What is Subscription Box Bootcamp?

#015 - If you've been listening to this podcast since our launch last December or if you've just binged them all last weekend, you may be curious about Julie's group coaching program Subscription Box Bootcamp. It is an online coaching program where Julie guides aspiring subscription box entrepreneurs step by step from concept to launch.

At the beginning of this episode, Julie talks a little bit more about Subscription Box Bootcamp-what you'll be getting, step-by-step roadmap plus BONUSES! And then in the second half of the episode, you'll be inspired to hear feedback and success stories of some of her students especially this 16-year old boss babe who's not only killing it but also making a big difference in the world.

Subscription Box Bootcamp is opening enrollment for 48 hours only on March 4th & 5th 2020. You can sign up at SubscriptionBoxBootcamp.com.

Links:

Sparkle Hustle Grow
Subscription Box Bootcamp

Transcript

Julie: 0:01

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 Julie Ball here, founder of Sparkle Hustle Grow and your coach at Subscription Box Basics. If you've been listening to this podcast since our launch back in December or if you've just been to them all last week, you may be curious about my group coaching program, Subscription Box Bootcamp. I've talked about it here and there, but we are actually opening enrollment for 48 hours only later this week, March 4th and fifth 2020 so I wanted to just take a little time to tell you about it. And then in the second half of this episode you'll hear from a few of my Subscription Box Bootcamp students. So through the program I will guide you step by step from concept to launch. I'll give you plug and play templates and tell you exactly what tools and software I use to run my own multi-six figures subscription box business, Sparkle Hustle Grow. Before you actually start working on your pre-launch phase that that timeframe when you're building your box and growing your list, you actually want to do some pre-work so this makes sure that everyone is on the same page moving forward through the course and it's basically foundational work. It's key to building a successful brand and the precursor to starting your prelaunch phase on the right foot. You can actually start that pre-work right now at SubscriptionBoxBootcamp. com/basics where you can enroll in my free basic training. There you'll be provided with course guidelines, tech lists and basic foundations you need to know about the industry, like how it works and terminology. You'll then take the time to carve out your unique subscription box concept. A lot of that similar to the topics we cover in this podcast actually. After you've gone through the pre-work, the real fun begins. In month one of bootcamp, it's all about research and prep work. The earlier you get your system set up, the easier it will be later for sure. We'll cover social media, product sourcing, um, competition and even getting started on your box design. It's like coming to life. You'll have access to a set of beautifully designed, yet easy to customize social media templates with video instructions on how to make them your own along with email swipe templates for your new software. Getting these templates and these copy and paste swipe files is going to cut out so much time of your busy schedule and just make it that much easier. By the end of month one you'll have your social media profiles and a landing page set up ready to start collecting email addresses. So now that you're building your email list, it's time in month two to decide on your pricing, set up your eCommerce systems and build your website. I'll tell you exactly which low cost or free software to use so you don't get caught up in decision paralysis, which is totally a real thing. Even if you aren't tech savvy, this section will be easier than you think because you'll have access to video screencasts of step-by-step instructions on building your subscription box website. And by the end of this month you'll have a website that is ready to accept your first orders. It's so exciting! Over the first two months of Subscription Box Bootcamp, you've been building your email list, you're nurturing them with weekly progress updates, and by now you'll be ready to make your first sale. So in month three you'll launch to your VIP list for your pre-sale, which can earn you money to make your first product purchases with. I talk a lot about pre-launching, but specifically a presale in earlier episodes. After you do your pre-sale, then you'll launch to the public. At the same time, you can start preparing for your first shipping day with my video for tutorials on how to buy postage, how to print that, and how to label your boxes. You'll get behind the scenes access and tips on how to pack and ship efficiently saving you both time and money, which I know is so important. So what a wild and exciting ride those first three months are, right? So you've done all the pre-work, you've built your social media, you've launched your subscription box. After you've finished celebrating, then it hits you. Like most people, you'll say,"Now what?". So this is a really exciting time. But the thing is with a lot of subscription box training, this is where the training actually ends. So what we've done in subscription box bootcamp is we have three months post-launch support too, so that you know exactly what you need to do, how to stay organized, and how to grow and scale your business. Being supported in your first few months. Post-launch can really be the difference between shipping hundreds of boxes or shutting down shop. In the post-launch part of subscription box bootcamp, you will establish efficient, healthy business habits like getting-this-done-for-you planner that I have in there. And you'll learn next steps to grow and scale. Now