#111 - In this week's episode of Subscription Box Basics, Julie is joined by her friend Eric Musick for a two part series discussing about Part 1: Mindset and Part 2: Growth Tactics that will be released on Eric’s show.
Eric is the host and founder of The Subscription Box Show whose goal is to provide reliable tips and tricks for new entrepreneurs who are starting to grow their business. Julie and Eric will share to us on how subscription box CEO’s or other business owners handle common mindset challenges.
SUMMARY:
LINKS AND RESOURCES
#111 - In this week's episode of Subscription Box Basics, Julie is joined by her friend Eric Musick for a two part series discussing about Part 1: Mindset and Part 2: Growth Tactics that will be released on Eric’s show.
Eric is the host and founder of The Subscription Box Show whose goal is to provide reliable tips and tricks for new entrepreneurs who are starting to grow their business. Julie and Eric will share to us on how subscription box CEO’s or other business owners handle common mindset challenges.
SUMMARY:
LINKS AND RESOURCES
Julie (00:01):
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, 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, grab a coffee, some pen and paper, and let's have some, Hey guys. Thanks for joining me today. I have a super special episode today because it is a two part series with my good friend, Eric musick. Yes, we are doing a coach's corner where we decided on two topics that we're gonna talk about. Part one is right here. We're gonna be talking about mindset. Part two is on Eric's podcast, the subscription box show, and we're talking about growth tactics. So listen to this episode, then head over to Eric's. We'll put all the links in the show notes. Enjoy. Alright, guys, we are going to dive into something that's super, super important. You probably see people talking about mental health all the time, and there are some common mindset challenges that we as subscription box CEOs deal with all the time and just in general business owners too. So I have my friend, Eric Musick from the subscription box show on with me today. What's up?
Eric (01:17):
Hey, what's up, Julie? Thanks for having me. This is great. This was a great idea you to put together and I love the subject. I'm very passionate about it. So this will be fun.
Julie (01:26):
Yes. So this is part one of our little two part series. And so we're just gonna dive right in. We're gonna do this like round Robin style, Eric and I have kind of brainstormed some of the common mindset issues that we personally deal with. And then we're gonna give you a tip or two of like how we put through those. So I'm gonna throw the mic over to you, Eric. The first one we're gonna talk about is just like this overall mindset, right. That doesn't have to be hustle all the time.
Eric (01:52):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And I think, I'll get right into it. I think you said it best on JDS podcast when you're on entrepreneurs, on fire. Congrats on that by the way. Thank you. yeah, if you haven't listened that, go and listen to Julie, his interview with, uh, with John Lee Duma crushed it, but yeah, you mentioned like sparkle hustle grow. He's talking about, well, the, the, the hustle part, it doesn't have to be always hustle. You need some time to reset. So overall mindset. Um, I've got kind of a few things I wanna talk about. And I think a big one for me is being organized. And I think when you're organized, it can bring peace of mind. It can reduce stress and anxiety. Um, and sometimes we keep ourselves so busy and sometimes we're actually what we call fake busy, right where we're, so we're trying to stay busy, but we're not too sure what to do. So being organized can really help, um, cure that overwhelm and, and that overall stress and anxiety that you think all these things to do. But when you're nice and organized, it can help with that overall mindset.
Julie (02:43):
Yeah. I love that. And we were just talking about before we got on, on the podcast about one thing that's helping us stay organized is a planner. And if you guys haven't heard about, um, the new subscription box planner by Jessica Principe and Becky Hoy, it's a collaboration. You guys need to check that out. We'll put the links in the show notes. Yeah. Um, we, I think Eric right, we're both pen and paper kind of people. Yeah. And it's so nice to have a planner and just an idea of like, what am I gonna do today? You're right about that fake busy though. Like sometimes I'll look back at my day and I'll be like, what actually did I accomplish? Yeah. Um, but if I go into the day with my like top three, like these three things have to get done, um, I always feel so much more productive. Like I'm actually moving the business forward too.
