AlexanderFRG
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Long post ahead. No one has to read this, but if you do, I’m genuinely grateful.
Back in March 2023 I posted here about my Dachshund brand TeckelTraum (teckeltraum.de) and my first product DorsusProtect. I had just launched, DHL had “lost” a 2k € shipment, my margins were basically zero and I was already pretty unsure whether this thing had any real future.
About two and a half years later, here’s the honest update.
Since that first post I’ve sold roughly 1,000 units of DorsusProtect at 59.95 €. In the first year I did around 20k € in revenue with about 7k € in ad spend. In the years after that the revenue stayed in a similar range, but I managed to cut ads a lot - i did this because increasing them used them off exponentially. This year I spent maybe 600 € on ads while trying to lean on brand and organic traffic, even though ad fatigue still feels very real.
I got my product cost down from 18.11 € to 9.70 €. On paper that leaves a bit more than 40 € gross margin per sale. In reality it’s less impressive, because I still pay for packaging, shipping, climate-controlled storage, website, software, automations and the usual small operational costs. After all of that, the remaining profit is much smaller and I don’t pay myself any real wage.
On the brand side theres now an email list of about 1,500 Dachshund owners, around 1,900 Instagram followers and roughly ten affiliates who all approached me on their own because they genuinely like the product. I have returning customers, and dozens of genuine superfans whose dogs went from serious back or leg issues to almost normal again. They defend my price, heavily argue with strangers who negative comment under my ads about it and repost my content. I offer a 30-day money-back guarantee even if the jar is empty. Out of about 1,000 orders I’ve had exactly two refunds. Reviews are so positive they almost sound fake.
I’m the most expensive option in my market, easily twice the price of the next competitor, but it still sells because the quality is literally the best on the market and the positioning is very narrow. Everything is strictly Dachshund focused. That lets me charge premium pricing, but it also caps how big this can realistically get. Broadening the brand would basically be starting something new.
And then there’s the personal side of it. Since order number one every package has gone out with a handwritten postcard from me. That was meant as a little thank you for the very first preorders. It never stopped. I’ve written well over a thousand cards by hand. At some point my “Fastlane idea” turned into nights spent writing cute notes to Dachshunds. Nobody told me they expect it, but it’s obvious that it means something to people. They post the cards in their stories, send me thank you messages and talk about it. It creates real connection, but it also ties me to every order and makes outsourcing difficult without losing part of what works. I even considered a version where customers write little messages to each other, I print them onto my custom postcards instead of writing them, and so they can connect with the other dachshund owner.
Operationally things are cleaner than in 2023. I have abandoned-cart emails, automated, personalised reorder reminder and improved the website. The unit economics are better than in my original post. From the outside you could say it’s a small, focused niche brand that works.
From the inside it feels different.
I still can’t live from it. Not even close. I work a full-time job and then this brand on top. Many weekends disappear into it. My overall life hasn’t really changed. My free time is gone, but the level of freedom or financial independence is almost the same as it was when I wrote the first post. The brand grew a bit, my skills grew a lot, but everything is still small enough that it doesn’t move much for me personally. And then there’s the ridiculous German admin and tax stuff that eats time and energy on top.
At the same time I don’t see this as completely negative.
I’m genuinely grateful. I’ve learned a lot. I built a small, real community of Dachshund owners. And I know for a fact that DorsusProtect helped many dogs in ways that matter. I get long emails, videos, updates. Without me none of this would exist, and that part doesn’t feel wasted at all.
But also, from a Fastlane point of view, there are days where it feels like I poured three years of limited free time into something that hardly changes my own situation. I look at the hours, the energy, the postcards, the weekends, and realise my day-to-day still feels very close to the “11 minutes” intro of The Great Rat Race Escape . Intellectually I see the value for others. Emotionally I often still feel stuck at the starting line.
That’s why I’m writing this.
Right now I don’t see a simple way to turn this into something truly low-touch and hands-off. If I make it less personal, I’m afraid sales will drop because the personal side is exactly what people respond to. If I keep it personal, it keeps eating time. So I’m somewhere in between: a brand that clearly works, customers who genuinely care, good margins on paper, and a life that still feels very scripted.
My question to you is:
Has anyone here been in a similar situation? A business that clearly creates value and has loyal customers, but is too small, too niche or too tied to your persnal involvement to change your own life in a meaningful way?
If this were your brand, would you keep it as a small, meaningful but time-heavy side business and build something new next to it? Would you shut it down to regain focus? Or is there a different way to think about this that I simply can’t see from where I’m standing?
At the moment - i feel like i've chained myself even more to the script by starting that project, but also holding me back from other ideas because i don't want too split my attention too much.
I’m open to any honest perspective. And again, thanks to anyone who read all of this.
