Give Yourself a Raise with a Subscription Box Side Hustle

Times are tough right now. Inflation means the cost of absolutely everything has gone up. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has experienced serious sticker shock at the grocery store. And with two teenagers in my house, I buy a LOT of groceries! 

News stories, social media posts, and people in my own community are talking about people getting second jobs or starting side hustles to help make ends meet. The reality is that people’s incomes are not going up. We’re faced with taking on more costs with the same income. People are working nights and weekends at local businesses or taking on jobs as delivery drivers or Uber drivers. 

This got me thinking. After all, a subscription box doesn’t have to be a full-time business. It can be a VERY successful side hustle. Launch Your Box is full of people who have full-time jobs and run subscription box businesses. 

Have you considered starting a subscription box as a side hustle? 

How does an extra $1000 a month sound? 

Let’s talk subscription box math for a minute. 

Consider what an extra $1,000 a month would mean to you and your family. Would it cover some bills you’re struggling with right now? Would it provide some breathing room and a cushion for when unexpected expenses come your way? 

You can bring in an extra $1,000 with as few as 50 subscribers. And 50 subscribers is totally doable! It’s doable to get 50 subscribers and doable to manage a 50-subscriber business during the time you’re not working your 9-5 job. 

Wondering how 50 subscribers lead to an extra $1,000 in your bank account? If your profit margin is $20, 50 subscribers at $20 profit each comes out to $1,000 of profit each month! For example, a $45 subscription box with a $20 profit margin and 50 subscribers comes out to $1,000. 

Of course, it will take time and effort to get to 50 subscribers. As I’ve said many times, starting a subscription box is not a get-rich-quick scheme. But it can be done. 

Today I want to take you through six steps you can follow to put yourself well on the way to starting a successful subscription box side hustle. 

1. Identify what you like or have an interest in.    

Is there something you are knowledgeable about or have expertise in? Something you have a strong interest in? 

Your subscription box business should be built around something you’re passionate about. If it’s not, it’s simply not going to last. Building and maintaining a subscription box business is hard work. It’s that passion that helps get you through the tough times. 

This is not the time to try to be like someone else. It’s the YOU of your box that will set it apart. I talk a lot about the riches being in the niches. This is not the time to go super general thinking you’ll appeal to more people. This is the time to lean into what makes you different. What niches are you part of? What hobbies or passions do you have? What specific expertise can you bring? 

Don’t forget to think about what type of subscription box would light you up. Are you passionate about self-care or baking? Do you have a love for a specific type of pet? Are you a member of a profession that would benefit from a box? Check out Episode 3 of the Launch Your Box podcast to hear how Anne turned her experience as a female dentist into a thriving luxury subscription box. 

2. Ask yourself if there are others with the same interest?  

You’ve thought about what lights you up, what you love or what you know a lot about. 

Chances are there are other people out in the world with the same interest. Launch Your Box member Nicole LOVES guinea pigs. When she looked for a subscription box for guinea pig lovers, she didn’t find anything. Now Nicole knew she was not the only guinea pig lover out there who wanted to spoil her pets. So she went and found her people. 

Spoiler alert, Nicole has built a hugely successful subscription box business serving these little furry animals and their people! Learn more about Nicole’s story in episode 13 of the Launch Your Box podcast. Nicole now has hundreds of subscribers, but the way she sought out her people and connected with them applies whether your subscription box is a full-time business or a side hustle. 

Now let’s think about where to find more people like you! Ask yourself where they hang out online. If you’re a crafter and want to attract other crafters, figure out if your people hang out on YouTube or Instagram? If you want to plan a spa experience box, are your people on Facebook or Instagram? Or are they on TikTok? Spend some time on different platforms figuring out where to find your people? 

3. Start a social media account where your people hang out. 

Now that you know where your people hang out, it’s time to engage with them there. 

Set up an account on the platform where most of your people hang out. It can be tempting to set up accounts in all the places, but I don't want you to do that. Your audience building will not be effective if you try to spread your efforts across multiple platforms. 

Instead, focus on one platform and be consistent. Start sharing videos and posts. Go LIVE. When you’re getting started, ask your friends and family to like your page and share it with their friends. 

Remember that messaging matters. Make sure you’re speaking the language of the person you want to attract. 

Check out this blog post where I share four simple steps you can take to gain your first 1,000 Facebook followers. These are the same strategies I used to gain my first 1,000 followers. 

4. Run a giveaway.  

One audience building strategy I teach inside Launch Your Box is to run a giveaway on social media. Many members have had great success with their giveaways, gaining followers and growing their email lists and waitlists. 

I use a free, easy-to-use software called Kingsumo to run my giveaways a couple of times a year. My last giveaway added 1500 people to my email list! Remember, audience building never ends.  

When running a giveaway, the prize needs to be a box just like what you want to sell. You want to attract the right people and that means offering them something that is similar to what you plan to put in your subscription box. 

For more about the ins and outs of running a giveaway, listen to episode 81 of the Launch Your Box podcast. 

Once you’ve run your giveaway and awarded the prize to your winner, put those email addresses you gathered to work and start connecting with and nurturing your list! 

5. Introduce your subscription box idea to your audience.  

Now it’s time to let your audience in on your plans. You’ve started building an audience and engaging with your followers. Start getting them involved in the process. 

Your audience will LOVE giving you their opinions. Get their feedback and let them help you make decisions. This is a great way to get their buy-in and to validate your concept. Let them be the valuable resource they are to you. 

Use that feedback to make any adjustments to your plan. You may find that niching down further connects more strongly with your audience. 

6. Set a launch date and a goal.  

Fuzzy targets don’t get hit. It’s so important that you schedule a date for your launch. If you tell yourself you’ll launch “in the spring” or “next month,” it’s far too easy to keep finding reasons to delay your launch. But if you say, “I’m launching on June 22nd,” you’ll intentionally work toward that date. 

Once you’ve chosen a date, let your audience know. Get them excited about your upcoming box. Use social media and email marketing to continue to nurture them between now and the launch. The goal is to have them ready to subscribe when launch day comes! 

A subscription box can make a great side hustle. It takes hard work and a dedication to building and serving an audience. But it’s absolutely possible to build a subscription box business that brings extra income to your family month after month.