detailed. It's free of the pretentious writing I used to do. I hope everything goes smoothly for them.

Startup

Sometimes the pressure is greater than I feel. I've seen many startups that debuted around 2020, and many of them have stopped operating. Looking at Instagram or visiting creative markets, it's a stark and unfortunate reality that many small businesses' dreams don't last more than a few years. Their social media platforms and websites go a month without updates, then two months without updates, and slowly they stop updating altogether and are gradually forgotten.

I want to express that this is indeed not easy, and sometimes I feel very similar to them. I remember that I was like these small online shops at the beginning, and I still am now. Sometimes I go to look at the Instagram accounts of these "forgotten little shops" that are no longer updated, and I see how heartbreaking it is to see that process. Behind this account is a person, someone like me. At some point, this small online shop and this account were everything to them. They once pursued this dream, worked hard, and probably had blood and tears, but unfortunately, reality is tough, and perhaps they also had financial pressure and could not continue to run it. Therefore, the story can only be written to this page, and I will stop here.

When I saw the sales figures for Re Pillow Co., I was actually quite afraid that this day would really come. Therefore, I often remind myself to do my best and not to compare myself with others. The customers will feel it.

This is a marathon, not a sprint.

That's all for this week.