Subscription Box Basics

One on one Subscription Box Coaching

November 07, 2022 Julie Ball + Renae Gonzalez Episode 139
Subscription Box Basics
One on one Subscription Box Coaching
Show Notes Transcript

ICYMI, check out last week’s episode to hear about our recent rebranding and how coach Renae is joining the podcast on the regular! SO exciting!

Along with the rebrand, we’re adding new opportunities to help you! In today’s episode, we break down the new one on one subscription box coaching offer. Whether you want to do a virtual VIB (Very Important Box) day or a series of shorter calls, we will meet you where you are to maximize your success. 

Find more details at our brand new website at https://www.subscriptionboxbasics.com.

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Julie:

hey everybody. Welcome back to Subscription Box Basics. If you didn't listen to last week's episode, start there. Last week we announced some big changes, how we're shifting the brand, the overall brand to be subscription box basics, and you're gonna see and hear a lot more from Renee Gonzalez, My biz bestie she's been coaching with me for years. She's been working on Sparkle Hustle, grow for years, and now she's joining me on the podcast on the regular. Hey, Renee. I'm back.

Renae:

Hi everyone.

Julie:

I just wanted to take a minute real quick to say too, as things are shifting, like what does that even look like? So you're gonna hear from Renee a lot more in the podcast. I'm gonna do some solo episodes. She's gonna do some solo episodes. We're gonna do some together. We're still gonna do some interviews, so just go with the flow. We're feeling this out. We're really excited about all the changes. And another thing that you'll see is, we'll, we're actually recording these on video, so as you guys know, as small business owners YouTube is a search engine and we wanna make sure that we're found on YouTube. And if you prefer video over audio, you're in luck. I'm not gonna promise that we're always gonna look pretty. I'm not gonna promise that our hair is gonna be done. Sometimes we'll have good lighting, sometimes we won't. Most times

Renae:

we will probably come as we are. So it's just get ready for it. Might not be the best video to watch but we'll still. Bring in the knowledge and you can see us if you'd like to now too.

Julie:

Yeah, we're gonna talk shop, we're gonna interview people. We are gonna do coaching and share war stories and share both wins and losses throughout the years so that you can use that information to, grow your business faster and to have less tears and ramp up faster.

Renae:

Of the the things behind us both being able to be behind the mic now is that will really get to hone into our zone of genius. And that is one of the things that we'll be talking about today with what we're coming to you on today's topic.

Julie:

Yes. And so today's topic is one-on-one coaching. By far, this has been one of the things that has been the most requested throughout the years, and to be quite honest with you, running Sparkle Hustle grow and doing the coaching. We simply did not have the capacity to do one-on-one coaching, and now that we sold Sparkle Hustle grow in August, we are able to spend more time here on the coaching side, which makes me so happy to get to know you, the listener, better and better through this one-on-one coaching. Now we're. Rolling out a few different things over the next few months, but today's topic is more about that one-on-one coaching. Buckle up. We have two different ways that we're gonna do one-on-one coaching. Renee, you wanna kick us off? Yeah, absolutely.

Renae:

So like Julie mentioned, there'll be two different formats. The first format will be through. App called Voxer. It's a audio walkie talkie like app. It'll be a four hour Voxer session and before you're like, Holy moly, four hours, I am gonna chat back and forth with you for four hours. That is one of the amazing things about this is you get a four hour block. Voxer block where we're available and in your back pocket so to speak, because we're right there on your phone for you. You come to us with a issue or a couple issues and we're really able to, over that four hour span, talk it out with you and take it from something that was a burden and heavy, on you in business to, by the. Four hour session, we're really able to give you next steps moving forward and help with some of those problems that you were having at the start of the.

