3 Ways to Grow Your Business with a Subscription Box with Julie Ball: An EOFire Classic from 2021

0:01Light that spark fire nation JLD here and welcome to entrepreneurs on fire the only daily show interviewing the world's top entrepreneurs seven days a week. Today, we're pulling a classic episode from the archives, and we'll be breaking down three ways to grow your business with a subscription box. To drop these value bombs, I have brought Julie Ball into Eagle Fire Studios. Julie is a wife, mom, and a corporate girl turned entrepreneur. She is a subscription box coach and founder of Sparkle Hustle Grow. She is a personal development junkie, an outdoor enthusiast, music lover, and really good at claw machines.

0:33She'd rather be traveling. And today, Foundation will talk about how hustle doesn't have to be a bad word, how subscription boxes move products, serve your customers, and get your cash flow moving again, and how there is room for more and oh, so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Julie and our sponsors. Have you ever said to yourself, one day I will write a book? If yes, then I have an opportunity for you. Author 100 is a 100-day program where I will personally guide you one-on-one to create, write, publish, and market your book. I will provide daily guidance and mentorship every step of the way.

1:10Head over to author100.com to sign up for a free call with me to chat about the details. author100.com. Julie, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. What's up, Fire Nation? I am so thrilled to be here on this side of the microphone. So to answer your question, there's this belief that hustle is a bad word, that it has to mean overworking yourself and hustling like 24-7 and 365. But I believe that we all get to define our own version of hustle. So for me, that means having the time and the space to work on my business, but also to plan for seasons of rest, for downtime in between launches or when other parts of my life need my attention.

2:00So hustle doesn't have to be a bad word. And I challenge Fire Nation to get clear on your version of hustle. Well, Fire Nation, we are going to talk a little bit about what it means to grow your business with a subscription box. And by a little bit, I mean a lot, a bit, because this is something that Julie is incredibly fired up about for very obvious reasons that we'll be getting to here today. And I want to start there with how Fire Nation, our listeners here today, can actually start their own subscription box business? Or if they have a business they currently love, how can they maybe add it to their existing business in a seamless way?

2:38Oh, yes, you know I love to talk about this. So you can grow your own business by starting a box business or incorporating it into your existing business. So a large majority of your listeners already have a business. So it makes it such a natural fit to create this new stream of revenue with a box business. So say you have a product-based business or even a brick-and-mortar store, and you have inventory on the shelves, and the longer it sits on those shelves, the more of a burden it becomes. It slows down cash flow, and it takes up physical space. And so if you're in a warehouse, taking up physical space can actually cost you money.

3:16So why not curate a selection of your products each month to ship in, say, a surprise box, like a subscription box? You already have those customers that would likely enjoy getting these automatic deliveries. It moves product, it serves your customers, and it gets that cash flow moving again. It's so important to do that. So it especially works well if you have a product that you can replenish, like bath and body products, maybe like razors, or maybe you have food, like snacks. You can get those customers on a replenishment model with a subscription box, and you'll see that bottom line skyrocket in your business.

3:53And Fire Nation, I think that's what a lot of us are potentially looking for is our bottom line skyrocketing or even just increasing a little bit, you know, with some added actions like we're going to be talking about here today. But I do want to kind of get to the why. I mean, why would someone want to start their own subscription box business or, again, add something to do with subscriptions to their current business? Like, what is their why? There's so many reasons. I love the subscription model over the traditional e-commerce route. and honestly the big one this is such a no-brainer is recurring revenue like wouldn't it be nice to stop chasing that one-time customer and rather pour into your existing customers knowing that they're going to come back month after month and unlike unlike one-off sales this revenue is just more predictable it's more stable it can be counted on at regular intervals so for example i run a monthly subscription box for female entrepreneurs called sparkle hustle grow and all of my subscribers renew on the 15th of the month.

4:54So I know month after month, I see this cash injection on the 15th and I can plan so many things around that particular date because that's when renewables go through. So another reason to start your box is, you know, similar to starting any business in general, I'm sure you've talked about this plenty of times, is that you can turn your passion into profit. There's no better reason to show up to work each day than to help solve problems for something that you're really, really passionate about. And the subscription model allows you to help your subscribers create this massive change in their lives because you're a constant part of it.