Eric (03:30):
Yep. I agree. That's uh, that's a good one. And the, and the planner, we were just, uh, oohing and eyeing over it yesterday. Not to kind of, uh, you know, not to get lost in the weeds with this planner, the, but it's fantastic. Check it out. Yeah. They are sold out of the printed paper ones, but they're supposed to come, I think late January is what Jessica was saying. And then they are having still, you can download the digital ones. So, um, go ahead and check that out. And if you wanna start off the new year's being organized
Julie (03:52):
Yeah. And clean up your desk space, people like, is your desk cluttered? Well, if it's cluttered, then no wonder is if you can't, if you feel disorganized in your business or you don't know what to do every single day. So that's just like a really simple tip when it comes to organization.
Eric (04:09):
Yeah. And I think, um, just to keep going on the overall mindset, if you don't mind, I think good routine too. What do you think about routine? I think good routine, a routine is very essential to staying organized, kind of staying with that whole organized mindset thing. Um, you know, sleep and I, uh, I sleep's important when it comes to good routine, your book ends. So your, how do you start your day and how do you end your day? Those are, so key. Um, and I think good in garbage out, right? Like what are you putting into your brain every day? There's so much going on in the world today. Um, you know, we don't need to get into the, what we, we all know what we're talking about. Right. But you know, you don't have to absorb or all that negative stuff all the time. You know, what do you put into your brain is gonna be huge and what comes out of your production as well?
Julie (04:46):
I agree. It's all, you know, a lot of what helps me be successful is personal development and making that a part of my routine. So next time, you're about to pull up your news app to dive into all the bad news of the day, open up your app instead, and listen to a mindset, um, podcast episode, or listen to one of our podcasts, something that's going to feed your brain in the, in the way it needs to be fed. And when it comes to routine, that routine can involve like really good habits. And that doesn't mean though, that you were talking about those bookends, what works for you? You know what I mean? That doesn't mean you have to be in the 5:00 AM club where you wake up and you have like this extensive, um, routine in the morning, make a routine that's going to fit for your lifestyle and specifically fit the season you're in. So I'm in a season where we're homeschooling and we have one child she's 10, that's a very different season than you're in right now. Eric, you have how many kids and what ages like
Eric (05:49):
Five, we we're at five now yet. Yes.
Julie (05:51):
Oh my gosh. So five. And you know, that season of having a, um, you know, really, really young child too, is very different than what I'm in. So had I looked at my routines and my habits of that season of my life, it's different than what it is right now. And that's okay. Yeah. And it's, and it's not the same as the gurus, you know, like it, you don't have to always do, um, something that's going to stress you out just because a mentor says that works for them.
Eric (06:18):
Yeah. And I think, yeah. And I think consistency in your habit is more important, right? Like, um, I'm definitely not part of the 5:00 AM club. I'm a night owl. So I, I wake up at 7:00 AM. That's about as good as I'll get, but, but make making sure by the bookends, in your sleep routine, you can still have a routine in place. I know I need at least seven hours, eight optimally. So I know if I'm in bed by 11, that's pretty good for me. If I, at midnight, I can still pass. Cause I get my seven hours, but that's for me, it's my seven hours. But I, I start my day with some quiet time and some reading and some prayer. And I end my day the same way. I think those are important to have that routine in place. And again, yeah, don't go with, um, necessarily what the grooves might suggest, although it might be some fantastic suggestions and they might work for you. Um, but yeah, I think, um, whatever are you gonna do stick to it? Like, I don't have an extensive workout regime, but I just do a little bit every morning. I know I can stick to it and I've been doing it for a number of years now, so I think whatever you do, just stick to it. Stay consistent.
