Big Announcement - Cha Cha Changes

Join us, your hosts Julie Ball and Renae Gonzalez, for a big announcement on the SBB brand and future subscription box coaching programs! After the sale of Sparkle Hustle Grow, we were often asked "Now what?" Today's episode covers that topic. Come along for the ride!

Check out all the details at https://www.subscriptionboxbasics.com.

Transcript

0:00

So you wanna launch a subscription box and don't know where to start? Girl, You are in the right place. I'm Julie Ball. And I'm Renee Gonzalez, your host here at Subscription Box Basics a podcast for new and aspiring subscription box entrepreneurs wanting to avoid overwhelm. So grab a coffee, some pen and paper, and let's have some fun.

Julie: 0:22

Hey everybody. Welcome back to Subscription Box Basics. I'm Julie Ball, and today I'm joined by my biz bestie Renae Gonzalez. And we are here today recording, actually in Miami, Florida. We're doing a little work retreat to do some planning behind the scenes for some things that I think you're really gonna love. So today's episode is gonna be short and sweet, and we are gonna tell you all about the big rebrand. We are actually rebranding our entire business to subscription box Basics. I mean, th that's the name of the podcast. That's the name of the book. So it just makes sense. And so we're gonna tell you a little bit about that. We'll tell you a little bit about our Miami trip and what's in store for the future. So everybody say hello to Renae.

Renae: 1:09

Hi guys. I am so excited to be back and to get to chat with you more regularly now.

Julie: 1:15

Yes, and so if you haven't met Renae before, she has been with me for my, almost the entire journey running Sparkle Hustle Grow, and she's been doing coaching with Subscription Box Boot camp behind the scenes already for years. And so, as. We're moving kind of into this new season where I sold Sparkle Hustle Grow and I have more time now to pour into coaching. It just makes sense to bring Renae along, pull her up on stage with me, both literally and figuratively, and you guys are gonna love getting to know her. So where should we start? Should we talk a little bit about like, why we're doing this? Probably, I, Yeah, let's start with the why. Okay. So a few episodes back. Talked about why I sold my business, how I sold my business, you met my broker, all that good stuff. And so a lot of people have asked me what are you gonna do now? And the quick answer was, focus on my family and rest a little bit. I needed some time, some downtime to kind of regroup. And then in the back of my mind, I always knew in Q4 after I sold the business, that Renae and I would work more closely together and just double down on subscription box coaching. And so that's why we are rebranding everything to Subscription Box Basics. We're going to grow the brand, we're gonna add some new offers that I think you're really gonna like. We're nicheing down too. And so what I mean by that is we are gonna be working more specifically with the new and aspiring subscription box business owners that are in that idea stage. Right? Yeah.

Renae: 2:46

So anywhere from, you just thought of this idea, but you don't know where to go from there. To your growing, but not necessarily ready to scale and completely take over the world, Right, Right. Your small little world. That's the, Those are the people that we're targeting.

Julie: 3:00

Yeah. And we just found that those are the people one that we can help the most. They're in our zone of genius, and we found two that those are the people that want that help. Maybe you're banging your head on the table because you're tired of Googling for everything, or you're trying to piece it all together. And so that's where we're really gonna fit in. We're not necessarily working with the entrepreneurs that are gonna be scaling or, you know, growing to massive sizes. That's just not, that's just doesn't feel like our heart and our zone of genius. We are cheering you on. We wanna see you succeed no matter what stage you're at. But moving forward, Subscription Box Basics is going to be really focused on those early stages. Now we're still gonna offer Subscription Box Bootcamp, and in fact in January we're going to relaunch it with some updates with new platforms and it's gonna be really great. But Subscription Box Bootcamp will be the signature course under the brand. Okay. So that leads us to like, why are we together right now? We decided that with the rebranding And Carmen, by the way, did our rebranding... wait till you see our new logo and, you know, some changes to our color scheme. It's super fun and I know you guys as entrepreneurs can really appreciate that. So we are in Miami to not only reward ourselves for the hard work we did with Sparkle Hustle Grow and celebrate the sale of it, but also to plan. Q4 and Q1 of next year. And we've got some big plans. We're gonna tease you with some of those. We're not gonna spill all the tea yet, but we did a photo shoot and it was so much fun. And I wanna just break down really quickly how we did that photo shoot in case you are interested in doing something similar. Like we wanted to do a branding photo shoot. This was not a box photo shoot where there was like unboxing and stuff. This was about getting Renae and I behind the camera together, some new head shots, some branding shots. And wait till you see some of these pictures too, guys, because if you're already a boot camper, you might see your box in some of these photos. And so I actually had some friends ask me How did you even manage that? Because I live in Asheville, North Carolina. Renae lives in California and we're doing a photo shoot in Florida. So really quickly, the way we did it was we created a Pinterest board. Shots, right? so. You were so helpful with that. Like you went in there one day and just like boom. Here's all kinds of shots. Yeah.