Julie:

Yeah. And if you haven't heard of Voxer, it's a free app. It's something that you can use on any phone. You can use it on your desktop as well. And it allows for text, audio, and video messages. So it's like a almost like a walkie talkie style app. And so the beautiful thing about this is we don't have to sprint through. The questions we can actually talk through these give you a, allow you to have time to process things. Sometimes you need to actually sit down and do some of the work in between questions. And so through this app you can save your messages, you can save our responses and Access them later if you need a refresher. And we just really this format because it's very conversational. It gives us time to think things through and it takes a bit of that pressure off. Now, Renee and I had done these types of coaching programs in the past with either four hours or eight hours, and while it sounds really amazing to spend that entire day with someone, they're very exhausting to do eight hours. So that's why we've scaled back to four. Four hours seems like that sweet spot. Like Renee said, you don't have to be back and forth and back and forth with questions four hours straight. But instead, we have a couple of questions that we know we're gonna go through to make sure that you get what you need out of the session, but it's also a chance to really brainstorm and tap into the creative power of having a coach in your back pocket. So I guess I wanna take a step back to one of the things I want you to think about if you're considering one-on-one coaching is the difference between small group coaching, self-study with courses or memberships or this one-on-one coaching. And I feel like there's just so many moving parts to a subscription box business. We've talked about that before. You might feel overwhelmed where you get this analysis paralysis, we call it, or decision fatigue. You might be making your choices based off of urgency, like what needs done right now, rather than having this capacity to plan ahead and not get burned out, to think through things and to batch them. And so we don't want you to feel like you're stuck in that spot, and that's when one on one coaching can really step in and help you. Take a step back and look at, okay, what needs done now? What's urgent and important? What can be planned and what can be strategic for the future? And so I think that's one of the things you need to think about before you invest in one-on-one coaching. Do I need someone to hold my hand through some of those tougher seasons, or maybe I need someone to hold my hand right before pre-launch to make sure everything's under control and I've got my foundation properly built.

Renae:

What you hit on was exactly what I was gonna say. I feel like you're making progress and ideas are flowing, but you just need possibly a sounding board to bounce off and get confirmation on some of the things before you put them out into the world. Or you're exactly like you mentioned right at your pre-launch stage or your idea stage, like really ready to jump to the next stage. So you're at your I idea stage and you're ready to really start to lay some things out, but maybe you wanna questions off you, Julie. One of my most successful Vibs I think was someone who had everything, all of her emails laid out, but she wanted to bounce some ideas off or help with mapping to really figure out like, Okay, like I have these emails, but am I setting them up to send them to the right people or now how do I grow my email list? So I feel like someone to really be able to bounce those ideas back and forth with, but you want to make sure you, before you put them out in the world, that are

Julie:

good to go. Yeah, I like that because one of the most successful Voxer coaching sessions that I ever did was, it was so fun. Like we were just jamming back and forth. And keep in mind that when we say walkie talkie, it records and saves things. You don't have to be on, kinda like a traditional walkie talkie. You can, go drop off your kid at school and come back to the message when you have that space and that. It is good obviously to, to carve out that time where you're not gonna be interrupted, but you don't have to worry about missing a a message. One of the most successful ones that I did, that I just loved, and I know she did too, was she was in a position where she needed to niche down and she just needed someone to help her identify that audience and someone to tell her what to do She's saying, Oh, I just don't know because I wanna be everything to everyone. And so I started prompting these questions and we started narrowing it down. And by the end we had the drawing, like the write up of a full customer avatar that was so clear. It was saying who she was, how old she was, how many kids she had where she shopped, magazines she read. It was so eye opening and it allowed her then to use that for future message. To be able to share like inside jokes or funny memes that specific audience would, audience member would get. And so that was a lot of fun. So that's just an example of another way. And I think, one thing I also I wanted to mention was people have different learning styles. Some people love. Visual learning. So a video. Some people love audio learning, that's why you're listening to a podcast. But some people need that hand holding that step by step. And I'm, I know for me, I'm a kind of a combination of all of them, where I love someone to show me what to do and then give me the free space and the time to stumble, to learn it, to practice it and figure it out. So what kind of learner are you, Renee? I feel

Renae:

like. I need someone to tell me like, Okay, this is how you do it, but then gimme the freedom to try it on my own too. Yeah. So I I, and like audio wise, I feel like I choose audio books over reading books. so I definitely feel if I have been with many coaches before and have learned from coaches, but never in this format. I love being able to like, go back and forth and listen to advice, but then have my time on my own to really dive into things too. Yeah. So if you're like a learner like me, this is for you, but yeah. Yeah. I, I like the freedom to really do my own thing but I need a sounding board to hear Oh you're on the right track. Keep it going.