Best regards
Alex
Back in March 2023 I posted here about my Dachshund brand TeckelTraum (teckeltraum.de) and my first product DorsusProtect. I had just launched, DHL had “lost” a 2k € shipment, my margins were basically zero and I was already pretty unsure whether this thing had any real future.
About two and a half years later, here’s the honest update.
Since that first post I’ve sold roughly 1,000 units of DorsusProtect at 59.95 €. In the first year I did around 20k € in revenue with about 7k € in ad spend. In the years after that the revenue stayed in a similar range, but I managed to cut ads a lot - i did this because increasing them used them off exponentially. This year I spent maybe 600 € on ads while trying to lean on brand and organic traffic, even though ad fatigue still feels very real.
I got my product cost down from 18.11 € to 9.70 €. On paper that leaves a bit more than 40 € gross margin per sale. In reality it’s less impressive, because I still pay for packaging, shipping, climate-controlled storage, website, software, automations and the usual small operational costs. After all of that, the remaining profit is much smaller and I don’t pay myself any real wage.
On the brand side theres now an email list of about 1,500 Dachshund owners, around 1,900 Instagram followers and roughly ten affiliates who all approached me on their own because they genuinely like the product. I have returning customers, and dozens of genuine superfans whose dogs went from serious back or leg issues to almost normal again. They defend my price, heavily argue with strangers who negative comment under my ads about it and repost my content. I offer a 30-day money-back guarantee even if the jar is empty. Out of about 1,000 orders I’ve had exactly two refunds. Reviews are so positive they almost sound fake.
I’m the most expensive option in my market, easily twice the price of the next competitor, but it still sells because the quality is literally the best on the market and the positioning is very narrow. Everything is strictly Dachshund focused. That lets me charge premium pricing, but it also caps how big this can realistically get. Broadening the brand would basically be starting something new.
And then there’s the personal side of it. Since order number one every package has gone out with a handwritten postcard from me. That was meant as a little thank you for the very first preorders. It never stopped. I’ve written well over a thousand cards by hand. At some point my “Fastlane idea” turned into nights spent writing cute notes to Dachshunds. Nobody told me they expect it, but it’s obvious that it means something to people. They post the cards in their stories, send me thank you messages and talk about it. It creates real connection, but it also ties me to every order and makes outsourcing difficult without losing part of what works. I even considered a version where customers write little messages to each other, I print them onto my custom postcards instead of writing them, and so they can connect with the other dachshund owner.
Operationally things are cleaner than in 2023. I have abandoned-cart emails, automated, personalised reorder reminder and improved the website. The unit economics are better than in my original post. From the outside you could say it’s a small, focused niche brand that works.
From the inside it feels different.
I still can’t live from it. Not even close. I work a full-time job and then this brand on top. Many weekends disappear into it. My overall life hasn’t really changed. My free time is gone, but the level of freedom or financial independence is almost the same as it was when I wrote the first post. The brand grew a bit, my skills grew a lot, but everything is still small enough that it doesn’t move much for me personally. And then there’s the ridiculous German admin and tax stuff that eats time and energy on top.
At the same time I don’t see this as completely negative.
I’m genuinely grateful. I’ve learned a lot. I built a small, real community of Dachshund owners. And I know for a fact that DorsusProtect helped many dogs in ways that matter. I get long emails, videos, updates. Without me none of this would exist, and that part doesn’t feel wasted at all.
But also, from a Fastlane point of view, there are days where it feels like I poured three years of limited free time into something that hardly changes my own situation. I look at the hours, the energy, the postcards, the weekends, and realise my day-to-day still feels very close to the “11 minutes” intro of The Great Rat Race Escape . Intellectually I see the value for others. Emotionally I often still feel stuck at the starting line.
That’s why I’m writing this.
Right now I don’t see a simple way to turn this into something truly low-touch and hands-off. If I make it less personal, I’m afraid sales will drop because the personal side is exactly what people respond to. If I keep it personal, it keeps eating time. So I’m somewhere in between: a brand that clearly works, customers who genuinely care, good margins on paper, and a life that still feels very scripted.
My question to you is:
Has anyone here been in a similar situation? A business that clearly creates value and has loyal customers, but is too small, too niche or too tied to your persnal involvement to change your own life in a meaningful way?
If this were your brand, would you keep it as a small, meaningful but time-heavy side business and build something new next to it? Would you shut it down to regain focus? Or is there a different way to think about this that I simply can’t see from where I’m standing?
At the moment - i feel like i've chained myself even more to the script by starting that project, but also holding me back from other ideas because i don't want too split my attention too much.
I’m open to any honest perspective. And again, thanks to anyone who read all of this.
Best regards
Alex
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