From 0 to 400 Subscribers: Turning One-Time Sales into Recurring Revenue | EP 74

Subscribe:  SarahsPodcast.com | Apple Podcast | Spotify | IHeartRadio | Stitcher

“Start with what you have and build up to what you want.” 

Welcome to my first on-location podcast episode! Launch Your Box member Rachel Duguay joined me live onstage at SubSummit, the first and only conference exclusively for the subscription box industry. 

Rachel and I met at last year’s SubSummit and she quickly became a member of Launch Your Box. At that time, Rachel and her husband’s business, MicroPuzzles, sold miniature puzzles as one-time purchases. 

In business since 2018, MicroPuzzles took off in 2020 when the entire world turned to puzzles as a way to pass the time together. MicroPuzzles are 4”x6” when complete and are adorably packaged in test tubes. Demand for their puzzles went through the roof and customers clamored for more designs. 

Rachel decided adding a subscription box to the business was the answer to giving her customers what they wanted. They launched what Rachel calls the 1.0 version and continued to improve and grow. A year later, they have 425 monthly subscribers and both she and her husband have turned a part-time side hustle into a full-time career. 

Rachel doesn’t just put MicroPuzzles in her own subscription boxes, she partners with other subscription box owners, too. Many members of Launch Your Box have featured Rachel’s tiny puzzles in their own subscription boxes, customized to their themes and their audiences! 

Part of Rachel’s success is due to her creative marketing, including an emphasis on product seeding. You’ll rarely find her without a stash of tiny puzzles on hand to use as “business cards.” She also does a fantastic job of building genuine connections with her audience which has contributed to her success. 

Join me for this episode as Rachel and I talk about the importance of doing something before it’s perfect, the rapid growth of her subscription box, and what led to a cross-country move that included getting the keys to a 3,000-square-foot warehouse. Find out, too, what makes Brian in shipping their most talked about employee.  

Important Links: 

Find and follow Rachel: 

• MicroPuzzles on Facebook
• MicroPuzzles on Instagram
• MicroPuzzles Website