Julie (07:07):
Yeah. We were just studying habits in sparkle, hustle grow in December. Like that was our theme. And one of the things that we talked a lot about is removing obstacles, prevent you from doing the habits that you wanna do. So for me, um, my morning routine, I like to start slow. I usually get up around eight, you know, like I am not an early riser. Um, one of the first things I do is I have a devotional and so I have a book and it's right next to my bed. That makes it easy for me to like, grab it, read it before I even get out of bed. And then that's almost like the launchpad. And then I, you know, brush my hair, brush my teeth, wash my face. And then I get my coffee. Like that's my morning routine. And then I, I spend some time with my family and I dive into work. So it doesn't always have to be complex, but also think about setting yourself up for, by putting things where they need to be, that, you know, I love that. It's not gonna be a challenge.
Eric (08:04):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I love that. And look, you're GU you're a subscription box grew and that's what works for you. So that's a perfect one. You have some examples from all types of people to follow. So yeah. Good routine is, is, is key. Um, do you have anything more on that one? Cuz otherwise I'm gonna go into plugging into a community.
Julie (08:19):
Ooh, go ahead. Yeah. Do that.
Eric (08:21):
Yeah. I think, you know, as we're building our business, sometimes we can feel on an island. Maybe some of our friends and family members are all working, you know, nine to fives and here we are trying to do this extra thing and we have no time. Right. Um, so first of all, we're gonna go back to the organized, but yeah. Plugin community, like where you can lean on others that are in the same boat as you, but just one thing to caution there is like, just be careful who you you're taking your advice from, right? Like you don't wanna probably take your advice from someone like you, Julie, who's been there, done that who has, you know, fruits to, uh, to show from what you've done. So I think plug in communities are great, but some things you can get lost in the weeds too.
Eric (08:54):
Um, where you, you don't want to, you know, advice is great and I appreciate everyone's advice, but sometimes you also wanna make sure you're getting it from the right sources. Uh it's okay. We're not playing into community. Could be a course, you know, it could be subscription box bootcamp. It can be plugging into community, a Facebook community. It just, it could be a mastermind. It could be a number of different things. But I think, uh, once you you're part of something bigger than just, you can always fall back on others and it's okay to ask questions. Yes. Um, um, ask questions for sure. People are, especially in our community right. In the subscription box. I think people are always willing to help. So I think, um, it's okay to ask. Um, and it's okay to lean on others for support. Yeah.
Julie (09:29):
I don't think we were meant to do entrepreneurship alone. I don't think we're meant to do parenthood alone. I don't think we're meant to do an that stuff alone. And so I think that you make a really great point about being in community. That's part of why I even launched my subscription box. I had moved, um, from Charlotte, North Carolina to Asheville, North Carolina. And I was in a new physically, like in a new location where I didn't have any friends there yet. And I was feeling really lonely. And so I was trying to find my people and finding them online was so much easier. And then building the box, it, it's funny. Um, a lot of times when we survey our customers, they say they join for the stuff, but they stick around because of the community. Huh, love it. Yeah. And I'm, and I'm not surprised they, because we, I, I think we all need each other to lean on to celebrate wins, to ask questions. And when you talked about finding the right sources, I think that's super important because I like to find people who have gone before me. Yeah. And maybe there are a couple of steps ahead of me and they're willing to share they're, you know, so called war stories and we can learn from their failures and, um, just have forward progression faster because of them. And that's what a mentor's all about, you know? Yep.
Eric (10:46):
Yep. Exactly. So if you don't have one, try to reach out to people that might, you know, look at past guests on Julie show or my show and, and ask sometimes there's just something as simple as asking again, going back to the ask and and leading with value is, is, uh, is always a good way to go. Did you wanna tackle the next one?
Julie (10:59):
Yes. I wanna talk about money mindset. Oh yeah, because that is one of my biggest challenges. It was massively blocking me from success when I first started my, my box business. And I think it's really important to talk about money mindset, because what you find with the subscription box is, is you are spending a lot of money before you make it. So for example, we purchase our products three to four months in advance. We're not gonna see that money, that revenue, as someone buys those and receives those products for three to four months. Yeah. That means you're on this continuous set cycle of like money in and money out. And if you don't do the work to not only the mindset work to understand like emotionally, how that's gonna help you and hurt you. But the practical training too, to understand how the accounting side of it works.