Renae: 5:21

So if, and it was easy to pull from inspiration on the web and then also that kind of helped us know what coordinating when there's more than one person in the shots, like how to coordinate but not look too matchy. Right. Some of our shots were very matchy, but that's just, we're extra. Yeah. Yeah. It was fun. But pulling from Pinterest and having that all in one spot really helped us during the shoot too. To be like, Oh, our photographer was awesome. So she had a lot of the things printed out, but we would still be able to go to the Pinterest board and look for inspiration. And Julie, you were even saying just like how to pose or how to have your your mouth or your eyes

Julie: 5:53

deface. Yeah. Yeah. Your expressions. You know, my jaw started hurting from smiling so much and I was getting tired. And so I'd look back at those pictures so I could see what their faces looked like. So we had a Pinterest board. We got a referral for a wonderful photographer here in Miami, and she was really great in helping pull everything together. And she gave us some great guidance. She's like, Okay, we're gonna have three hours. You can have three outfits. So to us that was like, okay, let's pick our best three outfits. And we went online shopping, tried to match up some things, got some cute shoes, stuff like that. We made it really fun. And one of the pieces of advice she gave us was, You want to wear something in your branding photo shoots that you feel really confident in and that really are authentically you. There were a few pictures that we were barefoot. You know, there's a few pictures that we had on small heels in a blazer. So there's a variety of different photos that we did. I rented a studio from an app called Peer Space. So think of like Airbnb for places to, to spend the night. The peer space is where you can rent studios, so we rented a studio for a couple of hours. I actually shipped down two boxes of props and boxes and stuff because we wanted it to be very personal, very us, with your boxes, boot campers. So again, make sure you look for yours. So we shipped the boxes down. We rented the studio and we put on lots of good music and really had so much fun. Maybe you followed along with the stories. We posted some when we were here yesterday doing the shoot. So that's how we did the photo shoot. We will have an entire episode on photo shoots. How about that? So we don't go too deep into it today. But the reason we needed the photo shoot was for this rebranding and for our new website. Really excited to share the new website. It's subscription box basics.com. And when you go on there, you're going to see the new imagery. You're gonna see the new offers. And Renae, why don't you tell a little about some of the new offers that were thrown out there this quarter? Absolutely.

Renae: 7:58

So one of the main reasons behind switching from being known as Subscription Box Boot Camp to now Subscription Box Basics was because of some of these now new offerings that are coming your way, including drumroll. One on one coaching, which is one of our most requested things that we get all the time. Both Julie and myself in different areas. If you need help, just you're at the idea stage and you're just wanting to really dive in deep with someone and have a sounding board, Julie is absolutely amazing at that. If you have your idea and you're like, Where do I go next? What marketing steps do I take? How do I really start to make this a cohesive brand? I am your girl. I can help you... between the two of us. if you are at that idea stage and you're really hoping to save time and energy on your launch and really make it a successful launch. we are your girls. That one-on-one coaching is now something that in the very near future when this episode airs Look for it in November. It'll be launching, It'll be something where you can have access to us via Voxer for back and forth audio brainstorming sessions, or if you need something more where you sit down and talk we'll have groups of three sessions that you're able to sit down over, zoom and do so. More details coming soon. But one of the main reasons behind the new website was these new offerings and one-on-one coaching sessions is part of that offerings.

Julie: 9:29

I'm so excited about it. And if you haven't heard of Voxer, it's this free app. It's like a walkie talkie style app. So imagine if Renae or I were just like, in your back pocket for four hours, you can ask us anything. We're gonna coach you along the way, give you resources. That's gonna be one of the options. And then the other, like Renae said, was series of three coaching sessions because we don't want you or us to feel the pressure of cramming everything in one one hour session and hope that you got all your questions answered. The reason we wanna create this three pack of coaching sessions, is because we can build on the success, we can build on the progress each time, and we really want to get to know you, your idea, your subscription box, so that we can meet you where you are and give you the support that you need to succeed. Like this is gonna save you so many hours. It's gonna save you so much time Googling, and it's gonna save you so many tears. Trust me. There were a lot of tears starting Sparkle Hustle Grow. And I want you to be able to launch faster, more profitably, and with more ease that's really why we put this together.

Renae: 10:38

Yeah. And really see a transformation from before you start to the end of your third session. And one of the good things too, about having three sessions is you have that time in between to really sit and reflect, do the work. Think of things you forgot to mention in the first session. So we really think that whether. Four hours and you're going back and forth and you're just like, I need to knock this out in one day, or it's over a course of three sessions over a couple weeks. It's really something that you'll see transformation with either.

