Can Anyone Start a Subscription Box Business?

Learn why I truly believe anyone can start a subscription box business - and why having the right coach in your corner is so important. 

I’m not special. 

I’m just an ordinary person who works hard and doesn’t give up. 

I tell this to members of my coaching membership, Launch Your Box, and really anyone who asks me about starting a subscription box. 

What they see is my right now - my seven-figure subscription box business. My thousands of subscribers. My coaching membership, where I’ve taught and continue to teach thousands of people how to start, launch, and grow their subscription box businesses. 

They see me up on stage at SubSummit sharing my expertise with thousands of people in the subscription box industry. They listen to me on the Launch Your Box Podcast (currently ranked in the top 100 US Entrepreneurial podcasts). They hear me talk about writing a book that’s coming out later this year. They see me starting a Mastermind to provide even higher-level coaching to high-level subscription box owners. 

There’s more to my story than where I am now.

What people don’t see is my beginning. Me working from my kitchen table while my kids slept. Me opening my first retail location - the tiniest, 600-square-foot shop. It’s a good thing I worked alone because there wasn’t room for anyone else! 🙂

They don’t see me dreaming about starting a subscription box… for 18 months. Knowing I wanted to do something special for my most loyal customers but not knowing how. That I wanted to make these women - who were a lot like me - feel good about themselves. To feel taken care of, even a little bit spoiled. These women spent so much time taking care of everyone else. 

They don’t see how LONG it took me to figure everything out. You see, there wasn’t anything like Launch Your Box back then. There was just me searching for information and figuring out one piece at a time.

I launched my subscription box and was thrilled with my 44 subscribers! I grew quickly… for a while. Until I hit a plateau. My growth stopped. 

I couldn’t do it alone.

I couldn’t figure it out by myself anymore. I needed to learn from someone who knew more than I did. So I found courses and coaches. I learned and implemented that learning. Then I learned some more and implemented some more. 

And my subscription started to grow again. It grew and it grew and it grew. Soon I had hundreds of subscribers and then more than a thousand subscribers. 

The shift from learning to teaching.

People noticed what I was doing and started asking questions. Lots of questions. And I answered them. It was so satisfying to help other people move forward in their subscription box journeys. To make progress. To solve problems and overcome challenges. 

It was then that I realized I wanted to do this for more people. That turned into Launch Your Box. 

I am so proud of this membership and all the people in it. It’s a place where people at all stages of their subscription box journey come to learn how to start, launch, and grow a subscription box and - maybe even more importantly - to experience the difference an amazingly supportive community can make. 

Inside Launch Your Box, members find training on all aspects of a subscription box business. We start with audience building - because if you don’t build an audience filled with the right people, you’ll be launching to no one. From there we move through the road to launching one step at a time.  

And it doesn’t stop when you launch. That’s really only the beginning. So I take you through growing your subscription box - even scaling. And of course, we talk a lot about retention. After you work so hard to get someone to subscribe, you need to work just as hard to keep them - it’s all about creating an incredible experience for your subscriber and making them feel valued. 

Why should people learn from me? 

Wondering who’s leading all this learning? It’s me, Sarah Williams. The same me who’s still running a subscription box business - every day. The same me who’s solving the same problems you are - every day. I work on audience building every day. I tackle tech challenges. I brainstorm new ways to market my subscription box business when the old ones stop working. I pour my whole self into my launches. Just like you. 

I wouldn’t describe myself as a cheerleader. I was a drummer - I played the snare drum, actually. But I do cheer my members on every day. I also challenge them, encourage them, and give them a little kick in the behind when needed. 

Because even though I say anybody can do this - and I truly believe anybody can - not everybody can. Starting a subscription box business is hard work. A LOT of hard work. There will be good days and there will be days that send you straight for a tub of ice cream and a spoon. 

It’s those people who are willing to get through the hard days, the bad days, and the setbacks, and keep moving forward - even if it’s just a tiny step forward - who will make it. And having someone in your corner - who not only has the knowledge but also really cares about you and your success - well, that makes all the difference. 

If you’re dreaming about starting a subscription box business - or adding a subscription box to your existing business - just know this. You CAN do it. Find the right people to learn from and surround yourself with and get to work. I promise it’s worth it! 

For more about my subscription box journey, including my recent launch, check out this blog post.