Julie (11:54):
I think they go hand in hand. Um, for me, money mindset apparently was deep rooted. I didn't realize this till I, until I started doing the work. And, um, I'm gonna make two recommendations of authors and podcasts that you can listen to. So Jensen Chairo, she is the author of the, you are a badass book series. And so she particularly has one that's called you are a badass at making money and she's got this like trademark humor, it's it kind of makes light of this otherwise heavy topic. And then the other recommendation I have is Denise stuff filled Thomas. She has the, both a podcast and some books that, you know, and she's a little bit part woo. Like there's a lot of things in her books that are gonna like push you a little bit. And I'm, I'm part w too, not like, you know, I'm very practical about things, but I, I can dream big.
Julie (12:48):
And I like to look at the, you know, so-called woo side of things, but she, in, in her books, she has you do these exercises that I I'm, I'm not even kidding, and I'm not trying to be dramatic, cuz I can be dramatic. I felt sick to my stomach during these exercises as I was unpacking my, my money mindset blocks. And when I woke up that next morning, I felt like a new person like, wow, I had worked through some things. So if you're ready to do that money mindset work, those two authors, Jen Sincero and Denise Duffel, Thomas are some great resources to help you through it. So do you, do you resonate with this? Do you have any money mindset
Eric (13:24):
Issues? Yeah, I definitely did. They grew up super, um, uh, mediocre kind of like middle, middle Canada kind of thing. Right. So I think, um, you know, even knowing there was a, I was, was able to do something else than just work at nine five and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying like there was no, no one here really rises to become, you know, great things it seems or so it seemed right. So yeah, I was never taught that you could do anything you want, you see
Julie (13:46):
That the mindset you were stuck in, right?
Eric (13:46):
Yeah. I was stuck in that mindset of mediocrity. Like, you know, the, so I think, um, a book for me, if I could recommend when the compound effect is a good one from Darren Hardy. Mm. The compound effect is, is just basically on all the little things you do compound you're, you're either going up or you're going down. You're never really going in a straight line. It's kinda what he explains. So all the little things you do, those routines that, that organizations stuff it's either pulling you up or it's pulling you down. So, um, you're in control of your, your, of your, of your mindset. And especially when it comes to money mindset, if you are raised similar to what I was, you have to get over that it could take a long time. So the doing the proper things on a routine basis is gonna, is gonna help that overall.
Julie (14:22):
Yeah. And I would encourage our listeners to think too about, we are told in society or conditioned to think that wanting money is greedy, but I've never have been able to be as generous and as like helping as I, as I can be when I have money in my hand, you know, whether that's, you know, donating to somebody or being generous with my team or taking them on a trip or being, there's all kinds of things, so many amazing, positive things you can do with money, it doesn't have to equate to greed. So we have to kind of recondition our thoughts around money that it's, it's healthy. It's okay to want to earn money. And to, um, you grow your business, that doesn't make you a greedy person.
Eric (15:13):
No, it does not all. I think, you know, the hospitals and the universities and the museums and all the great things that are built, um, are not built by people being mediocre and broke. They're, they're, they're built by people that have money. And so you can do great things with money and you can do bad things. So, um, money's not the root of all evil, right. Bad people are the root of all evil, like you're so, yes. Yeah. Again, it's all about how you, you condition yourself with your, with your routines and mindset. So yeah, I, I couldn't agree more on the money mindset stuff.
Julie (15:39):
Cool. Okay. Moving on. What's your next one?