5:31You're shipping your box to them, your solution to their problem every single month or every single quarter, however often that you ship. And then my last reason to start a subscription box is the industry is super hot right now. People love subscription boxes, especially right now in Q4, there's this massive increased consumer demand for products and subscription boxes are really, really popular gifts. So Fire Nation, you know, I talk a lot about how you need to become the number one solution to your audience's real and biggest problems. That's exactly what Julie was just sharing. With every single box that's delivered, you are literally delivering solutions to your customers, to your clients, to your audience members' biggest problems.

6:21So let's talk about other ways to grow our business with a subscription box. Some people are just going to be listening and say, no way. There's no way I'm starting a subscription box. I get it. Subscription boxes, the business model has a lot of moving parts. So it's definitely not for everyone, but there's other ways that you can use subscription boxes to grow your business. You can pitch your product or service to be included in someone else's box. It's such an incredible way to get your product out there in front of new audiences. So let's talk about what that looks like real quick. So you'll have to research audiences.

6:57You'll have to research subscription boxes that serve your audience. And you're going to likely have to provide your product, if that's what you sell, a product at wholesale or maybe even less than wholesale pricing. But listen, you got to treat it like a marketing campaign. that you are actually putting some oomph behind it, you know, putting some money behind it and creating it into a massive campaign. And if you don't have a product, you can still pitch your service or your expertise to subscription box businesses, because I can speak for box owners that we're all trying to create an experience.

7:30And that means not just the box of goodies. We want to also provide value beyond the box, beyond the products. So at Sparkle Hustle Grow, for instance, we bring in guest experts each month to teach us about different areas of business. So think about where you might be able to show up and provide value for a subscription box audience, whether that's your product or maybe your area of expertise. Fire Nation, there's a lot of things we're going to get into about the real practical ways that this can become part of your life, part of your business, and just part of your day-to-day even when we get back from thanking our sponsors.

8:08One of the most impactful things I've done on my entrepreneurial journey is publish a book. It's a way to package up my knowledge and experience and share it with a worldwide audience in a meaningful way. It also serves as an evergreen marketing tool to help grow my business for years to come. I believe that everyone has a book inside of them. So if you're ready to publish a book with maximum impact, then I've got exciting news. I'm launching a brand new mentorship program called Author 100, where you have the opportunity to work with me one-on-one for 100 days. Author 100 will include weekly one-on-one calls and daily guidance from me to help you every step of the way from drafting to writing to publishing and even marketing your book.

8:51Over the past 12 years, I've self-published five books, including one of the top five publishing campaigns of all time on Kickstarter, the Freedom Journal. I've also traditionally published with HarperCollins, so I know a lot about the book publishing world and where most authors go wrong. I created Author 100 to share my experience and the lessons I've learned along the way, and I can't wait to share it with you. If you're interested in learning more, head over to author100.com and sign up for a free call with me. That's author100.com. So Julie, we're back, and let's talk about the specifics about actually getting clients, customers, about actually being able to successfully pitch a subscription box to somebody.

9:36Can you give us some real life examples of this? Yeah, definitely. I get pitched all the time at Sparkle Hustle Grow and it's really easy to see those that put some effort into it and those that didn't. And I'm sure you can guess which ones we pursue. So the first thing I recommend that you do is just research boxes that make a good fit for your product or your service. Then simply reach out. Many of them are going to have a link in their website footer like we do at Sparkle Hustle Grow. Our link says submit your product and you click on it and you just fill out a simple form. But if they don't have that, if you find a box that doesn't have that, you can just reach out to them with their website contact form, maybe find their support email address, or even reach out on socials.

10:19The idea here is to get connected and to start building a relationship. That's where all pitches, I think, start building that relationship, whether that's the press or whether that's a subscription box or something else. So then once you get connected, you can share details about your product, about your service, but include direct links to the recommended product, like the specific product that you're pitching and tell me about it. Tell me, you know, what problem you solve, what is your pricing, and then make it an easy yes for that box owner. So in marketing, you know how You should lead with the transformation, right?

