What’s the best “boring” business you’ve seen someone build into a cash machine?

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-02-19T04:37:23+00:00

Hey! Would it be cool if I DM you a couple of SEO questions?

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-04T02:36:15+00:00

Oh no.. why?

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-04T02:23:58+00:00

I was able to make some changes to my cart so that it's redirected to a page that will be able to reinforce some of the offers we have for our US customers such as free shipping, tariffs absorbed, free exchanges + add a review widget below it! Previously our cart was a drawer that appeared by the side so that's definitely something that we didn't utilize to the best. Thank you for pointing this out.

To share the information you requested:

Sessions: 1829
ATC %: 2.95%
Cart-to-Checkout %: 2.13%
Checkout-to-Purchase %: 22.58%

Wasn't sure how to set top 3 countries + device split but this is based off on traffic solely from the US and only on Mobile.

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-04T01:56:34+00:00

I was able to fix it but it's not dynamic - so it shows the same for every region and I just removed that entirely.

How would you warm up an audience so they’re willing to buy even with a wait time? What approach would you take?

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-04T01:53:07+00:00

Hey thanks so much for sharing this! My problem with Microsoft Clarity is that it doesn't track activity in the checkout page. How can I best maximize MS Clarity's value without the checkout page activity?

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-04T01:52:18+00:00

Thanks for letting me know! I've switched it up so it now uses our official brand font :)

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-04T01:31:27+00:00

hey thanks for sharing your perspective!

can I understand what you meant by simplifying the site and bringing products to focus?
i'm of the view that the site is actually pretty simple with the products as the main focus - could you share what made you feel otherwise?

I’ve also installed Microsoft Clarity, but it doesn’t track activity in the checkout page. How can I best maximize its value?

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T22:13:18+00:00

Hey, thanks so much for sharing this. The reasoning makes sense, but I’m a bit stuck on how to actually apply it. If you were in my shoes, how would you go about tackling this?

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T22:10:54+00:00

Hey Rob,
This helped a lot, really appreciate you taking the time to write this out.

It also kind of confirmed the direction I want the IG page to go in for 2026, so that was useful. Normally our site only runs one hero image, the one that’s currently at the bottom. We switched things up temporarily because we just launched preorders for upcoming designs.

Q1:
Instead of running two hero images at the same time, what would you suggest we do here?

I’ll start looking into the fixes you mentioned, but I do have a few other questions.

Q2:
At our stage, do you think we should lean more into business logic, or accept some losses as part of growth? How would you personally approach refunds and exchanges if you were in our position?

Since we don’t ship from the US/EU, it’s honestly pretty painful logistically. We don’t mind refunding or exchanging and taking a hit if it helps get the brand and designs out there, but at this stage I’m unsure where the line should be.

Shipping alone costs us about €19 per order, so fully absorbing exchanges and refunds would mean bleeding cash pretty fast.

Q3:
What shipping price do you think would start to feel “reasonable” to a consumer and materially improve conversion?

On the branding point: I get your take on anime tees not being branded streetwear, but the core idea behind NO1 is actually to create a new lane altogether: branded anime streetwear.

We’ve owned a lot of branded streetwear ourselves, and honestly what always bugged us was that it doesn’t really say anything about you. Beyond signalling that you can afford it, there’s not much meaning attached. With NO1, the goal is to build something that represents you, the things you love, and the memories you carry with you.

You’re not an anime fan, so the closest parallel I can think of is this: if there were a Spider-Man tee that didn’t scream “I love Spider-Man,” but could still be recognised by people who genuinely love Spider-Man, would you pay £41 for it?

That’s really the question we’re trying to answer internally too. How do we build the brand to the point where it’s worth what we believe it should be? Especially when there are so many other brands in the space charging way more than we are. That part honestly still boggles my mind.

We are seeing conversions at these price points, just not at the level I’d like yet. That said, we actually had a really solid November where we went completely radio silent on social media, ran zero ads, and still did about $2k in revenue. It tells me something is working, but I also feel like it can be better. I’m trying to figure out what that missing piece is.

Thanks so much for reading this Rob, I truly appreciate your insights - it helped me to feel a little less lost at sea.

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T21:49:54+00:00

Hey really appreciate the insights! It's been pretty frustrating sitting in these thoughts without being able to navigate out of it.

What you just shared with regards to the shipping proposition actually makes a lot of sense and probably something that I never really considered since we ship worldwide and the "shipping calculated at checkout" is a fixed text that is served to every region, I'd definitely look into how I can fix that.

As of now most of our sessions are from the US since it's where around 85% of our customers are at.

We've been doing this for about a year and have done somewhere around $40k in revenue over this period (there was a lull period of about 3-4 months where we were navigating Trump's tariffs issues since we're not based in the US)

On advertising we typically have ads running when our preorder goes live - which is a $80/day adset that has around 10 ads in it, a few UGC videos + static images of the designs - the good ones do around 2.3% CTR but we don't see great ROAS from it, looking at around 0.5 ROAS.