Eric (15:41):
Yeah. Being in the proper headspace. And I think we kind of touched on those things, but I think being, and I love that you mentioned that because I actually just interviewed two young girls and I think they should come on your show. They're fantastic. We'll talk about after, but okay. Um, they're talking about that. How, if you're not in the proper headspace, I think what can happen is you, you, it can affect your box and your, your, and your business, because let's say you're in a grumpy mood and you're not in the proper head space and you're, you're trying to work on your business. You know, I've had bad days. You've had bad days. Yeah. Just recently I had a very bad day and it affects the way I thought about my business. It affect what's gonna be going into my business. It affects the way I respond to my emails and all the different things. So I think being in a proper head space can really, um, help your business forward. And it's gonna almost like have an, uh, an effect of the, the product that comes out. Does that make sense?
Julie (16:25):
I, hundred percent agree. It's the same thing is if you know you're grumpy and has a ripple effect on your family, it can and have a ripple effect on your business as well. And I feel like we're in the trust tree here. So I'm gonna be like brutally honest and share that a lot of time for me that comes out as resentment. And if something's not going the way that I wanted it to go, or that I expected it or projected it, and you know, that might mean, or, you know, I'm not on good terms with Facebook ads right now. Like we are not friends. Yeah. And I feel some resentment and, you know, towards that, because I used a lot of Facebook ads in the past to, um, replace our churn. And then when the iOS changes happened that really switched gears for us.
Julie (17:14):
And I poured a lot of money into Facebook ads that didn't convert. Um, we're, we're just, that was just not, yeah. I see you putting your hand up too, Eric. Um, we have just not re cracked the code now. We've been good with list building, but we haven't been able to crack the code with conversion ad. And so I felt deep feelings of resentment, and this is so weird. Like, I'll share this with you guys. Um, for me, I'm the kind of person who silos my feelings and I do therapy to help me through it. And I can physically feel pain in my body when I have resentment in a very specific place. It's my lower right back. It's crazy. Sometimes I need that physical representation, that pain to snap me out of the head space where I'm like, oh, something's going on? And I'm not processing those emotions. That pain is almost like the, my red flag to say, Julie, okay, get back in the right head space. Like what's going on, figure this out.
Eric (18:11):
Yeah, I agree. I think, uh, it's tough to snap out of it. I was talking with this over the Christmas holidays with the buddy of mine. Like what happens when you go into that little mini depression mood and you're grumpy. Yes. You just can't see to snap out of it. Right. And it's, it's tough. So I think, um, again, going back to leaning on someone, you know, just being able to talk to him through it, right. It's like, okay. You know, like how do you snap out of it? And I think, you know, find a mentor or a friend you trust, and you can really have those conversations with when it's really not going well, cuz you wanna kind of coward and be alone. But I think it's, so you need to kind of push out of that and again, using your bookends and your routine and leaning on your community and all these different things, all kind of come, uh, comes together to help you out.
Julie (18:46):
Yeah. It's okay to ask for help. Yeah. And you know what helps me alot and this is going back to that hustle all the time. Um, a lot of times when I'm in that headspace, it's because I've been working too much and not playing enough. And all that means is like, get your butt outside, go for a hike, get some fresh air, do whatever you need to, but like walk away from the computer. And those are those moments where, you know, I'm might think I need to keep hustling because hustle equates to success. And that's not always the case. We, um, I find myself falling into bad habits sometimes and I have to remind myself, um, we, we like to look at the business at sparkle, hustle, grow as seasons of hustle and seasons of rest. And we try to plan those out. Um, now when things change and there's like fire drills, that always kind of puts me in that bad headspace and I'm like, okay, okay. I, I need to go play. I need to do something fun. You know, bring some joy back into my life. So that's, that's one of my big takeaways here is to like, when you start getting into that bad headspace, like look at your calendar. When was the last time you went and had had some like joy and fun and play? When was the last time you went outside? Even if just for a walk with some fresh air.
