166 episodes

8 years ago I had a dream to start a Subscription Box service full of goodies for women to treat themselves and nurture the importance of self care. It took me a full 18 months to make it happen! I was paralyzed by ‘all the things’ I had to figure out with no one to turn to for guidance. That is why I created Launch Your Box! Maybe you need some direction on how to begin, or you are ready to grow your subscriber base. Either way, it all starts with an idea that can turn into a constant reoccurring revenue, a raving fan base, and a business to love. I will help you... Take your first steps and know where to start. Figuring out the logistics: packing, shipping, boxes, oh my! Learn how to launch, from idea to sales. Scale that box to the next level, go big or go home!

Launch Your Box Podcast with Sarah Williams | Start, Launch, and Grow Your Subscription Box Sarah Williams

    • Business
    • 5.0 • 147 Ratings

8 years ago I had a dream to start a Subscription Box service full of goodies for women to treat themselves and nurture the importance of self care. It took me a full 18 months to make it happen! I was paralyzed by ‘all the things’ I had to figure out with no one to turn to for guidance. That is why I created Launch Your Box! Maybe you need some direction on how to begin, or you are ready to grow your subscriber base. Either way, it all starts with an idea that can turn into a constant reoccurring revenue, a raving fan base, and a business to love. I will help you... Take your first steps and know where to start. Figuring out the logistics: packing, shipping, boxes, oh my! Learn how to launch, from idea to sales. Scale that box to the next level, go big or go home!

    Stop Worrying About Sales and Start Thinking About Profitability with Ciara Stockeland

    Stop Worrying About Sales and Start Thinking About Profitability with Ciara Stockeland

    Does it feel like you are making good sales, but nothing is left in your bank account at the end of each month? Are you bringing in enough revenue to cover your overhead and pay your employees but can’t pay yourself? I’ve been there. If you’re a small business owner, you’ve been there, too. 
    It’s time to change how we think about sales and profitability. And I’ve brought the perfect person to the podcast to help us do just that. In this episode, Ciara Stockeland, fractional CFO and inventory genius, joins me as we get to the simple truth about inventory, margins, and profitability.  
    Ciara is a 3rd generation entrepreneur from North Dakota. She opened her first retail store in 2006 and built it into a franchise before selling it. She also started a subscription box for retailers, grew it, and sold that, too. It was Ciara’s love for all things numbers that led her to her current role where she works with business owners to identify and fix their inventory, cash flow, and profitability issues. 
    Ciara has met so many inventory-based business owners who all ask the same questions: 

    Where is all my money going? 

    What do I do with all this debt? 

    How much inventory should I really own? 


    Ciara responded to a need and built her Inventory Genius course where she teaches business owners how to focus on the right things in order to create more profit and keep more cash. 
    Set profit goals using Ciara’s framework - the same framework she uses regardless of the size of the business.
    I want you to understand that subscription box businesses can be profitable from month one - but you have to be disciplined about operating expenses. 
    If you don’t fix a problem with operating expenses, gaining more subscribers won’t solve the problem. The cost will grow right along with the subscriber numbers. 
    When you get diligent about knowing your numbers, it gets easier. 
    Get Ciara’s book Inventory Genius for an explanation of the numbers in your business. 

    What is profit and loss? 

    What is a balance sheet? 

    How does inventory play into what’s happening with my cash? 


    Problems with inventory, cash flow, and profitability will not solve themselves. But they ARE solvable! It starts with understanding the numbers in your business. 
    Knowledge is power. The more you know, the better decision you can make. We want you to love your business and to make decisions from a place of certainty, not panic. 
    Don’t forget to grab Ciara’s FREE eBook HERE! 
    Join me and Ciara Stockeland, inventory genius, as we get to the simple truth about inventory, margins, and profitability.  Grab your earbuds and notebooks, and join us!

    Find and follow Ciara: 

    Inventory Genius on Facebook


    Inventory Genius on Instagram  

    Ciara’s FREE eBook

    Ciara’s Website

    Join me in all the places: 

    Facebook

    Instagram


    Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 


    Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join today! 

    • 35 min
    Streamline Your Subscription Box with a Fulfillment Center

    Streamline Your Subscription Box with a Fulfillment Center

    What if you never had to pack and ship your subscription boxes again? How would that change your business… and your life? 
    Ryan Culver of Lessgistics joined me for this episode to talk all things subscription box fulfillment center. Not only does Ryan have more than 20 years of experience in supply chain, he’s also a former health & wellness subscription box owner and the current owner of a charcuterie subscription box. He joined me to talk about how fulfillment centers can help subscription box businesses, especially as you grow and scale. 
    Ryan started Lessgistics in 2020 to help other subscription box owners. Inside their 60,000-square-foot facility, Ryan and his team support subscription box owners with businesses ranging from 250 subscription boxes to over 5,000 subscription boxes. They also fulfill special projects and one-time boxes. 
    Lessgistics especially enjoys partnering with start-up subscription box businesses that are starting to show growth and have 250-300 subscribers. Other fulfillment centers require subscription box businesses to have 1,000 or more subscribers. 
    Ryan talked about how important it is that you have time and experience fulfilling your subscription boxes yourself before outsourcing to a fulfillment center like Lessgistics. This allows you to understand your needs, your process, and what you’ll require of a fulfillment center. 
    There are many benefits to working with a fulfillment center, including: 

    Taking advantage of the economies of scale a fulfillment center brings.

