Week 3. Did Drug Dealers Have It Right?

One of the books that inspired us along our journey was “Rework” by Jason Friend and David Hansson. I can’t recommend the book enough. In the book there is a chapter called “Drug Dealers get it right”. What does that mean?

Straight from the book:

Drug dealers are astute businesspeople…….They know their product is so good they’re willing to give a little away for free upfront…..Don’t be afraid to give away your product – as long as you’ve got something to sell. Be confident in what you’re offering. You should know that people will come back for more. If you’re not confident about that, you haven’t created a strong enough product.

One of the things we've been preoccupied the past two weeks is sending out samples to people that have requested them. I mean LOTS of samples. We’re going through sample packs left and right but it doesn't bother us one bit. We want the world to try the product because we truly think it’s the best out there. All preworkout products give you “energy”. What separates us from the rest?

Our elevator speech:

1. You know exactly what’s in the bottle. There are no secret blends.

2. Proper dose of key ingredients. You can’t “feel” creatine working. But rest assured we give a proper dose.

3. Ingredient sourcing – followed up by posting laboratory test results for the world to see.

4. Simplicity.

5. You’re dealing with a company that will try to do whatever it takes to make you happy.

The overwhelming majority of the feedback from samples and people that have purchased the product have been very positive. Many people talk about how they like that there is no “cracked out” feeling from many other products. It’s a simple mix at heart and … we are all about simplicity. There is a lot of money to be made (as you can see) by making things as complex as possible. Proprietary blends and adding ingredient upon ingredient in useless amounts is a prime example of that. We believe that an inverse relationship to effectiveness happens when too much complexity is added.

No one NEEDS a preworkout and its use is personal preference. Here’s free advice to others that may be trying to start a supplement company from the ground up: go ahead and invest in lots of sample packs.

You also better believe enough in your product to send it out for the world to try. We didn't allocate any money toward samples but we love sending them out. It’s just another chance for us to connect with a like-minded individuals and let them know what we’re about.

HIGH POINTS

Week 3 high points so far with starting Citadel Nutrition is all the cool people we’ve met. We’ve gotten to chat and become friends with people that run the gamut (customers, bodybuilders, fitness gurus, guys just like ourselves that like to train) and it’s been….really fun. For next week we’re particularly excited to be able to chat with JC Deen and Rog Law about supplements and the inner workings of the industry. If they can make Ice Road Truckers interesting we should be able to come up with something.

(If you haven’t seen JC’s new guide for muscle building for beginner’s check it out HERE…I’ve read through it and think it’s great. It’s a no-nonsense guide that breaks things down in simple terms. That type of stuff really resonates with us.)
 

LOW POINTS

Low points so far? I can’t say there are any that come to mind as we’re still running on a natural high. Revenues are nil – we are selling a couple bottles a day but that goes right out the door for samples/review bottles – not to mention the costs it take to run a business. We’re definitely still in the red and will probably be there for a while – but we know it takes time to build a brand – and we’re definitely in it for the long haul. My training has suffered a bit as I haven’t been getting as much rest…..but sometimes the brute force method is the only way.

Alright. Thanks for reading and let the good times roll.

Thank you for your support.