Eric (19:56):
Yeah, yeah. Or take some time off if you need to. I think, we Christina and I, my wife and I, like we run our subscription box company. Right. And we hadn't taken time off since we launched in 2019. And over the last December, we basically, I took, uh, three weeks, four weeks off from the, from my podcast. Good for you. So I had separated myself from it just to take a mental clean break. I needed that. And for the business, we took a full week off and you know, over the so, but even if, if it's just a week, that week was like, we talked about it. It was last week we talked. So between Christmas and years we took the full week off. We tried not to touch anything as much as possible. It was fantastic. We're like, oh my goodness, we really needed this. We really needed this time off. Cuz we were just, it was at the point where it was just hitting the walls. And I think, um, you come back to it now it's like in the new year, fresh start, let's go. And now you're, you're refreshed. I think so being in the proper headspace, sometimes you need to clear, clear some room for some, some new time. So yeah.
Julie (20:49):
Agreed. Alright. Moving on to the next one. This is, this is a topic that I think is gonna resonate really well with our aspiring subscription box entrepreneurs and this common mindset challenge is fear. Fear of launching fear, failure, fear, fear of success. Even like what if it works really well then what, um, there's just so much fear that can be a part of the entrepreneur journey. This is something that I, I deal with. You know, I've been an entrepreneur since 2011. I started my box in 2016 and fear has definitely been along for the ride the whole time. Um, one of my, one of the ways that I combat this is I ask myself, what's the worst that can happen. Yes. And when you look at what's the worst you can happen. And then you ask yourself like, okay, what does that mean?
Julie (21:41):
Am I, I'm not gonna live through this. And like, what's gonna change if that worst thing happens. And more often than not, it's not going to be the end all be all like you might have to pivot. You might have to change some things. Yes. But like seriously, think about what is the worst that can happen. And um, all along my entrepreneurial journey, I have pushed through tons of fear. Um, believe it or not like, you know, I'm extroverted. Right. But believe it or not, I hate live video. Like I just get scared. my hands. Start to sweat. I try to give, I like come up with five reasons why I shouldn't go live and you know, and sometimes I give myself the grace and be like, this isn't worth the mental stress and I just won't do it. But sometimes I'll push through and be like, Julie, come on. Like just, just go live and say what you need to say and then move on with your day.
Eric (22:32):
sometimes that thing you're fearing is a thing you need to do as well. Which is, is, is key. Right? I think, um, you can use it. Yes. And I, I do the same thing. I, so certain things terrify me and it's like sometimes yeah, it's not worth it. Then I just need to take a break from that. But sometimes it's like, if I'm honest with myself, I'm like, yeah, that's the thing I need to do. You, that's why it it's so scary when you do it. It's like, it gets less scary and then you do it again and it gets less scary. And then there's another thing that's gonna be scary and you need to do that thing. So I gotta, yeah. Feel fear is crazy. I think fear starting fear of sharing all these different things. Right. And I think having, um, again, going back to the mindset, having an abundance mindset versus one of scarcity.
Eric (23:05):
So I think sometimes people, I remember we, we had an idea, this is the greatest idea. We're gonna keep it to ourselves. And then there was this fear of, of sharing it. And there was this fear of starting because of what, what, what would happen? You know? So I think, um, yeah, having this, you know, learning to have an abundance mindset that people are not gonna steal your idea and there is there's enough for everyone or a fear of there's already this idea out there. Well then what's your, what's your value proposition? Like make it unique, make it even more, like you said, on, on GLD's podcast. Right. Make it more, make it more niche, like make it yours, like make it, have your tribe. It's not for, it's not gonna be for everyone, but make it for that specific audience. And, and don't, don't be scared to, to share that with, uh, with the world.
