Parenity Brand Startup Journal | Entry #3 | Week Ending Jul.05/24
Parenity is a solopreneur brand (read about it here) being built from the ground up by me, Rob Bond. For other entries in this startup journal, check out the startup journal category on this site, or if you want to just check out the previous post, you can find it here.
And if you don’t feel like reading every single thought, here’s the blog post condensed into a short video:
We Finally Have our Product Name
I glossed over this a little in the last entry, but the name selection for our product is something I couldn’t nail down for a long while, not that I was laser-focused on it. The first one I had stuck in my head for a long while was “Rise and Shine”, but to me, it sounds a little generic, so the point where I almost assume it’s been used before.
So, as mentioned nonchalantly several times already, the name for the product is “Adulting Done Bright”. I had several variations of this I was playing with, such as Adult Bright, but I believe having ‘adulting’ in there communicates that this is for people who are not just adults, but adults dealing with the stresses of ‘adulting’ and want to function more brightly. And although our brand is Parenity, focused on parents, I did want to leave the door open for any adults who were burnt out, even if not from parenting.
“Adulting Done Bright” includes two core concepts of the product, it rolls off the tongue just fine, it’s upbeat and playful(being a playful twist on “something done RIGHT”), and it’s only 5 syllables. I consider this done.
…Except that the individual in the regulatory department of the lab I’m working with, who will be handling Parenity’s NPN application, aske me to provide several names for the product. Apparently the name can be rejected for a range of reasons, including if it’s not representative enough of what the product contains.
So here’s the final list I provided. Hoping we can just stick with #1, but I’m open to anyone’s feedback!
- Adulting Done Bright
- Serenergize
- Rise and Shine
- Parenity
- N-Able
- Bolster
- Brain Bolster
Product Description is Complete
There’s so much information I want to convey to our customers and potential customers about our Adulting Done Bright formula, so it has taken a while to put the full product description that will live on the product page together. I’m sure there’s some tweaking ahead, but feel free to have a look at the current draft here
Product Final Quotes
Final quotes are almost always higher than the initial ballpark, and our Parenting Done Bright product is no different. Right now I’m trying to come up with the right blend of “increase our order to decrease our cost”. I thought about it, but I’m not interested in reducing the amount of product per container to save costs. Each container should be a month supply.
Also on the pricing front, I have to keep reminding myself of who is quoting in what currency. The overseas stuff is always in USD, but I sometimes overlook it and am disappointed that I have to multiply that by 1.3something to get my real cost.
Founder Content Strategy
It’s hard to be the creator AND planner of content. You don’t want to create low quality content for your brand, but also being the guy who has to do all the editing, effects, and posting, you often find yourself shying away from certain types of content because of all the work it means for you in the future. And also being the CEO, you can get very antsy when considering the time that is being spent on even the easy pieces of content. Embracing the process and having fun is extremely important, but my goal is not to be a full time content creator. Other things DO need to get done.
I’m Not Trying to Monetize Content Creation
Like most people, I’d need a good reason to turn down a buck, but as I navigate my entry into the world of content creation, I have to remind myself that half (or more) of the advice out there is intended for people who intend to make a living, or at least significant income, from content creation.
Even if I wanted to, I cannot take this approach. Since losing my job, I do have more time, but it flies by even faster than you might think, and I cannot afford to spend all of it planning, shooting, editing and posting videos to platforms (ahem, TikTok) that may or may not pick up on it. Especially when I’ve got a family to take care of and spend time with on top of all these hats I’m wearing.
Make no mistake, I do recognize the need for a strong social presence, but in terms of the content I’m going to rely on to move the needle and make some sales, I’ll leave it to completely dedicated folks who really know what they’re doing, and I’ll likely tap that resource via Social Snowball as soon as we launch.
All that said, I do intend to keep adjusting Parenity’s posting cadence as I go, and approaching it from a create-what-is-enjoyable outlook.
A Little More on TikTok
I don’t want to go on another rant about TikTok, but after scrapping my old account and starting fresh, it seemed like I was on an OK path. Then I got two 0-view posts in a row, and ended up posting this full-of-snark TikTok video as a test to see if I could prod the algorithm a bit. It seems to have worked for now, but this is a basket I will not be putting all my eggs in, and I’m going to start doing my best to take the long-game approach to this and not obsess over the numbers.
I can already hear the suggestions: “you need to have high-quality content”; “you need to niche down”; “you must have violated a policy”. PLEASE! It’s a glitchy AI-driven platform that doesn’t know which way is up a lot of the time. I have seen some really half-assed stuff on there get a million views. Reddit if full of people sick of dealing with TikTok’s automated crap. The included screenshot is just a drop in the bucket!
Content creation can easily take over your life and steal valuable time from your business and family. I recommend using it, but with a measured approach! Don’t lose your head over it!
I Applied to ElevateIP
I filled out some forms and submitted a pitch deck to the ElevateIP program, through North Forge.
ElevateIP is a federally funded program providing Canadian start-ups with resources to understand, strategize, and create IP assets, including trademarks, patents, copyrights, industrial designs, and trade secrets. It also offers funding to cover costs associated with IP protection efforts.
I may be misunderstanding, but I think we’ve been approved! More on this next week.
How to Pick a Bank
With Parenity’s incorporation mostly wrapped up, it’s time to think about opening a bank account for the business. I have no idea how crucial this decision is. It doesn’t seem like there are any banks that have a clear selling point over the others. So do I just go with the same bank I use for my personal banking to keep things easy? I’m going to run this by my buddy at Flow CPA, but I want to wait until I receive my final certificate for the corporation first so that any advice I receive is actually actionable.