that you've launched, you will have orders to fulfill. Awesome, right? So in month four you'll learn how to organize your shipping operations and to ship your first boxes efficiently. So you can focus on planning and projections for your next month. It's with subscription box businesses. It's just this continuous cycle. So we'll cover in bootcamp how to manage all of the moving parts gracefully, topics in that month. Include your first renewal day, spoiler alert strategies, community building and growing your email list along with some tips on customer experience. You'll also be provided with a packing day checklist and a printable weekly planner so you can establish that workflow. Okay, so in month five we focus on establishing that workflow, which is crucial for your longterm sustainability. It will help minimize the overwhelm that many subscription box business owners experience as they try to piece their business together. We'll cover what to do with excess inventory, how to work with influencers, do affiliate marketing and referral programs and you'll be well equipped with customer service training so you can delight even the crankiest all-caps email writing customers. Okay, so now you made it to month six in bootcamp. By now you should feel confident in your cycle from sales to renewals to shipping. So in this month we'll cover more topics to help you grow. And scale your business. We'll talk about both DIY and outsourced options for things like SEO, fulfillment and more. So in most modules of the bootcamp, you'll get a short video along with printable worksheets and many of the modules even have cut and paste swipe files that you can tweak for your own business. It literally took me hours and hours to learn all of this while I was piecing it together myself back in 2016. But for you, it's all together in one beautiful roadmap. And then on top of all this, you're going to get some amazing bonuses. I'll quickly go through what those bonuses are. So first you're going to get four months free of Cratejoy software. Um, if you've heard previous episodes, you always hear me talking about Cratejoy, how it's an all-in-one software platform for subscription box businesses. So your four free months is going to help you minimize those startup costs and get you started right away with something that can, you know, kinda cost you a lot at the beginning. You know, because you're not actually selling boxes quite yet in that first month. But you might want to start setting up your website or in that second month even, so this four months free of Cratejoy software is going to get that ball rolling for you. You're also going to get training from Becca Bond founder of Subscription Box Photography, and she's going to teach you how to do a DIY photo studio. Guys, photographs, specifically professional photographs, really make a huge difference in the conversion rate of your website. So you want to make sure you have really good photos, but if you can't afford to outsource that right away and most people can't, then you can use this training to learn about lighting and you can learn about how to set up an unboxing picture, how to set up a flat lay picture, all these great things. So that's another one of your bonuses. The third bonus you'll get is how to build a viral giveaway. That's how to build your email list, basically using a giveaway. And it's so important, especially at pre-launch when you're trying to create that email list, trying to create that buzz. A viral giveaway is a great way to do it. And we'll give you the step by step instructions. And your last bonus is the pro box critique. This is simply sending subscription box to me and using my years of industry experience, I'm going to give you a personalized custom feedback video. Good and bad. I'm going to tell you where you've room for improvement, but also where you're knocking it out of the park and having an outsider's perspective on what you're putting inside your box and how you're presenting it to your customers can make a huge difference in your churn. So your churn as a reminder is the percentage of people every single month that cancel. So by getting this professional critique, you are going to be in a much, much better position to put your best foot forward with your new subscription box. So those are the bonuses. And in addition to this, you're going to get access to our exclusive mastermind community. And what this is is a community of other Subscription Box Bootcamp students and experts that have come together in one group. So in here you'll see students asking questions, finishing up their homework, you'll see us sharing wins like exciting times when you get your first boxes in or if they have questions about giveaways or they're going to get answers through the collective wisdom of the group. And that's where I hang out every day also. It's just a great place to share information, get feedback, and have a sounding board of colleagues that are going through the exact same thing. One of the mistakes that I made when I started my box was that I did it alone. And you have the opportunity to have a community where you can share your wins, ask questions, and just get feedback. So this is a huge part of it. We do additional video trainings in here too. So you may see we had an email marketing training, we had Instagram strategy training, inventory training, and how to pitch the media training. There's so much good information in there all the time and we're always adding new trainings so you can see that we've got a lot of fun things going on in there and I think you're really going to love it. It's a huge bonus to the online course, so that's Subscription Box Bootcamp and when you enroll you'll have lifetime access including updates but don't just take it from me. Listen to the next few minutes to hear what some of our students are saying.

