Riffing on Ideas with Connor: Candles and Apps. Ep. #90
Nov 11, 2024
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Connor Gross joins the discussion, bringing insights from his family's candle business and innovative business strategies. They tackle employee productivity, discussing ways to measure work speed and navigating remote work challenges. Connor also shares unique branding ideas for candles and innovative marketing techniques, such as scratch-and-sniff samples. The conversation dives into new concepts for capturing consumer interest and pushing the boundaries of traditional candle products. Expect lots of creative entrepreneurial sparks!
Employee productivity can be effectively gauged by implementing standardized tests that assess work speed during the hiring process.
Innovative branding and unique marketing strategies, such as collaboration and niche products, can differentiate candle offerings in a saturated market.
Deep dives
The Challenge of Employee Productivity
Concerns regarding employee productivity and the potential for dual employment are explored. Instances are shared where employers suspect their employees may be managing multiple jobs, leading to efficiency questions. Indicators such as slow communication and unavailability on professional networks like LinkedIn raise red flags for employers. This phenomenon suggests that oversight and management may need to evolve to address these challenges more effectively.
Innovative Approaches to Employee Assessment
The discussion includes the necessity for assessing not just productivity but also the speed at which employees can work. By proposing a standardized test that simulates typical tasks, employers can better gauge a candidate's efficiency during the hiring process instead of relying solely on traditional interviews. This approach aligns with the idea that speed is an essential metric to evaluate, particularly in roles where high volume responses are critical. Such an assessment could streamline hiring by identifying the fastest candidates who can fulfill multiple job requirements.
Reinventing the Candle Industry
Exploration of the candle market leads to ideas on creating innovative and engaging products. Suggestions include unique branding strategies tailored to niche demographics, like mystery candles or pop culture-themed fragrances, to attract diverse consumer bases. Additionally, the conversation touches on the potential for developing a refillable candle design to combine sustainability with aesthetics. Such inventive approaches aim to differentiate offerings in a saturated market and appeal to modern consumer preferences.
Marketing Dynamics and Collaboration Opportunities
The dialogue highlights the importance of disruptive and memorable marketing strategies akin to those found in successful brands. Collaborations with other companies, like direct mail partnerships that utilize fragrance samples, are considered as ways to enhance product reach. The discussion emphasizes that leveraging unique marketing techniques can significantly impact consumer perceptions and buying decisions in traditionally bland industries. Therefore, focusing on creative, cross-promotional strategies could transform how products like candles are marketed and sold.
I sat down with Connor Gross (https://x.com/c_gro), a familiar face on the podcast, to dive into some exciting new ideas and business strategies. We talked about productivity and how to truly gauge an employee's work speed, the challenges of the candle industry (since Connor’s dad owns a big candle business in New Jersey), and some innovative concepts for tackling these markets. This conversation was so packed with insights that we had to split it into two episodes! Make sure to tune in next week for Part 2, which, trust me, is even better.
Check out Connor’s free newsletter! https://www.bizbrainstorms.com
Timestamps below. Enjoy! --- Watch this on YouTube instead here: tkopod.co/p-yt Ask me a question on or off the show here: http://tkopod.co/p-ask Learn more about me:http://tkopod.co/p-cjk Learn about my company: http://tkopod.co/p-cof Follow me on Twitter here: http://tkopod.co/p-x Free weekly business ideas newsletter:http://tkopod.co/p-nl Share this podcast:http://tkopod.co/p-all Scrape small business data:http://tkopod.co/p-os --- 00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview 00:57 Employee Productivity and Remote Work Challenges 02:48 Upwork and Multi-Job Dilemma 05:13 Management Solutions and Business Ideas 08:24 Speed and Efficiency in the Workplace 15:04 Candle Business and Unique Branding Ideas 17:06 Unusual Preferences and Niche Markets 17:19 Innovative Packaging Ideas 18:07 Candle Industry Insights 18:47 Marketing Strategies and Unique Selling Points 19:58 Exploring New Candle Concepts 20:23 The Liquid Death Approach 22:21 Refillable Candles and Home Decor 27:53 Scratch and Sniff Marketing 28:25 Collaborations and Personalization 31:33 Pet-Themed Candles and Programmatic SEO
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