Julie:

Yeah. Or to bring in a different point of view or different perspective. Yes. Yep. Because we all look at things from such a different lens, just from life experience And so from our experience running Sparkle Hustle grow for almost six years and having, pieced it together on our own. Learning on the fly, making mistakes, that lens that we can provide to you as the student is invaluable. You have no idea until you start going through those and having those conversations. This can really help you skyrocket your success, but also just skip some of the mistakes and to skip to the next stage quicker, faster.

Renae:

Sometimes you're so invested. If it's your box and your baby, you're so invested with it personally, I think Julie, you and me, that was one of the things that made us such a good team because sometimes you'd have things that were like, heavy on your mind, or and I was able to be your sounding board and be there to be like, Okay, look here's what we're gonna do, and then we're gonna shake it off. And I as people are building their businesses, they, it is their baby, their box is their baby, and it's hard to either troubleshoot or just see things from You have your rose colored glasses on so having a. Coach come in and be like, Oh, hey, that is great. But if you're really trying to hit your target audience, do this tweak and offer suggestions because it's not it's not our baby. We'll be mama bear for you, but it's not

Julie:

our baby. That's right. And they're fun. Like these are really fun sessions. You can book one if you want, or you can book one a month or you can book multiple ones depending on what you need. We're gonna meet you where you are at. These are very personal to. Sessions, and we provide resources too. If we come across a struggle and an issue that you're having, and we have a resource for it, we're gonna pass that along to you and instruct you on how to use it. So I'm really really excited about making these more available to everybody. So let's talk about. The other type of one on one coaching, because we get that you might not want a four hour back and forth kind of session. You might need to sit down with us for a specific amount of time and cover one topic and then do that again, and then do that again, so you can build upon your success. So that's why we're also offer. 45 minute Zoom sessions, and they'll be available in packs of three because it's really hard to get something done in just 45 minutes and then be done with it. Like we want to make sure we get to know you. There'll be an intake form so you can share all of the good information about your idea or your box if you're already launched, and a little bit about you, what your goals are, because these are gonna be tailored to you. Again, they're gonna be one on one. The sessions are gonna build upon each other, and I'm really excited about this. You can either book me for those or you can book Renee for those. And we're gonna talk a little bit about some ideas of how to choose which coach would be the best for you.

Renae:

One of the great things about the Zoom 45 minute sessions is that you have more than just that time to sit and think like you. Book these back to back weeks. You can have that time in between. So after the end of session one, before we leave each other, we can say, Okay, before session two, here's what you need to have done. Here's what us as the coach is gonna brainstorm and come back to. Even though you're only ha in quotation marks, having that 45 minutes, you really have that time. I know. I can speak for both Julie and myself. When I say when that 45 minutes ends, it's not erased from our mind. We're still brainstorming on it. We're still thinking, we're still working on whatever we need to work on before seeing you again. You're able to have a full transformation. It really is like you have that time to sit and think and really develop as a business owner and as a box owner from the before session one till the end of session three.

Julie:

and we'll record them. So that you can refer back to them so that you don't have to, get your hand cramped, taking notes the whole time, know, write down notes, Of course. but also know that we'll be providing you with a recording so that you can always refer back to it. I love these. These are gonna be an opportunity for us to do deep dives and really choose where we're gonna spend our time. I'm thinking about how I've used this type of thing in the past with other mentors of mine, and the way I like to do them was to schedule them every two weeks, for example. That way I didn't feel rush. That way. I had enough time in between our meetings to actually take action, follow up and be prepared, and it gives you that little bit of accountability that, I don't know about you Renee, but like I need that little bit of accountability when I'm working with a coach. I love having that check in and say, Okay, last time we talked this is where we ended. Where are we starting?

