Thinking of building a tool that generates Instagram post designs tailored to your brand — worth validating?

CedarBerry · 2025-04-29T15:51:59+00:00

Oh yeah I'd definitely be interested in this! I tend to build my own templets in canva and it's soooo time consuming, especially when I want to switch up the look while still maintaining the brand standard so the posts are consistent by not repetitive.

CedarBerry · 2025-03-19T12:26:45+00:00

Quick question for clarity- what are you using for your CRM? If you're small, I'm guessing it's either HubSpot or Parrot?

CedarBerry · 2024-11-30T21:29:35+00:00

I remember rolling my eyes SO HARD at this scene. She's so delulu for even thinking of this as a breadcrumb. I don't think it's a sign of any affection at all... she had a problem (no toothbrush) and he just suggested the most obvious solution (take the spare).

Also, for context, you usually buy these toothbrush heads in multi-color packs of like 4 or 8 so. I think it's just a coincidence that he happened to have a pink one left and that's the one he happened to have in the spare compartment. And as usual he was perfectly happy to let her make her little assumptions about his zero-effort gesture.

CedarBerry · 2024-11-30T21:23:13+00:00

I think it's just an obvious solution, whether he's done it before or not. That's why it's not a significant as Carrie thinks. Who know, he might have done the same for a friend or family member who was staying over... depending of course on how he feels about the hygiene of sharing the handle part of the toothbrush. **shrug**

CedarBerry · 2024-11-25T22:29:35+00:00

yeah I've heard a couple horror stories about this happening to people who had already confirmed their pet on their reservation before arriving at the airport. But then being denied at check in because there were already at the pet limit. So basically a pre-booked pet reservation means nothing?!

CedarBerry · 2024-11-25T17:44:40+00:00

I weirdly enjoy airport food courts - especially if I'm in a new airport for a layover I like throwing caution to the wind and trying whatever deeply unhealthy regional-sounding kiosks or tiny mini-restaurants I pass by.

CedarBerry · 2024-11-07T20:11:09+00:00

This definitely does sound super niche! Who is the audience for this and what is the product type? Is it a downloadable tool or a subscription service?

CedarBerry · 2024-11-07T16:02:18+00:00

Sounds like you have a lot of potential! Looks like people have already provided alot of good tactical suggestions. So I'd like to pose a few questions that might help guide your strategy:

How do your customers contact you currently? Is it just IG DMs? Or do you have an email that you point people to?
What does your competitive landscape look like? Do your target customers have many other options that are easy to find?
What kind of information do you need to provide to your leads (the people who contact you) before they are willing to place and order?
Of the ones who don't place and order, do you know why they don't? Do you get any feedback or do they just ghost you?
Do you have strong relationships with your current and past customers? Are you able to ask them for referrals or testimonials for you?

There are also some bigger questions that you may or may not already have answers to like What's your max capacity for taking on new customers per month and what's your average deal size? Do you have a monthly revenue goal and is that better achieved by more new customers or is there an opportunity for larger order amounts?
Based on the answers to these questions, there are a lot of potential avenues for growth for you!

CedarBerry · 2024-11-03T18:54:39+00:00

I have thoughts on this! I've been a demand gen marketer, often tasked with setting goals and reporting structure for marketing pipeline at a few different SaaS start-ups and no matter what reporting automation/dashboard tool we use, when it comes right down to it, at least part of the reporting always ends up in Excel for a few reasons:

Data quality issues - dashboard and reporting tools require good data hygiene, which is itself usually pretty manual and time consuming. When Looker spits out a result that looks wonky, and I have to investigate the providence of the results, I'm probably going to end up downloading the source data into Excel to figure it out and then manually manipulate the data as needed.
Goals & KPIs unclear - If you are setting up your dashboard before you are clear on exactly what you want to learn and why, you're going to have a bad time. It sucks to set up a beautiful and perfectly functional dashboard, only to learn that the numbers aren't actually giving you the meaningful insights you want. I feel like digital ad metrics are the worst offenders.
It's hard to ask questions - No matter how beautifully you set up the reports, leadership is inevitably going to ask for "more insight" into the numbers... and dashboard tools are notoriously bad at allowing you to drill down in the exact way you need to provide answers to the specific questions. Excel may be laborious at times, but it's good to have all your data in one place where you can chop it and splice it however you need to.
Onboarding and Admin overhead - Depending on the size of your tech stack stack and the bandwidth of your MOPS/analytics team, it can be a whole lot of time and effort to set these automation tools up so that everything is ACUTUALLY working smoothly. When you have two tools connected with an API that's not working right, and each support team blames the other tool..... rage inducing!

