The Missing Piece to Starting Your Subscription Box

Discover how Tabitha found the missing piece to subscription box success with Launch Your Box!

Do you have a degree in being an entrepreneur? Neither do I! Luckily, you don’t need a specific type of degree – or a degree at all – to build a successful subscription box business. 

Starting, launching, and growing a subscription box business (or any small business) is a journey. And not the going-for-a--Sunday-drive kind of journey. Nope. This journey is full of twists and turns, triumphs and challenges, and plenty of learning opportunities. 

Every small business owner has their own story to tell. A story filled with dreams, chances taken, problems solved, and – hopefully – a happy ending that hasn’t been written yet. 

But we all know small business owners who struggle. Who can’t seem to take their idea and turn it into a sustainable business. So what’s the difference between struggling and thriving? 

Sometimes all it takes is finding one missing piece. 

For Launch Your Box member Tabitha Yount of Elegant Homes & Interiors, that missing piece turned out to be me and our Launch Your Box community! 

Keep reading to learn more about Tabitha’s story. I promise you’ll relate to her and find a lot of inspiration along the way. 

From Nurse to Fixer-Upper

Tabitha started her career as a nurse. What does nursing have to do with home decor? Well, Tabitha wasn’t just a nurse. She was also a newlywed with a passion for beautifully decorated homes. 

When Tabitha’s visions for their home didn’t exactly match their budget, Tabitha and her husband got creative. They started buying fixer-uppers, transforming them, and selling them for a profit. 

Transforming houses remained a side hustle as their skills and the size of their family grew. Eventually, Tabitha and her husband decided to make renovating and decorating homes their full-time career. 

Building an Audience 

Tabitha didn’t stop at creating beautiful homes. She shared the process online. She documented their renovations and shared design tips on social media. The result? Before long, she had a loyal following of more than 46,000 people. 

Tabitha’s audience loved following along as she brought her projects to life. But they wanted more. She was sharing the “what,” and they wanted that and the “how.” 

Listening to what her audience wanted led Tabitha to start a paid community where she taught her audience how to create the looks they loved. 

At that point, Tabitha had a thriving community full of loyal members. What she hadn’t yet realized was that she had everything she needed to turn her expertise into a subscription box. 

Starting a Subscription Box… the First Time

The online world is a small world. It’s easy to make friends and connections within your little corner of the online space. Tabitha had a friend within the online home decor space who happened to be a member of Launch Your Box, Scale Your Box, and my Mastermind. 

That friend encouraged Tabitha to consider launching a subscription box. She did and was thrilled when her first launch resulted in 50 subscribers! 

That excitement quickly turned to overwhelm. Tabitha discovered challenges to turning a subscription box business she hadn’t thought of, especially the tech. 

Tabitha lacked the necessary systems and processes to handle the back end of her business. Some bad advice from a member of Tabitha’s team led to the difficult decision to shut down her subscription box. 

Figuring Out the Missing Piece… and Starting Again

Before long, Tabitha realized she wasn’t ready to give up. 

She knew she had something special. A loyal audience, a great product, and the willingness to do the work necessary to succeed. 

Tabitha also knew she needed something she hadn’t had the first time she launched a subscription box. 

She needed a guide. A teacher. She needed me… and the Launch Your Box community. 

Tabitha joined Launch Your Box and jumped right into the training. She was determined this would be the missing piece she needed. She learned and implemented that learning, step by step. 

Each “aha” moment Tabitha experienced brought her closer to relaunching her subscription box. 

The difference? This time she had a solid foundation of systems and processes in place. 

Tabitha learned how to handle the tech, manage inventory, and streamline her processes. 

Armed with her newfound knowledge, Tabitha relaunched with confidence. 

The results? 

Tabitha sold out every available spot in her subscription box! 

Lessons to Apply to Your Subscription Box Journey

Tabitha’s story is a reminder that you don’t need to know everything before you get started. But you do need to be willing to learn. 

Learn from Tabitha and apply these lessons to your own business:

1. Start with Passion: Tabitha’s love for home decor was the foundation of her success. Choose a niche you’re passionate about. Your audience will feel it and respond to it! 
2. Start with Audience Building: Tabitha nurtured her audience, building trust and providing value before she launched her subscription box. An audience filled with the right people is key to a successful subscription box business. 
3. Invest in Learning: Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know it all. Tabitha found her missing piece by joining Launch Your Box.
4. Put Systems in Place: Systems and processes aren’t sexy. But they will save you time, reduce stress and increase productivity, and allow you to scale. Put systems and processes in place from the beginning.
   

Whether you’re just starting your subscription box journey or are an established subscription box owner looking to take your business to the next level, you don’t have to do it alone. Tabitha’s story – just one of so many inside Launch Your Box – is proof that the right guidance paired with a willingness to learn and do the work can turn a dream into a thriving business. 

Hear more of Tabitha’s story on episode 139 of the Launch Your Box Podcast.