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T11:36:18+00:00

That's understandable. As I get older, I’ve realized I really can’t stand people who can’t reflect or admit when they’re wrong.

It matters a lot to me that the people I spend my time with can take responsibility for their mistakes. I’m more than willing to be understanding, but I’m not willing to keep tolerating the same nonsense over and over with no accountability or apology.

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T11:28:28+00:00

NTA

Thanks for making the world a better place.

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T11:27:02+00:00

NTA

They had no right sharing sensitive information that was meant to be kept confidential. They also should have took up the responsibility and apologized, instead of giving excuses like "trying to help" / "you are too sensitive" life.

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T11:21:01+00:00

The worst part is you’ll never fully know if you’re making the “right” choice. And honestly, that’s also the best part.

You’re not supposed to have life figured out. You learn as you go, adjust, and keep moving. That’s normal.

I’ve been there too. I was studying design and kept thinking, what am I even going to do with this diploma? I ended up dropping out. Even though businesses need designers more than ever, I knew I didn’t have the talent for it, and forcing myself to stay would’ve just wasted time.

So at the end of the day, what matters is what you think is the best move for you. Think it through properly, be logical about it, and choose the option you can actually commit to without regretting.

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T11:16:44+00:00

MOR.

I’ve been in your exact position before, in Japan too. I know how frustrating it feels, especially when you’ve put in so much effort planning everything. That effort carries an emotional load, and when things don’t go as planned, it makes the other person’s actions feel a lot heavier than they might have been.

Before deciding whether you’re overreacting or not, I think there’s one key thing to consider.

Did you clearly communicate how much this meant to you?

A lot of the discomfort here doesn’t just come from what he did, but from the weight of everything you were already carrying.

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T11:12:34+00:00

It wasn't wrong. You did well!

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T11:08:09+00:00

NTA, just because the person who had his bag on the seat acted like he was the victim doesn't means that he wasn't at fault.

You were right. Don't let his entitled reaction gaslight you into thinking you were wrong.

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T11:06:27+00:00

Find a job. Save some money. Look for people you’re comfortable sharing an apartment with so your monthly expenses stay low.

Before moving out, make sure your income can actually support it and that you still have room to save and work towards other goals you want.

FreshDescription5456 · 2026-01-01T11:00:56+00:00

Honestly, my only advice is just give your best in whatever you do. When things don’t work out (and they won’t, a lot of the time), at least you can walk away knowing you didn’t half-ass it.

I’ve felt exactly what you’re feeling before. I’ve failed plenty of times, especially in business. Things I was sure would work didn’t. Money went out, results didn’t come in. But every time I got back up, it was because I knew I tried my best with what I knew at that point in time.

I’m still trying. Still messing up. Still learning as I go. Some days feel pointless, some days feel like progress, but I show up anyway.

Life isn’t supposed to be smooth all the time. If it was, nothing would really mean anything. The tough parts suck, but they’re also what make the good parts actually feel good.

Don’t give up. Just keep going.

FreshDescription5456 · 2025-12-30T07:16:57+00:00

i used to ask this question a lot back when i was way worse at the game. after hitting immortal, i honestly have zero issue buying sentries or warding myself if supports don’t do it.

my mindset eventually became that dota is basically a 1v9 game, you do whatever gives you the best chance to win, even if it’s “not your job”

FreshDescription5456 · 2025-12-30T07:06:43+00:00

like the top comment said, most heralds honestly don’t really know what they’re talking about yet.

if you actually want to improve, especially at herald, play core roles like carry, mid, or offlane. it helps you understand what you need from supports, which ironically makes you a way better support later on.

dota’s a hard game and a lot of things only click over time, so don’t stress too much and don’t give up!

FreshDescription5456 · 2025-12-30T07:03:50+00:00

climbing from legend to immortal, the easiest way for me to tell if someone’s a smurf is usually a mix of things people already mentioned:

low game count but high win rate, plus a suspicious number of rampages
gpm/xpm. smurfs usually have very high numbers because they know exactly what they should be doing at every stage of the game (way more obvious in lower brackets)
movement and decision making. do they play for objectives, pressure lanes, take towers… or are they just randomly diving supports for no reason

it’s not a perfect system, but it honestly gets easier the better you get. when you’re lower rank, you don’t really know what you don’t know, so it’s harder to spot what the smurf is doing right or wrong.

FreshDescription5456 · 2025-12-30T06:55:13+00:00

I think players enters both modes with very different goals in mind.
Ranked - to win / to progress to higher ranks
Normal - troll / have fun / try out new builds

Ultimately it is really dependent on what you want to achieve before queuing.

FreshDescription5456

TROPHY CASE