    Getting your business out of your house. 

    Getting access to better shipping rates - subscription box owners benefit from Lessgistics’s buying power with shipping companies. 

    The volume discounts Lessgistics can get for its subscription box partners usually pay for the cost of the fulfillment center, making it a no brainer! 
    Ryan recognizes that it can be difficult to let go of control and trust someone else to fulfill your subscription boxes. He understands and is dedicated to creating an experience that’s very subscription box owner-focused. As a subscription box owner himself, he understands the importance of providing an outstanding subscriber experience. 
    Lessgistics can handle variations - size, color, quantities - with ease. They handle customer service issues promptly and stay in close contact with their subscription box owner partners. 
    Ryan and I talked about one of my Mastermind students, Stacey Collins, and how Lessgistics has been such an important part of her latest subscription box’s success. 
    If you’re in the hundreds of subscribers range, you need to be focused on growing and scaling - not on packing and shipping. It’s time to really think about what a 3rd party fulfillment center like Lessgistics could do for you. 
    Contact Ryan to schedule a 30-minute call  - he’ll talk with you about your subscription box and your needs and provide you with a same-day quote. 

    Join me and Ryan from Lessgistics for this episode to learn what a 3rd party fulfillment center can do for your subscription box business and how the money you’ll save on shipping costs can just about pay for the fulfillment services! 

    Find and follow Lessgistics: 


    Lessgistics on Facebook  

    Lessgistics Website

    Join me in all the places: 

    Facebook

    Instagram


    Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 


    Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join today! 

    • 42 min
    Free Shipping vs Charging for Shipping

    Free Shipping vs Charging for Shipping

    You’ve curated a beautiful subscription box. Your website is nearly ready. But there’s one decision holding you back from actually launching. And it’s all about shipping. Should you offer free shipping or charge for shipping? 
    Of course, “free shipping” isn’t free. If you offer free shipping to your customers, you will adjust the prices of the items you sell to absorb those shipping costs and protect your profit margins. 
    In this episode, I go deep on all things shipping. The truth is, there’s no easy answer to the free shipping or charging for shipping question. There is no one-size fits all strategy when it comes to shipping charges. There may even be more than one answer for your business. 
    Think about your own buying behavior. What matters more to you when you’re shopping online? What matters to your customers? 


    Shippo, a shipping software company, conducted a survey where they found:

    49% of customers prefer to pay a lower price for items and pay for shipping. 

    40% of customers want free shipping. 

    11% of customers want their items fast and are willing to pay expedited shipping charges.  

    Another report showed: 

    People prefer paying for low-cost shipping when purchasing lower-priced items. 

    93% of shoppers will add to their carts to reach a certain threshold to receive free shipping if it’s offered. 

    For one-off online sales, offering free shipping once a customer reaches a purchase threshold is smart for a few reasons. 

    It can increase your average order value. 

    It incentivizes customers to order more items at once instead of placing multiple one-item orders, reducing your overall shipping charges. 

    It allows for lower pricing of items because you don’t have to account for as much of the cost of shipping in the price of each item. 


    Answering this question for your subscription box is more difficult. Do you only ship or do you offer local pickup as well? Does the perceived value of your subscription box allow you to include shipping in the cost of the box or would that make the price “too high?” Don’t be afraid to test options with your audience to help you make this decision. 
    Join me for this episode as I talk about what you need to consider when deciding whether to charge for shipping or offer free shipping to your customers and why you may end up choosing one strategy for your one-off sales and the other for your subscription box. 
     
    Join me in all the places: 

    Facebook

    Instagram


    Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 

     
    Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join the waitlist today! 

    • 17 min
    3 Website Platforms for Your Subscription Box Business

    3 Website Platforms for Your Subscription Box Business

    Is tech holding you back from launching your subscription box? There are so many decisions to make. One of the first is choosing the right platform for you and your business. There are hundreds to choose from. But not all of them are right for subscription box businesses. 
    So many people get stuck here, overthinking and over-researching. Decision paralysis sets in and they fail to make any progress at all. But it doesn’t have to be that way - I’m here to help. 
    In this episode, I break things down for you to make it as simple as possible. I talk you through my top three website platforms and the pros and cons of each. The truth is, no one platform is perfect for every subscription box business. But there is one that’s right for you! 
    Option 1 - WordPress/Woocommerce 
    WordPress is the platform and Woocommerce is the plug-in needed to sell products. Woocommerce Subscriptions is the plug-in needed to sell recurring products like a subscription box. 

    Option 2 - Shopify
    Shopify is an eCommerce platform that allows you to create an online store and sell products. It offers a wide range of tools and features specifically for product-based businesses. 

