Blackouts, Brads & Boosts

I went clubbing this weekend. At a nightclub. And so, a lot of people are asking, “is Club Cael officially back?”

The answer is surely & unequivocally no. He is not back. No no no.

I used to be a bit of a partier. Going out at the very minimum 2 times a week, usually more, & pretty much always drinking to either browning or blacking out. A “double RBV, close it” type of guy. Typically, I’d make a fool of myself, dance a lot, and then end up on the couch eating dollar slices or halal food before peacefully falling asleep sitting up.

That was pretty much my entire weekend (and a lot of Thursdays) for all of college & my first few years living in NYC.

It was like clock work. It was also the culture. Socializing meant (and still does) drinking alcohol. A lot of it.

After sometime, it seems like ‘raging face’ ages out of you (?) or you just eventually make the decision to hang your number up into the rafters.

For me, hangovers got worse. Career & relationships took a front seat. “A Saturday night in” went from being lame, to a guilty pleasure, to eventually somewhat the norm. It happened fairly quick. I noticed that drinking was the common denominator for the things I didn’t like about myself. Being tired, brain fog, stress & anxiety, general laziness.

My night outs went from 12 drinks to 4 drinks (or even 2). I got my morning & weekends back. I’m now able to open my laptop & do some work on the weekends. I drink green juice. I go to hot yoga classes. I make my bed. I brush my teeth.

Old me used to eat a bacon egg + cheese, chug gatorade & take a nap until it was time to run it all back again. I also used to spend a shit ton of money partying. Money that I did not have at the time.

Lastly, & not to be this like “sober hero,” cuz I’m definitely not (I went clubbing this weekend, remember?), but Sunday’s used to be MISERABLE for me. I wouldn’t even dare to open my laptop, let alone do real work. But now, every Sunday, I get paid to write 1,000 words to 15k people. Trust Fun exists because of cutting back. I “do work” on Sundays now for the first time in my life & I fucking love it.

But trust me, it’s hard to stop partying & going out a lot. I still struggle with it, especially living in a big city. Peer pressure is a very real thing into your late 20s & shows no sign of going away.

I don’t really have a clean & clear message here, but I’ve cut way down on drinking in the last year or so. It’s helped me a lot. I feel good about it. Just figured I’d give some honest words from a dude who used to drink a lot & now doesn’t.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever fully stop drinking. I do like having a drink here & there. I also like the side effects of feeling buzzed from booze (no duh). But seriously, I do think it’s beneficial sometimes & if utilized correctly, can lead to some awesome times. People get vulnerable & honest. They let a wall down. Alcohol can & will catalyze some of the best & most epic moments.

Anyways enough about that. Welcome back to Trust Fun. Week 27. America’s #1 newsletter written by someone named Cael.

But can he get on base?

Read this next line in a Moneyball (Billy Beane (Brad Pitt )) voice…

“I hate l̶o̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ discounting. I hate l̶o̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ discounting even more than I want to w̶i̶n̶ make sales.”

Discounting sucks. I hate it. You hate it. Why are we all just giving away our sexy, delicious margins for what feels like no reason.

Well, this is the world we live in. Consumers have grown to basically expect a 20% discount. And if they don’t get one, they whine & cry & they probably don’t buy. The travesty of modern ecommerce. If you’re starting a brand today, you’ve literally gotta include “discounts” as an item line in all your forecasting & COGs.

So what do you do? Well…. My mindset has always been that you should give the customer more of your brand, not less. GIFTS! Give ‘em a hat, a shirt, a water bottle, whatever. Throw your colors, your logo, on something that your customer would actually use & give it to them for free. People love free shit. Turn your customers into your own personal billboard. Did someone say OOH is back?

The answer to all of your discounting anxiety is offering a GIFT WITH PURCHASE.

We’re doing it right now @ Mugsy. And none of it would be possible without my good friends over at Rebuy.

Rebuy coins themselves as the “Ultimate Ecommerce Personalization Platform,” but I like to call them the “Ultimate AOV Booster 3000,” cuz every day they help us unlock a new way for us to SKYROCKET our AOV. Whether it’s their AI powered product search & suggestion function, or leveraging the Smart Cart to build the most optimal cart ever, they’ve been a critical partner for us.

Check out some of their GWP case studies & inspiration here. AOV to the moon.

I love working with partners on stuff that we ACTUALLY use. If you’re not leveraging Rebuy yet… WTF are you doing? Lmk if you want an intro or care to learn more.

That is all for today. I’m on the Amtrak (fuck you @Amtrak) back to Boston for the week for some much needed rest & recovery (golf).

Have a wonderful wonderful Monday. You’re awesome.