David Reilich: Reinventing Your Mornings with Sunday Showers

Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to entrepreneurship?

I was raised in a family with my dad running an auto-repair business, which kindled my entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. I was always spending my time at the shop, helping with a variety of different things and learned a lot about entrepreneurship. I purchased vending machines and worked a variety of jobs, such as mulching and mowing through my own service. I always preferred starting something on my own than working a typical hourly job, and I always had this entrepreneurial bug.

Later on, I worked in supply chain after graduating from the Miami University and spent time in automotive and e-commerce sectors, where I gained a comprehensive understanding of e-commerce operations. Ultimately, working with a portfolio of wellness-focused e-commerce companies.

What was the source of inspiration behind starting Sunday Showers?

I've always wanted to own a business, fueled by my wish to provide for my wife and kids! I was looking for an avenue that would not only generate additional income but also connect with my passions.

Sunday Showers began as an idea about a year ago. I was using smelling salts for a morning pick-me-up as an alternative to coffee or energy drinks. I knew a lot of people were struggling to wake up in the morning that did not want to drink coffee and wanted a boost in their energy levels. So, I began experimenting with bath bombs and other fragrance based energy solutions. Immediately, I fell in love with the process of thinkering and feeling more energized from the products I was making and decided to start making shower bombs!

Can you tell us what a Shower Bomb is?

Shower bombs, traditionally are used in spas to provide a relaxing experience, but decided that everyone should get this experience to jumpstart their day. We created a formula that can be consumed by everyone in their shower, which allows them to fight against morning grogginess and feel energized through the day. By design, the shower bomb is not meant to be completely submerged, instead, it infused with the steam from the shower for a rejuvenating experience.  Our shower bomb is the strongest on the market and provides several benefits: enhanced energy, congestion relief, and focus.

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How does Sunday Showers differentiate from other brands in the market?

Unlike our competitors, who mostly focus on fragrance, our products offer therapeutic benefits. We're committed to using high-quality ingredients, sourced and made in the US, and we prioritize essential oils over synthetic fragrances.

What are some of the key learnings from your journey with Sunday Showers?

I spent about six months crafting the brand strategy and go-to-market plan. We were planning and working on strategy, but ultimately, we realized that testing is way more important than planning. We launched the product and it was well received, but realized we needed to change our messaging because our customers were using it for a lot of additional benefits, outside of hangovers. We were able to successfully pivot our messaging and engage with a larger audience than we ever imaged initially.

From a personal perspective, I have learned a lot about time management and focus. Since launching I have had a baby and gotten busier with work. So, finding the time to balance and grow Sunday Showers have been an exercise of blocking out time and being very deliberate with my focus. This has been immensely helpful with helping me become more efficient as we have scaled.

Can you elaborate on your process of creating the product yourself versus drop shipping from overseas?

The journey started in my basement by the laundry room! I was working 3-4 hours a night with poor lighting trying to make our formula. There were a couple setbacks, like throwing out my back, and dropping batches, but I persisted until the product was consistently right. Spending all of this time in the basement thinkering with the formulas and QAing the product, deepened my passion for Sunday Showers. I am proud to saw that I created the product that my family and customers support and love!

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Is there anything you wish you knew before you started Sunday Showers?

Looking back, I wish I had understood the importance of launching quickly rather than excessive planning. While it's essential to do market and demand testing, understanding our target customer better only came after our launch. I highly recommend that everyone focus on launching quickly and testing all hypothesis, as its the best way to truly understand your customers and products.

How has Sunday Showers evolved since its launch?

We have changed a lot since initially launching the brand. We started from a competitive perspective and know we could differentiate ourselves from our ingredients and target customers. Initially, we focused on people suffering from hangovers, and wanted to be super targeted with our messaging. However, we expanded to a more general messaging because of the feedback from our customers, especially with a lot of females being extremely enthusiastic about the product.

We focused our messaging on four use cases: hangovers, congestion, general energy boost, and focus, which has allowed us to better engage with our customers. This has been a big evolution for Sunday Showers, which has allowed us to help more people and grow our customers.

What advice would you give to other founders looking to launch a brand?

My key advice would be to test, gather feedback, and not be afraid of failure. Engage your community, be prepared to iterate, and always strive to move forward and improve the business daily.

How can the larger community support Sunday Showers and your plans for 2023?

In 2023, we' just launched our Kickstarter campaign for our new formula and we're thrilled to share our product with the world. We appreciate any support for our product launch and if you choose to back  our Kickstarter campaign, you'll get exclusive access to our product launch at a substantial discount.

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