Imagine being able to make a living doing something you love? Imagine waking up each day and finding new and interesting ways to delight the people who are into the same things as you are. Sounds pretty great, right? Well, that’s just a day in the life of a subscription box entrepreneur. If you are looking for a new way to earn some money while doing what you love, read on.
While subscription box commerce is not a new concept, the subscription box economy is still in its infancy. Introduced in 2010, by the likes of Birchbox, subscription boxes now span a gamut of niches and offerings.
Typically, subscription boxes are catered to certain niches. There are boxes for baking, knitting, crafting, beauty, pets, and many more. The list goes on and on, but the point is that each of these boxes can co-exist without being in competition with each other because they are all serving a unique niche. Which means, there is room for you, to create a box and be successful.
Below, we’ll take a look at 4 compelling reasons you should start your own subscription box this year.
1. The subscription box business is booming
According to experts, the subscription box industry was a 5 billion dollar industry in 2014. Since then, we’ve seen an explosion of new subscription services. More than 2,000 subscription box services exist in the U.S. in 2018 and that number has grown to beyond 5,000 today. In fact, visits to subscription box websites have grown by over 3,000% in the last three years. 3 years! This is largely due to the fact that consumers have fallen in love with the personalized experience and convenience that subscription boxes offer.
Large strategic investors and Wall Street have also taken subscription box businesses seriously with major exits with brands like Dr. Squatch or companies going public, like BarkBox, a monthly subscription box for dog owners. These success examples are proof that the subscription model is lucrative and here to stay.
2. Turn your passion into profits
Starting a subscription box is a great way to monetize the things that you are passionate about. We’ve seen people like Ella Ozery from Barbella take her love of CrossFit and turn it into a successful subscription box. We’ve also seen Maureen Vazquez from Pipsticks who took her love of quirky stickers and turned it into a subscription box and retail distribution empire.
Both of these women have been able to turn their hobby and turn it into a full-time lucrative career. Now I don’t know about you, but being able to leave a boring 9-5 to run a subscription box business in a niche that I love is pretty compelling.
3. You don’t need a bunch of cash
What if I told you, you could start a subscription box for under $500? Unlike most businesses, subscription boxes do not require a large amount of capital to start. Yes, some people use Kickstarter or raise venture capital money to get started, but the majority of subscription box entrepreneurs bootstrap their businesses. In fact, many subscription box merchants have been able to launch with just a few hundred dollars. At the very least, you’ll need a website, design collateral and money to run a few ads, but other than that, you can use a pre-sale campaign to fund your first box.
Many box merchants get the funds for their first box, by running a pre-sale campaign. A pre-sale campaign consists of creating a website and taking orders before you have the product. Then, using the money from the pre-sale orders to go out and buy the products to put in the box. Doing a pre-sale campaign allows you to control the number of subscribers you have and keep your costs down as you begin your business.
4. It’s easy to start a subscription box
Believe it or not, starting a subscription box of your own is not nearly as hard as you may think. A great idea, niche products, and a little marketing knowledge can go a long way when launching a subscription business.
You can use an all-in-one subscription box software platform like Cratejoy to set up a website for your box. Cratejoy handles all of the design of your site (you don’t even need to know how to code!), as well as the orders, billing, and shipping. All you have to do is curate the products for your box and you are well on your way. Cratejoy can even list your box on the Cratejoy Marketplace so millions of shoppers can shop your products!
Now that we’ve convinced you to start your own subscription box this year, leave a comment below and let us know what ideas what kind of box that you’d like to start.