Julie (23:40):
Yeah. And I think the last thing I wanna say about this is you're not for everyone. I'm not for everyone. Our listeners guys realize you're not for everyone. And when you get clear on who you want to serve, when you show up, it's gonna automatically like ally attract the right people and it's going to repel the wrong people and don't be fearful of re-telling those people because they're not your target audience. Anyhow. They're just gonna give you grief that instead, like embrace that. That's kind of like this automatic, like, oh, they've disqualified themselves as a potential customer. That's cool. Move on with your day and I can move on with mine. And so I would encourage everyone listening to not be fearful of, of that. When it comes to sharing your, your idea, sharing about your launch and sharing your journey, because that that's part of like, it's almost like natural selection, right? So you want those, the right audience members to, or the right target audience to resonate with you and to repel those other ones cuz there's they would be nightmare customers. Anyhow. So
Eric (24:46):
Yeah. And you're still gonna get them anyways, but it's okay. When they, when they get a bad review, remember you were, you know, you were staying on, I, it was one of your podcasts on your were talking, you know how it hurt you when you're reading bad reviews. I remember you, it was maybe this past summer. Right. And yeah, those suck and it, you know, but you gotta just go through them. That's not that wasn't the right people, right. That's not that wasn't the tribe. And that happens to every subscription box, just don't be, don't be scared of starting just start. And you know, what's the worst that can happen. You gotta, and, and you know, it's okay to be really honest with that as well, because the worst that can happen could be, you could lose your job. You could lose your business, you could have to restart, but there's always another business. There's always another job. There's always another way. So you just gotta really get honest with it as well. Cause it can be pretty crappy and it could be crappy, but yep. What is that worst? What is that crappiest thing that could happen, right?
Julie (25:29):
Yeah. And if it helps make a backup plan.
Eric (25:32):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Julie (25:34):
Oh man. I feel like this is a great little therapy session, Eric
Eric (25:37):
this is really fun. Yeah. Are we ready for the next one?
Julie (25:40):
Yeah, yeah. Let's talk about
Eric (25:41):
The next one. Okay. The next one comparison. So yeah. Um, the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to comparison is, you know, people that, again, going back to fear of starting, um, you're, you're looking at where you're at to someone else's right. So there're always a old saying like, don't compare your chapter one to someone else's chapter 20, because that's so true. Like someone who's been there like Julie. Yeah. It's intimidating to think, oh, oh, I can never do. Um, you know what Julie's doing in my box, I should have started in 2016 or I should have started 2011. Well, you should start now because there's, you know, there's always gonna be another challenge. There's always gonna be another algorithm change. There's always gonna be something else. Another challenge is shipping delays. Uh, whatever. There's always gonna be something it's no different than something that happened in the twenties and forties and fifties and seventies and two thousands. And now it's happening again. So there's always gonna be something, but there's also opportunity with that. So I think be careful when you compare yourself to someone else, because I think everyone has a unique situation and as long as you're plugged into the right space plugged into right things, anyone can, can build a business. There's no question about it.
Julie (26:39):
Yeah. I think for me, when it comes to comparison with other boxes, I think one it's important to be unique. So, you know, what is it that's different about your business, but two it's like, you need to take the time to define your version of success and let that be what you compare your progress to, not to someone else's success. So let me just give you a quick example with sparkle hustle grow. I never set out to be the next fab fit fund or to have 10,000, 5,000 subscribers. In fact, we know what our all like our optimum numbers are. I call that our sweet spot. That's right around that 1000 to 1200 subscriber, mark, that's a place, um, based off of revenue based off of workload, based off of my current team, that is a sweet spot where we can sit and not stress out too much, not feel overworked and where I can still be generous to them.
Julie (27:40):
Now I've been asked on podcasts before, like how many subscribers you have. And when I would tell them that I would have to preface it by saying, don't look at that as lack of ambition. It's just, I know what success looks like for me, my family and my team. So when you fall into that comparison trap, I encourage you to stop and think about, okay, what is my sweet spot for me? My team, my family, my season of life, sit in that and compare and not compare to other people, but compared to it's your own race, like you're not racing anybody else to that, that definition of success. So that's, that's my biggest, um, kind of suggestion or, or tip in if you suffer from comparisonitis.
