Julie (00:01):
So you want to launch a subscription box and 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!
Julie (00:20):
Hey, and welcome back to Subscription Box Basics, the podcast. I'm your host Julie Ball and you may know me from Sparkle Hustle Grow. That's my multi six figure subscription box for female entrepreneurs. After years of running my subscription box and dozens of people asking to just pick my brain. I decided to create an online course Subscription Box Bootcamp that helps aspiring subscription box entrepreneurs launch their amazing idea. And since I love to talk shop so much, this podcast was born and I hope that you found really a lot of value in the past 30-some episodes.
Julie (01:01):
Sometimes I unpack a topic. Sometimes I interview someone like a colleague, a vendor, or a subscription box bootcamper, but today I'm introducing a new segment I like to call Myth Busters. And these episodes I'll be chatting about common myths and misconceptions that I see on the regular in our industry.
Julie (01:21):
And today I'm busting the myth that subscription box businesses are passive income. Clearly they are not passive income. So just so we're clear, passive income is income that requires little to no effort to earn and maintain. You know, like a set it and forget it type business.
Julie (01:42):
Let me give you a few examples of passive income. So we are all on the same page and you make sure you're understanding what I'm talking about. So some examples of passive income might be rental income. Maybe it is selling certain digital products where you don't have live sessions or a community or anything like that built around it.
Julie (02:02):
And another example of passive income would be peer to peer lending or savings and stock options things where you're going to earn income without really participating a whole lot. In a quick, another quick example would be advertising on your car. So maybe you slap, slap up some signage on your car and all you have to do is drive around. There's really nothing else you have to do to earn that income and notice, I didn't mention subscription boxes as passive income. Let's be clear on this. It is a recurring income meaning that it renews on a regular basis. The payments you get from your subscribers are recurring. And while it may actually charge your customers for renewals, without you having to do anything like your software is going to automatically charge them on their anniversary of when they signed up. But the rest of the business is not passive.
Julie (02:54):
You need to source products and curate them. You need to do customer service. You need to pick pack and label. You get the point. There are a lot of moving parts to a subscription box business. Now I'm not trying to scare you off, rather, I'm just trying to do a little reality check.
Julie (03:11):
Now, you guys know that I absolutely love the subscription box industry, and while it's not passive income, there are just so many benefits to running this type of business. Things like the recurring income that I mentioned earlier, it sure makes things easier to project your revenue rather than doing one off eCommerce sales. It's a lot easier to get that sale month after month after month, instead of trying to find a new customer every single time you want to make a sale.
Julie (03:42):
Also, subscription box businesses are fun. You get to shop for your customers and send them happy mail every single month. You get to build an amazing community of people who have common interests. And of course you can change lives with your product. For example, Sparkle Hustle Grow helps women grow their businesses with the best of the best in personal development and business trainings.
Julie (04:05):
So as you can see, the subscription box business model is amazing and it's impactful. And I absolutely love it, but it's simply not passive income unless you literally outsource every single business task and business decision.
Julie (04:23):
Boy, it didn't take long to bust that myth. Right? Well, that's my intention. I want to keep some of these episodes super short. So they're impactful. I know you're busy right now. So I want to know what myths or misconceptions do you see out there in the industry that you want to see me unpack.
Julie (04:41):
Thank you so much for listening to this quick myth-busting episode. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have a subscription box business idea and want to learn more about the next steps, what to do and how to launch head over to SubscriptionBoxBootcamp.com for more of my free resources.
Julie (04:59):
Thanks again for listening guys and I'll see you in the next episode.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
[inaudible].