Julie: 11:05

I know, I'm so excited. I can't wait to get to know you guys on a deeper level and support you. So another one of the offerings that we are doing is bootcamp. You guys know what bootcamp is. A lot of you already know what it is. We. Had some suggestions on some content that might be missing. And not that it's missing. We, we try to keep it like very low fluff, but one of the things that is popping up more and more is what software should I use for my subscription box business? And with more and more software becoming available for this, we want to narrow down to our favorites. In the past we've talked just about Crate joy, and in the future we are gonna add some more to the mix. We are gonna show you why you would wanna choose this one over this one. You get to ultimately make the decision, but we want to give you easy resources to help you make that decision and then connect you to the right resources so that when you move forward with that platform, you're not scared, you feel supported and you feel confident in your choice. So boot camp is going to relaunch again with some updates in January, so stay tuned for that. And we will have some new sparkly bonuses for that as. And then the last offering that we are adding very soon, sometime we're probably gonna launch maybe in December. And it is gonna be a small group program. So often we hear people say like, they just need to be surrounded, they need to be in the room with the right people, and we want to bring that to you. So we're looking at building a six week group coaching program... called Box besties. What else? Right? We talk about having a box bestie all the time, and it is so important to have people that are in the same stage of business as you. And in the same industry as you that you can have as that sounding board. You can ask questions, you can run ideas by them. And so we want to create this really safe and fun environment. It's gonna be a six week group coaching program, again called Box Besties, where our goal in the end is one for you to have learned and to have that transformation wherever you're at in that journey. And for you to walk away with a tight knit group of people that you can really lean on. And that might mean finding one box bestie and you get real close with them and you find that support. Or you may find a small group beyond the program where you do a peer led mastermind. I did a peer led mastermind with a handful of gals: Jessica from All Girls Shave Club, Betsy from We Craft and Abby from Smart Ass and Sass. And the four of us would meet a couple times a month to talk over our business, to talk over things that rolled into our personal lives, and it was just so helpful. It really felt like a life raft in those moments where you feel like you're drowning and I'm so excited about this box besties program, and we're interested actually to hear what you need. So we want you to DM us on Instagram. Tell us what you are looking for. Are you most excited about the one-on-one coaching? Are you a future boot camper? Or are you thinking that this group program might be a good fit for you? We are all ears. We are in the early stages of building these. So if you want to give us suggestions. Your voice can definitely be heard and help us kind of craft what this program looks like.

Renae: 14:25

Yeah, and the small group coaching will be for if you've already launched, so you had launched, you've had you're sitting at 50 subscribers possibly up to 500 subscribers. You have passed that launch stage. but now you're looking for support and growth and ideas in a group setting. And you really want to take your box to the next level, but also feel supported too.

Julie: 14:46

Yeah. And I'm excited about it. It's gonna be fun. It's gonna have that work hard, play hard vibe that we. Love and live Yes. So, the other thing that's changing too, just a quick note is our Instagram and our Facebook, we're in the process of changing those to Subscription Box Basics as well. So just a heads up on that. I think that pretty much covers it. What do you think, Renae?

Renae: 15:07

I think that's pretty good. A good little sneak peek of what's to come.

Julie: 15:10

If you haven't heard already, I had the amazing opportunity to speak with Amy Porterfield on her online Marketing Made Easy podcast. So after you're done listening to this one, head on over there. It was episode 5 0 8. I talk about subscription boxes, of course, and it went live on October 20th which is actually day we're recording it was super fun. But if you wanna listen to another episode, Right now after this episode is over, go over there and let her know that you are a fan. Leave her a review. I'm sure she would really appreciate it, and sneak peek. Amy's gonna be on a future episode here on Subscription Box Basics as well. I'm really excited about this. I think this is gonna really resonate with those of you who are listening in that idea stage where you haven't launched. She has a new book coming out called Two Week Notice, and it's all about leaving your corporate career. And it's really scary. I've, I did that back in 2011 when I had my daughter, I left corporate America, and it is a leap of faith and I wish that I would've had a book like Amy's to walk me through it of like how and the mindset of it. And so I'm excited she's gonna be on the podcast talking about that. We're gonna be giving away a couple of the books. She's gonna be on in February. The book comes out in mid-February. So stay tuned for that and, stay tuned for all the other secrets we have up our sleeves. One of the things that I'm really excited about is having the more time to pour into this. Now that I'm not curating Sparkle Hustle, grow and running that box business, it's giving me a lot more time to pour into my family, to pour into friendships and to pour into you guys. So, yay. And I'm so excited to have Renae here. I

Renae: 16:51

know! I cannot wait to chat More with you guys and get to know. Better. I feel like I've already such a part of subscription Box boot camp and know so many of you so well. So can't wait to be in your ear a little more.

Julie: 17:03

Yeah. All right. We hope to hear from you in the dms. Hit us up anytime. We wanna hear about where you're at. We wanna hear about your ideas, we wanna hear about, you know, what questions you have. So we'll see there. Thanks for listening today and we'll see you in the next episode. Bye bye.