Eric (28:24):
I love what that's a good one. I love that. Love to use that.
Julie (28:26):
Yeah. I didn't come up with that word. actually we're um, in March sparkle hustle grow, we comparisonitis is the name of the book of the month. So as oh, cool. As a group, all like these women entrepreneurs, we're all gonna be studying this together. So if that's resonates with you, then you're gonna want the March sparkle hustle grow or box.
Eric (28:44):
Yeah, for sure. And you're be launching at the end of February. Is it?
Julie (28:48):
We, so that's for subscription box bootcamp. Yeah. We're, we're relaunching that at the end of, um, February. So yeah, if you're, if you're looking for a mentor, I can definitely, you can DM me and I'll give you more, more details on that and yeah. And actually when we're done Eric, we should talk a little bit about that, cuz you're an affiliate for that for subscription box boot camp. So a lot of your listeners. Yeah. Thank you. Might find some interest in what you have to offer so.
Eric (29:14):
no for sure. And I think just to wrap up the comparison thing, I think like sometimes people, you know, they get, you know, this mindset of like, oh, I have to it's 10,000, 50,000 or, or, or buzz, but some people just wanna have a keep up cause they love what they do, but they just wanna, they've got this side passion that they want that put together as a business model and that's okay. Like you might just want 50 to 150 subscribers if that's you or you know, you wanna keep it small cuz you love what you do as it work. Um, and you feel fulfilled there, but you just wanna do something on the side, you know, that's fine too. Like what's your, your idea of success could be a lot different. Ours is to grow as big as we can to get acquired and that's okay too. Like it, it doesn't matter. Like I think, and then we wanna start different things like, so we have a lot of ideas. And so what is your idea of success to define it? I love that. And I think that's a great, uh, that's a great point.
Julie (30:00):
Thanks, alright guys. So we have talked about so many common mindset challenges as a subscription box CEO. We really hope that you resonated with some of these and, and took away some tips that are gonna help you get your head right. When it comes to these challenges, I would love to know like, did any of these really resonate with you or are there some that you are dealing with that you could use like a shoulder to lean on or a little bit of feedback on how to push through it? I would love to hear that you should DM me. Um, um, on Instagram, I'm at subscription box bootcamp and I would love to talk it over with you and help you push through those mindset issues because it's something you're going to work through your entire entrepreneurial journey. But especially, I feel like especially a lot of these hit and Eric, I'm not sure if you have feedback on this, but like at pre-launch like that is when so many of these mindset issues are gonna be hitting you from every angle and now you have some tool and resources to help push through.
Eric (31:04):
Yep. I agree. And I think, uh, to, even to go further on that, I think does even past, if you're past a pre-launch and you're maybe stuck between, you know, wherever you're, you're stuck at some point in your business, you're gonna have more of these things. Come here. Maybe now the fear failure starts creeping and like, oh it started well now it's not so well, like all these wherever you're at in your journey, lean on someone. And same thing. I be how happy to, if you wanna, if you feel comfortable with Julie, great. If you wanna reach out to me, I'd be happy to help as well at the subscription box show or at Eric musick, you'll find me on, on either one of those. So I'd be also very happy to help. So this is part of my little two part mini series to get to part two. You're gonna have to go over head over to Eric's show. Now you're not have to go over to the subscription box show podcast to get the part two. So we're, we're gonna be talking about growth and growth tactics for 2022, right? Julie.
Julie (31:46):
Yes. And we have so many thoughts on those. So you guys should definitely head over there right now. And I look forward to talking about growth strategies. I know you guys are all ready to listen to it because 2021 had some challenges and we are ready to make 2022 awesome. And we're gonna tell you how we are going to work on our businesses and what growth strategies we're gonna use.
Eric (32:08):
a hundred percent. This was fun. Thank you
Julie (32:11):
So much, Eric. We'll see you guys over in part two.