Hi Friend!
I’ve had my can opener for 15 or so years (whenever they first came out with it). At the time, the Hamilton Beach OpenStation was revolutionary, with all kinds of extra gadgets to help you open things like jars and blister packs. It was not much more expensive than other can openers, but I had just had a series of wrist surgeries AND was trying to adapt to life as a divorced single military mom
I needed to make things in my life as easy as possible! And I was willing to pay the extra money
Recently, though, a part broke and I was unable to replace it. The opener is still usable and going to my oldest, but as the little one is learning to cook on his own, I didn’t want to take the risk of him cutting himself
So we set about finding a new one. I could have just ordered the newer version, but the reviews on it were mixed. Besides, I was confident that, after all these years, someone would have improved upon the design, added more bells and whistles (I’m not sure what, but I was excited to find out), right?
I guess not, because expensive kitchen store after expensive kitchen store failed to produce an electric can opener other than the most basic plain-jane “just moved into my first apartment” model!
So we turned online and found the new version of the OpenStation online. In fact, we were visiting friends who lived 3 hours away in North Dallas and found it at THEIR Walmart – one of only 4 stores in the entire DFW Metroplex with this kind of can opener (3 Walmarts and a Home Depot).
Why do I share this with you? For 2 reasons:
1. Sometimes, as we build wealth, we get caught up in the bougie-ness of it all. We want to have the good life, buy the finer things, sport the brand names.
- That’s fun, but remember that sometimes the most practical product to meet your needs will be found in more humble spaces.
- That holds true for many things in life: products, courses, even people!
2. This was a fantastic idea for people like me, but the “big time” companies didn’t jump onto the OpenStation bandwagon. Why? IDK. Maybe they found it wasn’t profitable.
- I live in a rural town with an aging population. This is exactly the kind of product people could use and would be willing to pay for. You don’t have to compete with the big brands. Your business simply has to stand out for the niche population that is willing to pay you to make their life easier or solve that nagging problem
- Makes me wonder what overlooked areas are WE missing in OUR businesses? Yes, I could have had it shipped, but I’ve been having trouble getting exactly what I ordered lately (or getting refurbished labeled as new). It’s no big deal to return stuff when you live in a big city, but more difficult in rural areas. Can you claim market share by cutting out shipping? Can you beat DoorDash by being faster?
That was a lot of thinking over a blender but I hope you got something out of it.
Also, when I went to make a comparison video, I realized I hadn’t cleaned that poor can opener in years! Go check your can opener – if you discover yours is pretty nasty too, go ahead and clean it out. It takes 10 minutes, and you can add it to your “Disrupt 2026” list
Comments are closed