62% of people want this

GM. This is Work "After" Work, the newsletter that finds hidden gems so good even Sherlock Holmes would be surprised.

It’s Friday, let’s boogie:

• 🤝 Priceless stories

• 🤖 Techy Tech

• 😂 Meme of the day

PRICELESS STORIES

If you know elderly folks, you know they have a story for everything!

My grandma visited last weekend, and as usual, she had story from her youth that I’ve never heard. I sometimes wonder if she's making them up - do grandmas lie? Please say no!

But after, I thought about the 703M other elderly folks worldwide who have similar stories and memories they want to pass down to their grandchildren and family members. And you bet I had to get to the bottom of it.

I did a deep dive on Google and found a company called Storyworth, which sends weekly questions to your loved ones' emails to uncover long-buried memories.

Think about all the stories you don’t know about your grandparents. What they did when they were teens. How they had fun. Why they got in trouble. These are all super interesting stories to look many have never heard before.

With Storyworth, at the year’s end, your loved one receives a beautiful personalized book filled with stories they can pass down to future generations.

This TikTok explains it well.

Imagine reading this book as a bedtime story to your kids – how freaking cute is that!

I could have scored some solid points with this as my Mother’s Day gift… next year.

Here’s why I’m writing about it: Americans love thoughtful and symbolic gifts. Want some stats? You know your boys got em.

• 62% of people want to receive heartfelt and personalized gifts

• 50% of customers are actively searching for custom gifts to make their loved ones happy

Put these together and you’ve got a business on your hands.

That’s right, selling unique gifts (stories) that bring families together does not only pull on the heartstrings, it makes money.

Last month Storyworth had 1.2M visitors to their site and I can’t find their revenue but with traffic like that, it’s gotta be in the millions.

Why’s this an opportunity you should consider?

I’ve got two good reasons:

1. The market is huge! In the US alone, there are over 55M elderly folks whose loved ones struggle to come up with gift ideas they would love

2. Older folks love telling their stories. It’s a way to show they were young and remind people of it

But you don’t have to limit your target audience to only older people. This idea can work as a Valentine’s Day, Anniversary, Christmas, or birthday gift for all ages.

And since it’s an emotional gift that focuses on bringing families together, you can count on return clients if you deliver exceptional services.

If you don't believe me, check out this survey: 58% of participants said they would tell others about a unique and custom gift. Talk about free promo!

But my favorite aspect of the business is how big it could grow through subscription revenue.

Storyworth charges $99 for an annual subscription, which includes:

• Weekly story prompts emailed to your loved one, which you can also create if you want

• A hardcover black and white book sent every year with the prompt replies

And of course, they charge for multiple books.

Now here’s the kicker: Companies like Storyworth that provide the same service at an equal or lower price point are hard to find.

You can differentiate yourself by offering the same features at a lower price… Or by taking a different vertical, like podcasting your family’s history. Something Artifact, a startup, is doing and secured $5M in funding.

I found one Storyworth review from a customer who complained about receiving repetitive question prompts.

You definitely want to avoid this. So, instead of Storyworth's 300 weekly prompts, make yours 500 or more.

Create some great questions: 

• "What was your favorite trip as a kid?"

• "Do you have any regrets in your life?"

• "What’s one memory that keeps you awake at night?"

You get the idea.

Here’s how I’d get started:

1. Build a website

Even though you’ll be sending these thought-provoking questions via email, you need a place where customers can sign up and register themselves or their loved ones.

You can find freelancers on sites like Upwork or Fiverr to help you create a simple design. Or roll up your sleeves and use ChatGPT, it’s extremely good at coding.

2. Design your book cover

You’ll need basic design skills to create beautiful book hardcovers. Look for templates on Canva that you can use to create unique designs at no cost!

3. Fire up the printing press

Don’t forget you’ll have to print hard copies of these books and ship them to your customers. Check out Lulu’s printing services; they have a pricing calculator on their site to help you estimate the cost.

For a 50-page hardcover it’s $10 - $15.

4. Calling all customers 🗣️

I looked through Storyworth's social media accounts to see where you should focus your marketing efforts.

Want to take a guess at where they’re the busiest? Instagram! And of course, Facebook comes next.

Run IG and Facebook ads since that's where most of your potential customers hang out, but don't overlook TikTok.

#storyworth has almost 2.9M views! That's incredible for a company with only 868 TikTok followers and no content.

But it confirms that people of all ages appreciate this gift, so get to work and find those customers for your business 👊

TECHY TECH

This is the section where I talk all about new tech, and today doesn’t disappoint.

If you have an electric car, did you ever think you’d be able to charge while driving…on a highway?!

Yep, that’s right. ENRX, a Norwegian company, it working on a solution to charge electric cars while traveling at highway speeds.

How does it work from a non-techy guy? 
Your electric car gets fitted with a “receiver pad” and when this pad drives over the coils embedded in the road it transfers energy from these coils to your pad aka your car.

They’re trying this out in Florida so we’ll see if it works! Didn’t think we’d see a “smart road” so soon. Super cool!

MEME OF THE DAY

😂😂

That's a wrap! Enjoy the weekend 😊 

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.