#asknostr a local ice cream shop is asking for feedback on their business and mentioned barely scraping by. Their food is amazing and I want to #orangepill them. This is what I got so far. Its my first time trying to orange pill a business and I want to do the best I can. Any advice?
Need help explaining the idea (short, concise with a link to other easy to read resources) and how to get them started accepting payments.
I think you're on the right path, talking about why our monetary system is broken. Discuss how Bitcoin as a hard money with digital scarcity is better money. We know how much there is or will be. We know Bitcoin's monetary policy.
I think The Bitcoin Standard is a great book for them to read after you have them interested.
As for accepting Bitcoin, there are several options. They can run their own node and BTCpay server. They can use a host such as Voltage. They could use OpenNode with their existing Point of Sale. They could use Breeze Wallet and it's PoS features.
First maybe try going in there asking if they accept Bitcoin and then leaving if they donāt. Otherwise you sound like youāre doing a shitty cold call. No offense. If you really want to help them, go in knowing the best pos systems for their area. If it comes up mention that you like using bitcoin because it is the best hedge against inflation in your eyes. Let them ask the questions and determine how much information to provide. You donāt want to info dump and overwhelm.
This is exactly what I'm trying to avoid, TY.
I can def ask them when I drop by again as a customer but this an opportunity to place a seed there to someone who has influence on the business
If you want to plant a seed with a business owner of a struggling business let them know what you would like to see as a customer, something that could bring in more customers or increase your patronage. Theyāre in the weeds right now. They likely donāt have the bandwidth to talk about monetary policy, history, and economics. Itās easy to mention inflation and mention that you see bitcoin as a hedge against inflation. Most people tune out after that. Better to say less and leave yourself open to further questions. Present a possible solution.
If you want to convince a business owner to change anything, show them how much it will increase their profit margin. If you don't show them numbers, they will listen but not act.
I think the thinking is great and itās well written, but Iām not sure this is what the ice cream shop had in mind when they asked for feedback and I think itās not going to resonate with them. Their business probably isnāt nearly failing because our money is broken (well, maybe loosely & indirectly). Itās failing because their revenues donāt sufficiently outweigh their costs. How can they make more money? They can increase demand, increase prices, or reduce costs. Increasing demand often takes money to buy marketing, which increases costs, which a struggling business might not be able to sustain. Itās also hard to control costs unless you have enough scale to squeeze your suppliers for discounts or economize on labor. So for a small business like them, the easiest lever to pull would be to increase pricesā¦. which could hurt demand.
But thereās another way to reduce costs. Compared to credit card processing fees, itās much cheaper to accept bitcoin. Perhaps enough to offer discounts for paying in bitcoin. nostr:npub18ams6ewn5aj2n3wt2qawzglx9mr4nzksxhvrdc4gzrecw7n5tvjqctp424 mentioned some options.
Whether the savings are big enough to matter to them is just a math problem, but itās probably a more relatable way to introduce bitcoin.
Are they soliciting feedback in any particular format? Like asking you to email them? Or are the owner / manager / whoever around so you might engage them in a convo? Iāve always found that the most important first step is to feel out the mindset of the person youāre talking to. Gotta tailor your pitch to the audience.
Maybe start out with āI think your food is amazing and I hate to hear that youāre having trouble.ā A little flattery goes a long way, especially when itās genuine! š
This blew up more than I expected š« keep them coming! I have a presentation to work on through the night (unrelated to btc, related to nostr tho š). Have a lot to learn when it comes to prescribing the #orangepill
Will get back to you all tomorrow with responses, š«'s, š¤'s & ā”zapsā”!
1. Have you considered offering payments in Bitcoin? There is a growing community auf Bitcoin enthusiasts you can attract for your shop. (point to BTC map).
2. Payments are free - are no credit card fees.
3. Point to ice cream shops that are doing that already successfully, e.g. https://x.com/chipichipibmbn in Berlin.
They must raise their prices in order to survive. You cannot expect the supplier to raise prices and you keep the same prices. You must respond to inflation not ignore it. This is how a debt based economy works. Bitcoin itself poses several problems, itās price is volatile and manipulated. The current Bitcoin market is entering capitulation phase and we will likely see its price drop below 12,000 possibly even below 9600 and possibly below 6000. I wouldnāt orange pill people during capitulation phase if their goal is to use it as a form of money because it could cause great loses. :-/
