#014 - Julie brings some really good information in this episode. She talks about the three most common mistakes people make when launching their new subscription box business.
Links:
Sparkle Hustle Grow
Subscription Box Bootcamp
#014 - Julie brings some really good information in this episode. She talks about the three most common mistakes people make when launching their new subscription box business.
Links:
Sparkle Hustle Grow
Subscription Box Bootcamp
So you want to launch a subscription box, don't know where to start? Girl, you are in the right place! I'm Julie Ball, a subscription box coach and your host here at Subscription Box Basics, a podcast for new and aspiring subscription box entrepreneurs that want to avoid overwhelm. So grab a coffee, some pen and paper and let's have some fun! Hey friends! I'm Julie Ball your subscription box coach. And what if I told you that today, I'll tell you the three most common launch mistakes I see out there. Think that would help you from doing the same? I hope so. Welcome to Subscription Box Basics podcast where I pull back the curtain on my multi-six figure subscription box business so that you can launch faster with less mistakes and with less overwhelm. So have you ever said,"If I only knew then what I know now in my business, then my business would be in such a better place."? I know the feeling and that's why I'm bringing you some really good information today. I'm talking about the three most common mistakes I see regularly when people are launching their new subscription box business. I'm going to dive right in. So the first one is not doing a proper prelaunch. Guys, you can't just say, I'm starting a subscription box business and then launch it the next day. You really need to put together a prelaunch strategy. If you're not familiar with what a prelaunch is, it is that phase in your business when you're not only putting together all the pieces and strategizing and creating your business in the backend, but equally as important in this phase is that you're building your list of potential customers. Let me say it louder. For the people in the back, you need a proper pre- launch. And so what that looks like a lot of times is building an email list, creating social media channels and starting to get new followers, communicating and nurturing them so that when you launch, they're primed and ready to buy. And what that looked like was Sparkle Hustle Grow, my subscription box is first we created a landing page and on that landing page in exchange for you giving us your email address, we give you a chance to win a one year subscription. Now that giveaway is what we did to encourage people to give us their email address, but it could be a discount code. It could be free shipping for life. It could be a digital download, but we went with a giveaway of the product because I really wanted to get my product in hands. In hindsight, I probably didn't need to make it a one year subscription, but it really, I wanted to, you know, make a an impact. So choose anywhere from three months to 12 months and I think that it would make much more of an impact than just one box. When you're deciding what to give away though, keep in mind that the number one rule is to make it a prize that's specifically coveted in your exact target audience. Don't make it an Amazon gift card or a target shopping spree or other general prizes that would be loved by anyone. Why? Because you aren't trying to attract the fulltime contest people. You know those people that seem to spend 40 hours a week entering to win any and every contest. You want something that your specific target audience, your ideal client avatar would do flips to win. Then after we started gathering those email addresses on our landing page, we started nurturing them. And what does that even mean? So we started sending them regular emails, asking them questions, things like, what would you like to see in the box? Hit reply and let us know, do you prefer this product or that product. Vote. And that vote could be via email or maybe we posted it also on social media where they could comment their vote. And so throughout this prelaunch phase, I was priming them to buy when we launched. Just getting them really excited. The other thing that we did for them is we put them on a VIP list and that VIP list gave them early access to the product. Let me explain. So when we launched, we launched first to them to that VIP list with what we called a presale. They got a one week window to buy before we launched it to the general public. And we did that because we told them, you know, they got first dibs on it. There was going to be a limited number of boxes and just to have that first access made them really feel like a VIP and prime them even more to buy. So that's what we did during our prelaunch. And so often I see people launching their subscription boxes without doing a proper prelaunch and then they wonder why it's crickets when the cart opens. Guys, you've got to put in the work and take the time to create that prelaunch, to build your email list, get your concept in front of potential buyers, nurture them, and create those conversations about the movement that you're creating and this new product that's going to be available. And of course that was amazing and life changing it will be. Have those conversations in the prelaunch. And the last thing I want to say about prelaunch is that it's a really important time for you as the business owner to prepare things behind the scenes. There are a lot of moving parts to any business. Yes, but particularly the subscription box business. It's this continuous cycle of sourcing products, packing them and selling them. Rinse and repeat. So the prelaunch time is when you set up your initial systems, build your website and get your ducks in a row. Trust me. Taking the time to build this foundation alongside building your list can make all the difference. The second most common mistake I see people make when launching their subscription box business is buying items at retail price. You're never going to make money if you buy items at retail price. So there's a workaround as a business owner in the United States, is that you can apply for a reseller's license. A reseller means that you're buying a product from somebody and then reselling it to somebody else. That makes you a reseller. So simple. When you get that license from your state, then you can buy products at wholesale and a wholesale price is simply when you're buying something from a distributor or a manufacturer or a maker and you get it at a discount price because you're buying multiples and you're going to resell them to other people. As the general rule of thumb, wholesale price is 50% off. Yes, 50% off. So think about this when you go into target and you see a product for 10 bucks, you're probably able to buy that same product at wholesale price for 50% off. So instead of paying$10 you're only paying five. Now, 50% is just a general rule of thumb. That's not a guarantee. There's definitely room for negotiation and then some restrictions I'm sure will apply, but sometimes you can even get better pricing than 50% off if you just ask for it. But that's all part of the business plan and the business strategies that you're going to work through in the future. So you definitely want to make sure you understand that wholesale concept as you're building your business and starting to source products for your box. If this is a new concept for you, it's cool. I got you two steps first, head over to SubscriptionBoxBootcamp.com and download my free PDF on how to make money with a subscription box business and then second step, listen to episode three where I break down the wholesale concept with examples that will help you understand. So again, the second most common mistake I see with subscription box business owners is buying items at retail. And that brings me to the third most common mistake I see people if doing it alone, I'm guilty. I did this back in October 2016 when I launched my subscription box business Sparkle Hustle Grow. I was doing it alone. I was piecing together all the parts. I was binge watching videos and I was spending countless hours doing the research. All of this was so exhausting. It took up a lot of my time, time away from my family, time away from other parts of my business like marketing and product sourcing and it just made the challenge of starting a business that much more difficult but you don't have to do it that way. That's exactly why I created Subscription Box Bootcamp, which is a six month online course in community to help you grow and scale your own subscription box business and we are opening it for just 48 hours next week. Guys, this is going to save you countless hours, so many headaches and just give you the community to build your business with. It's so great to have a community of people that are likeminded and going through some of the same things. I didn't have anybody to ask these questions to other than my family and I think that's one of the biggest reasons I wanted to include community in Subscription Box Bootcamp is to have that sounding board, to have that set of cheerleaders and that group of people that you can brainstorm with and lean on for support and even share your wins with. On my own. I didn't have a roadmap. I didn't have a community for support. I didn't have templates and swipe files. I didn't have any of this. But I want all of this for you. I want this for you to save time, money and headaches. I want you to be able to ramp up faster and more efficiently than I did so that you start changing the lives of your customers and that so you can be a part of the best industry in the world. So, are you ready? I am so excited for you to be a part of this. Subscription Box Bootcamp is open next week for two days only. Mark it on your calendar, March 4th and 5th 2020 and it'll be at SubscriptionBoxBootcamp.com and so if you're already on the email list, we'll send you details on how you can save$200 on your enrollment. If you're in the place where you've got this great subscription box concept and have fear or overwhelm stopping you, remember that you don't have to do this alone. You do not have to piece it all together. We've done that for you with Subscription Box Bootcamp. I really hope to see you in there and thanks as always for spending this time with me. I'll see you in the next episode.
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