So for the past 6 months, I've been taking some time away from the startup world. Didn't apply for any jobs. Instead, I've been challenging myself creatively.
I became a screenwriter. Not with the sole intent of selling one for $$$$ but really as a test to see if I could actually produce, from scratch, a good story. Something that would intrigue a person reading it within the first 10 pages.
The final verdict... not bad.
While I absolutely love the process of writing and the flashes of brilliance that would happen whenever I was writing dialogue, one of the things I also learned is that it's not as easy as I originally thought it would be. My respect for screenwriters has now grown tenfold thanks to these past six months. Unfortunately, this also means that I won't be the next Aaron Sorkin or Brian Koppelman or Spike Lee.
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But it was during this time, I had an idea that just wouldn't go away. You know how we see those Halloween pop up shops every year? Like Spirit Halloween and Halloween Express. Why don't they have the same thing for Christmas decorations?
Each year, Americans spend over $9bn dollars on Halloween decorations.
Wanna guess how much is spent on Christmas decorations?
Nearly $20bn.
So I'll create a Christmas decorations pop up shop. But how do I do this? I don't have the money to rent a storefront. I don't have the money to build out said storefront. And I don't have the money to buy inventory. So physical retail is out. How else can I do this?
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A little backstory: I've been going to home decor stores since I was in middle school. Garden Ridge which is now called AtHome has been a mainstay in my life and I know the stores well. One of the things I also know is that AtHome doesn't sell their inventory online. They moved a billion dollars of product each year and none of it is sold on Amazon or anywhere else on the web.
But... they do have their entire inventory online. You just can't buy it. You have to go to the store and buy it. So I'll pull a Jeff Bezos. I'll build the store online and fill it with Christmas decorations from AtHome and when someone buys, I'll drive to the store, buy the item, and ship it to them.
Holiday decorations are a bit harder to sell than books but thank God for Facebook and Instagram ads.
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So there you have it. That's what I'll be doing from now until the end of the year. I'm doing it by myself as another test to see if I can do it. Shopify has made the process a little easier so I'll build it using them. And I already have the perfect name. SantaThrewUp.com.
Wish me luck!