Valeria: 11:03

Hi, I'm Valeria Weber Williamson and I am the owner of Do a Shot of Yoga subscription box and this box right here would not be on the market today if not for Julie Ball and Subscription Box Bootcamp. This course has been instrumental and it helped me to go from just an idea to the actual product in hand. We're three months in now we get more and more customers every month and this is based on all of the different modules designed not just to help you understand different aspects of business, but how to apply them directly to the subscription box model and the community of people that are in the groups that support each other along the way. And so if you have a question, things just aren't working quite right for you. You reach out to the group. Julie answers. Julie's team answers, other people in the community, they're at different stages of their own box development. You make a lot of business besties, you meet up with some incredible experts and you get direct connections to everything that you need to source products to source your box, to design your box, to doing the logo, to getting the website going, to reaching out to customers, to going on social media. And it all comes in one course. Subscription Box Bootcamp.

Lyndsi: 12:14

Hey guys, my name is Lyndsi and I'm the 16 year old founder and CEO of the Cultivate Kindness box. We officially launched in February of 2019 after several years of dreaming. My mom originally registered for this boot camp in order to basically force us to stop wishing and to make this business actually happen. The step-by-step process of the bootcamp was exactly what we needed. We are so thankful for this bootcamp and the continuous support of Julie and for being able to ask questions and get answers from mentor who truly wants to see us be successful. My family has enjoyed the subscription box experience so much that now my three sisters want to create their own subscription box too.

Laura: 12:51

Hi, I'm Laura Morrow and I am the founder at Simply AIP and that is a subscription box for women who are struggling with autoimmune disease and who are trying to heal through diet and lifestyle. And when Julie originally launched her Subscription Box Bootcampers course, I had actually already successfully launched my business about four months before. However, even though I was already sending out boxes, there were a few parts of my business that I was struggling in and I really felt like I needed some extra help like with some of the systems and with which vendors to use and I'm just getting my social media really on point and um, so I decided to go for it and join the course and I'm so glad I did because Julie is such a true professional. The course just covers everything you could absolutely need as a subscription box owner. Plus it was really wonderful to learn from someone who had gone before me, like Julie and the, I mean she was just so great about answering every single question. I love being part of the bootcamp Facebook group. There's always people who you can reach out to with questions and support and has really made me feel like I am not alone in this journey. I love going together with other people on it who can help me along the way. So thank you Julie. Thank you bootcampers I'm so glad to be a part of this group and I highly recommend it. Whether you are just starting from a concept or you've been a subscription box owner for a little while, um, it can be a great move for you.

Julie: 14:44

Well, there you have it. I hope you feel truly inspired by their stories, especially the 16 year old boss base that's not only killing it, but also making a big difference in the world. I just love it! Starting now, we'll allow you to launch before someone else launches your box idea first. It will allow you to become profitable rather than sitting on your moneymaker idea. You will change lives with the amazing products and value you provide your box and become a leader and innovator in your industry. Not to mention being your own boss has a lot of perks, so I hope you decide to enroll this week. Remember, enrollment is only open for 48 hours on March 4th and fifth 2020 and you can sign up SubscriptionBoxBootcamp.com. Thank you so much for listening to another episode for joining me today on Subscription Box Basics. And I'll see you in the next episode.