Hello everyone - It's Audun, which run Densium. If you're reading this, you've probably noticed there is some changes to the website, but that's not the only changes going on with Densium.
As the interest for my products have grown, I have to admit my ability to keep up has been reduced. As you might already know, my main job is as a sailor, which leads me to being 'stuck' at sea for 6 months out of every year. For me, this means 12hrs+ shifts, and a slow & unreliable internet connection. As you can imagine, this makes running a business challenging.
Things took a turn for the worse at the end of last year, when my ship was contracted in South America. The change in time-zones have made resolving issues with my supplier difficult, as their work hours don't intersect with my spare-time while at work. Additionally, internet is significantly worse, and Wi-Fi services from my cellphone-carrier no longer works, making it impossible to recieve texts and calls while at sea. This has made reaching my bank impossible, due to the requirement of two-factor-auth via text-message.
At first I vastly underestimated how much of an impact it would have, and I continued running Densium as I usually would. Inarguably, this was a mistake, as resolving issues with manufacturing and customer orders have been challenging, and often demanding time I don't have. It has gotten abundantly clear that some changes has to be made, both for my customers and myself.
Firstly, a short word about the website. Ever since I started Densium, I've dreamt about having a modern, fast and user-friendly website. Though Shopify have great templates, they didn't fit my vision for Densium. In addition, implementing custom features and editing information on the website was so cumbersome and inefficient, especially on a slow internet connection. That's why I was so excited when I heard about Shopify Hydrogen.
In short, "Hydrogen" let's you build a custom web-app utilizing React & Remix, which integrates flawlessly with Shopify. Don't worry if you don't understand, all you need to know is that if done correctly, this can provide a much better and faster user-experience than any Shopify template can. Even more importantly than this- Adding new features & editing key information such as status updates is much easier.
I knew that to be able to continue with Densium, and to grow Densium, I was going to need an easier way to manage my website. As I didn't know how to code, I enrolled in courses and started my journey. Now, 3 months later we're here. I'm sure the website is not perfect, and some features will have to be added, but it's a humble, but solid start.
Now, the other changes. Since the start of Densium in 2021, I've not been able to take the risk of purchasing an entire batch of cases, but as Densium has grown, new doors have been opened, and I now know a lot more than I knew a little over a year ago.
It's crucial for me that my customers are able to trust Densium, and will have the best possible experience from ordering a product - to receiving it. And to be fully transparent, I've not been able to achieve this in all cases. Unforeseen events, logistical hiccups and communication errors have delayed deliveries, leaving me with a sense of shame and helplessness.
Managing and communicating these issues has been challenging, and in addition to this my inexperience have not made things any easier. As I alluded to earlier, the growth of Densium have opened new doors for how to operate.
Previously, I've relied on pre-orders to get my cases to market, and although necessary at the time, a lot of challenges have arisen from it. Difficult manufacturing situations have lead to delays, and I'm getting a lot of e-mails for updates and order cancellations. As Densium has grown, managing this have demanded more and more time.
In combination with work and a personal life, I simply don't have the time to keep up with every e-mail. I've tried sending batch e-mails, but they often end up in customers junk folders, and other times they don't reach them at all, making them not so effective.
That's why I've decided to not list my products for sale until they're in my warehouse, ready-to-ship.
What does this mean for me as a customer? It means you don't have to tie your money to a product with an uncertain delivery date. With the new website I can easily provide frequent and accurate updates on the production status, making it easy to follow when the product will be available. When you can finally purchase the product, the product will be shipped quickly, and you won't have to wait forever in uncertainty.
What does this mean for Densium? I'm not exactly sure yet, but I wish to be able to spend more time on the forums and interact with my customers - which is what made Densium so fun to begin with. I have some projects which I want to progress on, which I'm excited to share when the time comes around.
Moving forward. To those of you who've been waiting for products, please know that I am working on it. I admit that I've been difficult to reach and also the delays have not been kind to any of you. I'm working on resolving all the orders, either via refund or delivery of product.
That's all I wanted to share. I'm excited to see where this path leads.