    Find more in-depth information about all of these platforms and a deep dive into the Subscription Apps on Shopify inside the Launch Your Box Training Library. Not a member yet? Joinlyb.com!
    Option 3 - Subbly
    Subbly is an all-in-one subscription box platform that provides tools for managing and launching a subscription-based business. 

    My tips for choosing a website platform: 

    Don’t get overwhelmed by your options - go with one of these three. 

    If you already have one of these sites, don’t change it. Build your subscription on it. 

    Decide which features as most important to YOUR business. 

    Evaluate the costs. 

    Just. Get. Started. Don’t let tech stop you from moving forward. 


    Join me for this episode where I share my top three website platforms for subscription box businesses and the pros and cons of each. Don’t let tech stop you from moving forward. 

    Join me and our AMAZING community inside Launch Your Box! 

    Join me in all the places: 

    Facebook

    Instagram


    Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 


    Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join today! 

    • 25 min
    Maximize the Value of Your Small Audience

    Maximize the Value of Your Small Audience

    Building an audience of people who are interested in your subscription box is crucial. You can’t have a successful launch - and a successful business - without an audience. But you don’t need a huge following with tens of thousands of followers if you have a small audience filled with the RIGHT people. 
    I’ve built two multi-million dollar businesses and neither one has a huge number of followers. I don’t need hundreds of thousands of followers because the followers I do have are the right people for each of my businesses. They’re engaged, they’re interested in me and what I offer, and most of them buy from me. 
    The secret to finding subscription box success with a smaller audience is to maximize the value of your audience, no matter the size. 
    Subscription box success - or success in any online business - doesn’t come from having a large number of followers who don’t engage with you and your business and don’t buy anything. Instead, success comes from having an engaged audience filled with your ideal customers. 
    Finding and building an audience filled with your right people starts with remembering your why. What drove you to start a subscription box in the first place? Those people who you wanted to serve with your subscription box? Those are the people you need to attract. Those are the people who will engage with you and your business. 
    I have some practical ways you can attract and engage an audience filled with your right people: 


    Be known for something. What are you the expert at? What makes you happy?


    Show up. Get in front of your audience and go LIVE consistently.


    Serve before you sell. What value are you providing to your audience? 


    You don’t have to be everywhere, but you do need to be consistent. Don’t try to do all the things! Pick a few that you are good at and can be consistent with.


    Love on your people! Help your audience feel seen and heard, and they’ll keep coming back.

    Join me for this episode as we talk about why a large following isn’t necessary for subscription box success and how you can maximize the value of your small audience. 

    Join me and our AMAZING community inside Launch Your Box! 

    Join me in all the places: 

    Facebook

    Instagram


    Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 


    Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join today!

    • 26 min
    Are You Giving Your Business Enough Consistency?

    Are You Giving Your Business Enough Consistency?

    “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” - Dwayne Johnson
    One of the healthiest habits we can build into our businesses is consistency. Consistency trumps everything else. You don’t have to be the best, you just have to be consistent. 
    I talk about consistency a LOT because it’s just that important. You can be an expert, you can be the best at what you do, but without consistency, you won’t succeed.  Someone with less expertise who is consistent will succeed because consistency trumps expertise. 
    A lot of business owners struggle when they try to do “all the things” and end up doing them inconsistently. Instead, do a few things and do them consistently. 
    Look at your business and ask yourself if you’re being consistent enough in 5 key areas: 
    1- Planning your boxes consistently
    2- Go LIVE consistently
    3- Email your list consistently
    4- Post on social media consistently
    5- Talk about your subscription box constantly
    Talking about your subscription box creates buzz and generates excitement! 
    How consistent are you? Can you improve? 
    If you’re not consistent in any of these 5 areas, choose one to start with. Get consistent with that one and then add in another. 

    Join me for this episode as we talk about why it’s so important to be consistent in your business and the five areas you need to be consistent in to build a successful subscription box business.

    Resources:
    YouTube video - Weekly Emails for Your Subscription Box Business 
    FREE 6 in 60 Workshop - Curate 6 Subscription Boxes in 60 Minutes
    Join me and our AMAZING community inside Launch Your Box! 

    Join me in all the places: 

    Facebook

    Instagram


    Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 


    Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join today! 

    Use code LAUNCHWELCOME at https://www.boxup.com/ to get 10% off your first order

    • 18 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
147 Ratings

147 Ratings

Hammock Teacher ,

Engaging and Entertaining!

I have listened to many of Sarah’s podcast episodes. I always learn something new in an entertaining way. There are no “Boring -Move On” thoughts as you listen. 😀 Thank you for sharing your story and experiences. Thank you to all of your guests as well. 👏👏👏

Dp111207 ,

Great info!!

Great info and advise each week, love it!

Spectacular info!! ,

Amazing info

I’m really enjoying the podcast and am learning tips and trick for my regular biz, in addition to figuring out the whole ‘box biz’!! Keep up the great work!

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