10:57To tell them what they're going to experience and how their life's going to improve and change after using your product or service. We'll include that type of information too, because I will definitely hone in on that and say, oh, this is going to change the lives of my subscribers. You want to include any press, any awards you've received. And this is super important, but often overlooked. Call the box by the right company name. I can't tell you how many times I've received a pitch to the wrong company name, and it's likely because they've copied and pasted. So Fire Nation, I hope you're really understanding the right ways to do this.

11:33And of course, to find out what the right ways to do it, sometimes you have to hear about a lot of the wrong ways to do this. And let's break it down for Fire Nation because you did mention earlier, hey, some people might be like subscription box never in a million years. I mean, is this physical products and shipping and nightmares and logistics and storage and manufacturing and all this stuff is something sometimes what pops up into people's minds when they think about creating or adding to their current business some form of subscription box service. So what are some other ways that we can grow our business with a subscription box?

12:07This one's really, really simple. You can subscribe to a business subscription box for support and growing your business. So there's so many boxes out there that provide support from book boxes to entrepreneur boxes like Sparkle, Hustle, Grow. But if you're in a specific industry, you could even look for boxes that support that industry. So for example, nurse boxes or boxes for teachers. And my favorite place to search for these niche style boxes is cratejoy.com. I don't know if you've heard of that before, but it's an online marketplace for subscription boxes. And I swear they have a box for everything.

12:47So that would be a great place to go seek out a subscription box that can support you in your business or in your niche. So one thing that I really want Fire Nation to realize is that this is something that you can explore and you can explore on your own, or you can take the next step and really learn from people who have been there, who have done that, who have seen people do it wrong, who have seen people do it right. And of course, Julie, that's one area that you really focus on. You help people with everything that we talked about here today. So where can Fire Nation go for more information if they're curious about if their idea even has legs, if it's even an opportunity, maybe getting some ideas, some structure, some coaching?

13:30What's the next step? There's so many people that get in that mindset where they're like, I have this great idea and they don't want to sit on that idea, but they just don't know what to do next. So this is what you can do next. You can head to sparklehustlegrow.com slash fire where you're going to find this sort of choose your own adventure stuff. Remember those fun like choose your own adventure books? So if you're curious about starting your own subscription box, on that website page, I'm offering a free PDF and audio book of subscription box basics. It's my book. It's called A 30-Day Guide to Get Your Box Off the Ground.

14:07Or if you're thinking, I'm not really interested in starting my box, but I'm interested in subscribing to your female entrepreneur box or gifting it to a female entrepreneur, you can get 50 % off your first Sparkle Hustle Grow box with the code FIRE. And side note that Forbes calls us the best box to gift the boss, babe. So if you're listening and you haven't holiday shopped yet, here's your chance to be the hero. So all those details about the book and the box discount are at sparklehustlegrow.com forward slash fire. So Julie, you shared a lot of awesome content today about how Fire Nation can potentially improve their business or maybe even start a completely fresh brand new one.

14:49What's the one thing, like the one theme that you really want to make sure Fire Nation walks away with from everything that we talked about here today? I think the one thing I want to say right now is that there's room for more. So the box industry is hot. It is very busy. There's a lot of boxes out there, but the consumer demand for them is so strong right now. And there's room for more. As long as you come to the table with a unique idea selling to a very niche audience, it solves their problem. So there is definitely room for more. If you have a box idea, I would encourage you to pursue it.

15:27There's room for more Fire Nation. and you know that you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And hello, you've been hanging out with JB and JLD today. So keep up that heat. Head over to eofire.com. Just type Julie in the search bar. The show notes page will pop up with everything that we've been talking about here today. Best show notes in the biz. Of course, your direct call to action, sparklehustlegrow.com slash fire. Make that happen, Fire Nation. And Julie, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side.

16:07Hey, Fire Nation. Today's value bomb content was brought to you by Julie and Fire Nation's successful entrepreneurs accomplish big goals. That's why I created the Freedom Journal to guide you in accomplishing your number one goal in 100 days, step by step. Visit thefreedomjournal.com and I'll catch you there or I'll catch you on the flip side. Have you ever said to yourself, one day I will write a book? If yes, then I have an opportunity for you. Author 100 is a 100-day program where I will personally guide you one-on-one to create, write, publish, and market your book. I will provide daily guidance and mentorship every step of the way.

16:50head over to author100.com to sign up for a free call with me to chat about the details. author100.com