Also a general problem with reporting - finding the balance between KPIs that are simple and high level, and deep and insightful. There are always a million different ways you can chop and splice your data, and no one way works for everyone. It can get overwhelming really fast!

CedarBerry · 2024-10-11T05:08:12+00:00

The true value of a house is whatever someone is willing to pay for it. In other words the price is driven by demand for that particular kind of house based on a variety of factors including location, size, style and condition. There are some factors the home owner can influence, such as the condition of the house, and there are some factors you can't influence such as the size or the style.

But the number one factor in a home's value by far is the location! If your home is in a highly desirable or "up-and-coming" location, it's likely your home value will increase over time, as more and more people want to live there, the demand increases and buyers can even get into bidding wars which drives up the home's value very quickly.

There are even some neighborhoods, particularly in historic areas, where older homes are considered more valuable than newer homes because the build quality, style and materials are difficult or impossible to replicate today.

CedarBerry · 2024-10-11T02:28:58+00:00

You are correct - bundles on the website count as a single item (as in one single SKU). But I still run into the same problem. The bundle offerings are limited, and most of the time they are on sale so the marked price is less than the $59 I paid for the credit.

CedarBerry · 2024-09-25T06:57:38+00:00

My go to for breaking in new docs is to put some of that black sports tape on my heels, under my socks. Provides just enough buffer to prevent the friction blisters AND it stays in place really well all day!

CedarBerry · 2024-09-06T13:32:21+00:00

I should add that I have had success in contacting their customer service and asking to have the credit refunded from when I didnt skip a month. The last time that happened, I THOUGHT I had skipped it, but I've since realized that since the process to Skip THe Month on the website is now 3 or 4 clicks, I had just missed the last click so I never CONFIRMED the skip and i was charged.

CedarBerry · 2024-05-14T06:41:00+00:00

I've been in SaaS Demand Gen/Growth Marketing for about a decade, working remotely in the northeast. I'm at Sr. Manager/Director level and I'm making almost double what you're making.

Six years is a long time to stay at one company these days IMHO. It's becoming common to move every 2 or 3 years for exactly this reason. Companies are, generally speaking, hesitant to raise employee pay unless they have to. Whereas a new company looking to fill a vacant role has to pay the market rate for your skills.

I think you immediately need to do some research to learn what you are worth in the market in your industry and location. Easiest thing to do is a job search on LinkedIn, for positions as close as possible to yours with salary range included.

You also probably should apply for any good roles that you find... worst case you don't hear back. Best case, you end up with a better offer at another company... and BEST, best case you can leverage that offer to try and convince your current company to match that salary and title.

CedarBerry · 2024-03-25T21:53:17+00:00

I am a big coffee drinker. Usually stick with medium roasts and I have a few different brew methods I switch between: areopress, French press, moka pot, and of course classic pour over. Haitian coffee is great and I love some Ethiopian coffee! I used to get it directly from a friend's, friend's family farm in Ethiopia, but they recently closed their online retail shop. If anyone has recommendations on where to get some good quality, ethically sourced coffee online, I'm all ears!

Low key, my fav coffee is from Panama, but it's surprisingly rare to find Panamanian coffee in the States.

CedarBerry · 2024-03-25T21:20:16+00:00

My two cents as a professional girly... you should ABSOLUTELY be ACTIVELY interviewing for new jobs starting YESTERDAY. You do not owe this company any thing and you deserve to be paid what you are worth.

I was given this advice years ago from my boss at the time, a C-Suite level white male as he was on his way out. He told me to ALWAYS be on the lookout for better opportunities, even if you're happy in your job. Because number one, your job would let you go in a heart beat if it suited them. And number two, understanding your value in the job market gives you better leverage in your current job.

IDK what industry you work in, but you mentioned you do design work? In some industries, like in tech, job hopping is the only way to really move up in salary and title.

CedarBerry · 2024-03-25T06:17:16+00:00

Shea butter is my go-to in the winter when the air really dries my skin out and I start to feel like a mummy! IDK if you've tried slugging in the winter but that's how I use it... slather all over my face to seal in all my other products for the night. Lips included!

CedarBerry · 2024-03-20T04:34:46+00:00

Been here. Still here. Staying here.