Renae:

I a hundred percent agree. And you said scheduling every two weeks and it came to me. How amazing would it be when you're four weeks out from your box launch to schedule it one and then another two weeks, and then right before your launch, to have someone to talk to leading up to when your launch or your box goes live. Like I, I couldn't even imagine. Being able to talk and check last minute things, let alone the actual work that is getting done and value bringing there. But I really feel like right before box launch or right before if you need to redo your box launch cuz things are stalling and you're at a plateau. But just, being able to really have the freedom to schedule when you need that little extra accountability and pep talk is so

Julie:

huge. Yeah, I agree. And so this will be available for everyone, but we will have a special rate if you are already a boot camper because we know as subscription box boot camper you have the resources and that foundation through the training so I feel like we'll be able to really move quickly. We will, you can get all the details on the website at subscriptionboxbasics.com and we'll put that link in the show notes as well. I think this would be a good time. To talk about, just some ideas of what we might cover on, any of these coaching sessions. When you book your coaching sessions, you're going to choose either Renee or myself, and it really is going to be based off of what you need. Again, we want to meet you where you're at, and with email marketing and social media, for example, that's not my jam, that's Renee's jam, but I have the experience. Launching a box and all those moving parts of the logistics and the operations of, running a warehouse. So there's all these different things. We will definitely help you decide, or we can make a recommendation based off of what you need. But let's just go through that list, Renee, of some of the things that people have either covered on past coaching days with us or just, some ideas of when you might need a.

Renae:

Sounds like a plan. Do you want to start with the first one on the list? Cause that

Julie:

sounds like it's right up your alley. Yeah, this one's totally up my alley. It's getting feedback on your new subscription box idea. I can't tell you how many times people have said to me And this is my idea. Is it gonna work? Now, I can't come out of the box and say, Yes, it's gonna work, but I can give you the feedback and I can help you walk through that carving out your concept process. Whether it is helping you with researching the audience, whether it's helping you, researching the competion. And just helping you think through how am I gonna make this box idea different than any other box in that same niche? I can help you definitely niche down so that when someone sees your box advertised, they're like, Oh my gosh, that box was made for me. Add to cart, subscribe so I think, that's one of the the places where I excel in, You and I together, have helped hundreds of people launch their boxes. And so that's a great segue into this next topic is planning out your pre-launch. There's just a lot of things that happen in that pre-launch phase. Whether it's carving out your concept or actually mocking up your product. Where am I gonna get my actual products? How am I gonna source things? Can you help me with negotiating? Growing your email list? I was just

Renae:

gonna say logistically on the prelaunch side, Julie's 100% your girl if it's logistics, if it's more marketing and you're like, Oh k, I'm going to pre-launch, like this is happening. I'm putting it out to the world, but how do I grow my email list or what emails do I actually have to send? Or where do I even find people to tell this about? What do I put out on social? Marketing and community aspects of your box are 100% my jam. I am

Julie:

your girl. Yes. And making those email sequences, like nurture sequences or welcome sequences, you're so good at mapping out that communication between a new, either a new customer or a new lead and sharing your story and converting them. So if that's where you're at and you're like, I need a new welcome sequence, or I need to know how to. From my email. That's one of your, I feel like that's part of your zone of genius.

Renae:

And all of these quote unquote problems are something that on your own, can you figure it out? Absolutely. But is it easier or will you get stuck less. I feel like so many times when it's such a personal project you can get stuck on it, but if you're able to go back and forth with someone, Yeah. The ideas just start flowing and then you're like, Oh, like I, I knew that it was in there. You just need some one sometimes to help with suggestions or really show you the first step so you can keep

Julie:

running. Yeah, I love it. Some other things that people have come to us for coaching would be about margins and pricing. So that goes all back to product sourcing. Where do you get things, How do you maximize your margins? Things like mapping out your standard operating procedures or your software, even some of those things really working on your solid foundation. And as we mentioned in last week's episode, we are really focusing in on the new and aspiring subscription box business owner. So if you're in those early stages, you're probably re hearing all these issues and you're like, Oh yeah, I can relate to that, or Oh yeah, I've been through that. So that's where we're really, our zone of genius is going to help. Some other things that we can help you with is your website tightening it up, helping to make sure that there's a good subscribe flow. So a subscribe flow is, From the time they hit your website to the time they actually make your purchase, The flow is all the steps in between. And so we've worked a lot with Sparkle Hustle grow in the past, tightening up, how do we make it convert better? How do we maximize the the cart value and just making sure that people have a good experience and they don't abandon the.

