I Almost Sold My Subscription Box… Until the Numbers Changed Everything with Ciara Stockeland | EP 248

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What if the thing you think you need to walk away from just needs a different kind of attention?

In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my business. How I got to the point of wanting to sell, what changed, and how understanding my numbers completely shifted the direction I was headed.

Meet Ciara Stockeland (and Why I Asked for Her Help)

I invited Ciara Stockeland, founder of Inventory Genius, onto the podcast and into my business to help me take a real look at my numbers.

Ciara works with product-based business owners to help them understand inventory, cash flow, and profit in a way that actually makes sense.

And I knew I needed that.

If you haven’t heard my earlier conversation with Ciara, you can listen to that HERE. 

Why “Making Money” Wasn’t the Same as Being Profitable

For years, my business looked successful.

We had:

• Consistent sales
• Growing revenue
• Money coming in

And like a lot of entrepreneurs, I believed if there’s money in the bank, everything must be fine.

But I wasn’t paying close attention to:

• Profit margins
• Inventory value
• Cash flow

I knew enough to run the business, but not enough to make strategic decisions about its future.

And that’s exactly what I needed to do.

The Turning Point: Getting Clear on My Numbers

When Ciara and I started working together, we went straight into the numbers.

Every detail.

(We joked about it feeling like she was digging through my “panty drawer,” but honestly, that’s exactly what it was.)

We started by:

• Cleaning up my financials
• Making sure inventory was recorded correctly
• Getting a true picture of what I owned and what I was spending

And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t guessing anymore.

How Tracking Profit Margins Changed Everything

One of the biggest shifts was finally understanding my profit margins.

Before this, I wasn’t consistently tracking:

• Cost of goods
• Product-level profitability
• Subscription box margins

So we:

• Added cost of goods into every product in Shopify
• Built a monthly subscription box profit spreadsheet
• Set a goal of 60% profit margins

And here’s what surprised me. We didn’t start by raising prices.

We started by asking:

• Where are we overspending?
• Can we reduce packaging costs?
• Can we make better buying decisions?

Small changes, $0.30 here, $0.50 there, added up in a big way.

The Inventory Problem I Didn’t Realize I Had

At one point, I had about $80,000 in inventory sitting on my shelves.

That’s not just inventory. That’s cash, just not in the bank.

So I made some big changes:

I stopped overbuying inventory - No more impulse purchases at market.

I shifted to just-in-time inventory - I focused on products I could order quickly instead of storing everything.

I started selling what I already had - Instead of constantly launching new collections, I:

• Restyled existing items
• Created bundles
• Made intentional offers

And my sales didn’t drop, but my margins improved.

What My Numbers Revealed About My Business

When we separated out my revenue streams, something became very clear:

• Subscription boxes = majority of revenue
• One-time products = more work, less profit

And yet, I was spending most of my time on the part of the business that wasn’t driving the most return.

That realization changed everything.

The Moment I Decided to Sell

At one point, I thought, “I think I want to sell this business.”

We:

• Cleaned up the financials
• Worked with a broker
• Got multiple offers

And it felt like the right next step.

Until it didn’t.

The Shift That Changed My Decision

During a pause in the selling process, I had space to think.

And I realized I didn’t necessarily need to sell the business. I needed to change how it operated.

So I made a plan to:

• Move to a fulfillment center
• Simplify my operations
• Focus on subscription-based revenue

And when I ran the numbers I discovered I could increase my profit significantly without growing sales.

The Real Lesson: Numbers Give You Options

A year ago, I didn’t have the information I needed to make that decision.

Now I do.

And that’s the difference.

Because knowing your numbers gives you:

• Clarity
• Confidence
• Freedom

The freedom to:

• Say yes
• Say no
• Pivot instead of quit

How to Improve Profit Margins in Your Subscription Box Business

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to start, focus here:

• Get a bookkeeper
• Track your profit margins
• Add cost of goods to every product
• Reduce excess inventory
• Make decisions based on real data

You don’t have to overhaul everything overnight. But small, intentional changes can completely shift your business.

You don’t have to burn out to make a change. You don’t have to sell your business to get your time back.

Sometimes you just need to look at the numbers and let them show you a better way forward.

Join me for this episode as I take you behind the scenes of my business. How I almost sold it, what changed, and the simple shifts that made it more profitable, more sustainable, and a better fit for my life.

Where to find Ciara: 

• Inventory Genius on Facebook
• Inventory Genius on Instagram
• Ciara Stockeland’s Website