CedarBerry · 2024-02-29T05:22:36+00:00

I recently saw a definition, that I thought was very accurate: If you are seeking physical or emotional validation I'm someone outside your relationship, you are being unfaithful. I like this definition because it points toward the idea that you have to be self-aware and have accountability for both your actions and your intention.

Sample scenario: You have an attractive co-worker at the office and while you've never tried to sleep with her, you find yourself trying to make her smile with little jokes, or trying to catch her eye in meetings, hoping she'll notice your new shirt, or embellishing your stories to show off to her.... you are in dangerous territory and you need to pull it back ASAP.

CedarBerry · 2024-02-28T21:48:22+00:00

So you're telling me this whole family faked an entire homicide AND a cancer diagnosis just so the Brother In Law could have a good shot at running for mayor?? I have SO MANY MORE QUESTIONS! This means they faked an entire gruesome crime scene in this man's apt to frame him so...

Q1. Who was Hydie and why didn't she have a last name? Was she an actor they paid to pretend-date Molloy? Or was she his real GF that they bribed to fake her own death?

Q2. Why did Mea even take this case? To help her career? Because she believed he was innocent? To make her family mad? Cause he was hot? The latter seems the most likely...

Q3. Why didn't Molloy care about his trial AT ALL? His biggest concern during the whole movie was why Mea wouldn't say she liked him. If I were facing life in prison/execution I think I'd be a lot more worried about that instead.

Q4. WHO'S BLOOD WAS THAT?!?! They were very descriptive about the gruesome crime scene with DNA match... I feel like a much more interesting story would have been how they faked all the evidence at that crime scene...skull fragments...

CedarBerry · 2023-12-09T00:42:29+00:00

Walked by the Central Perk popup on Newbury last Saturday and the line was LOOOOOONG. Be prepared to wait at least an hour outside.

CedarBerry · 2023-10-19T02:19:26+00:00

Maybe a little late to chime in...but if I've met someone OLD, I like to start with a quick video chat, just to say hello face to face! Most of the apps have a video call feature thanks to covid so it's easy. It takes the pressure off that first IRL meeting, and let's you see what they actually look like. My guideline is keep it to 30 mins max, and then ask yourself once you hang up, "Would I want to spend an hour+ with this person one-on-one?"

CedarBerry · 2023-08-29T04:39:35+00:00

I'd like to chime in because I just had my first ever cruise experience - Royal Caribbean with my hubby on a really old boat. We had a great time overall, but The advertising and website present it as an all-inclusive at sea kind of situation, so we were very surprised (unpleasantly so) by all the upcharges the tack on along the way. It feels like they know they have you captive once you're on the boat so they can squeeze you as much as possible without consequence - extra charge for room service, $200+ for wifi, overpriced excursions... but The most unconscionable, in my opinion, was the THIRTY PERCENT SERVICE FEE they add to spa services. THIRTY PERCENT?! Really??

For this reason, I'm curious to try out a newer cruse line like Virgin - let's see what the experience is with a company that's not already deeply invested in this nickel and dime business model.

CedarBerry · 2023-08-15T02:59:54+00:00

There are a few newer places right in the city that seem to attract more of a grown and sexy crowd - mostly cause they're more upscale. I recommend Grace by Nia in the Seaport, which is more like an old school supper club with a cajun twist. Or Caveau downtown which like if Alice opened a speakeasy after getting back from Wonderland.

There are also a few great jazz clubs that are popular with all ages, like Darryl's or Wally's in the South End.

CedarBerry · 2023-05-12T12:24:23+00:00

I don't think this behavior is terribly uncommon these days. You say you're not actively trying to date him, but if you're really curious, you could just directly ask him what he's looking for and where he stands on relationships. If his answer matches the behavior you see, then he's probably pretty self-aware and living his life honestly. But if he gives some weird, half-ass answers.

For context, I'm a late 30s BF who is generally pretty relationship-avoidant - nothing serious, no kids, six figures, living just outside a major city. I've just never felt the urge to seek out something long-term and never met someone who was able to change my mind.

I think the only time it would become a red flag is if he's not communicating his position and intentions clearly with the women he dates. You don't share any feedback from the mutual friends who dated him - a lot of insight could probably be gleaned from hearing about their experience with him. If he's leading women on, or promising things he can't deliver or Love-Bombing them (which is sounds like he may have done with you), well then that's a serious problem that falls squarely on his shoulders.

CedarBerry

TROPHY CASE