Renae:

If you launched, if you're already past pre-launch, but you heard crickets and it wasn't exactly what you thought it would be another good opportunity to dig deep into what's broken in your business. And why did your first round, why after that launched, did it not go the way you thought it would? Because I feel like a lot of the times, People launch and they're, then, they're stuck. They have that first group of people that they spread the word to and they have a couple subscribers. They're, but they're not really growing or scaling or converting every month, and they're just feeling like, Okay, like I, I reach that first little bubble of people. Now

Julie:

what do I. Yeah, you might be like saying to yourself, what next? Or you might feel just a little bit lost or have that again, that decision fatigue where it's I could do this, or I could do this or this. We can definitely help you identify if there's something broken in your business or if there's room for improvement or if there's just something missing. And then one of the other things that I wanted to. That we are really good at coaching is with mindset. I feel like there's so many mindset issues we are gonna tackle not only as a small business owner, but for with subscription boxes specifically, and just as women in general. I think you and I, Renee, have been through all of these mindset issues ourselves. We're constantly working on them. It's called personal development and. Personal development is what Sparkle Hustle Grow was built around. So we have so many resources, whether they are books to recommend, other podcasts, other coaches to recommend, or if you just need a hype girl, if you like, need that cheerleader to help you get through a challenge in your business. I'm telling you what, Renee is my personal hype girl, like half the time when I'm going through something. She's the one that I go to. So I can tell you from personal experience, if you're going through a mindset issue, I feel like Renee would be a really good resource for you that can be incorporated into any of the coaching sessions.

Renae:

We are walking personal development books, after all of the courses we have taken. And like you said, I feel like we're both just natural cheerleaders. We wanna see other people succeed. If you're feeling down, we want to bring you back up and we know that the idea you're putting out into the world is a good one. And the ideas behind your box, it was there for a reason.

Julie:

we'll help you push through. Those are just a handful of some of the things that we've covered on coaching calls or when talking with other subscription box entrepreneurs that is not limited to that. If you come to us and you book a coaching session, we're going to dig deep with you to see what you need. We're gonna meet you where you're at, provide you with resources. Low fluff. We want you to take action, so we wanna make the most of all of these coaching sessions. We cannot wait to meet you and to get to know you. We know so many subscription box entrepreneurs start their boxes because they wanna make a difference. It's not just a box of stuff you're selling. You are sending out solutions to problems. You're sending out support systems to people who need it. You're so much more than that. You are bringing delight and surprise and all that. Yes. But you're game changers and so we cannot wait to help you with your boxes to dive deeper from a coach's perspective. And just, talk it out. You guys have this unique opportunity now to talk it out with people who get it, who have been there before you, who have made the mistakes and are happy to share about what works, what doesn't. I couldn't be more excited to actually have the time and capacity for us to do this now.

Renae:

I could not agree more. And if you're listening to this and you're like, Oh, I wonder if this could be a possible good solution at any time at all, feel free to DM us at our Instagram, which is now at subscription box basics. So you can reach us there. Both Julie and myself are in there so we can let you know if that's even a possibility for something that we could help on. Hash it out a little bit there before you are really diving in and committing to one-on-one

Julie:

coaching. And we're, we'll be very honest about it. If it's something. That we don't have experience with, we'll let you know that maybe we'll be able to point you in a different direction. But yeah, we don't want to waste your time. We don't wanna waste our time. We want to make this an opportunity that is going to be game changing for your business. Check it out, subscription box basics.com and then click on work with us. You will get more of the details. There'll be a link to book with either of us, and we just can't wait to get to know you. So if you have any questions, again, like Renee said, just dms, we're happy to walk through it. This is a new opportunity a new offer that we have on the table. So we are definitely willing to hear your feedback on what you need, what you are hoping to get out of it. So just let us.

Renae:

And we also wanna hear feedback on our new website. Oh, yes.

Julie:

Oh, we have poured our heart and soul into that website. And when you get there, it's fun and it's resourceful and we hope that you love it. We used our new branding photo shoot that we talked about last. And we want it to be clear that we are not boring business coaches. We truly have that work hard, play hard attitude. We're gonna bring it to these coaching sessions, and when you get there, you're gonna be pretty clear on whether we're your people or not. We're not for everyone. Absolutely.

Renae:

We talk about everything from how we met to favorite cocktails on there.

Julie:

Yes. So if that, Resonates with you. Go check it out.

Renae:

Thank you guys so much again. I am so happy to be back on the mic and I cannot wait to talk to you soon.

Julie:

All right. Thanks for listening today and we'll see you in the next episode. Bye bye.

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