The joy of predictable monthly recurring revenue is immense.
The idea is simple.
You charge a fixed monthly fee and send customers a box each month. But what’s inside that box makes or breaks your business.
Let’s explore some examples, then brainstorm some possibilities:
- Hello Fresh or Blue Apron: Don’t like cooking but want fresh meals? They send you measured ingredients and recipes for amazing dishes, starting at $200-$400 USD/month.
- Drop Chef: Not even into cooking? Get pre-cooked meals delivered weekly.
- BarkBox: Unique toys and treats for your furry friend every month for $20 USD/month.
- BirchBox: $17 USD/month gets you a box of curated beauty products for women.
- Try the World: Discover unique desserts from different countries every month for $25 USD/month.
There are endless possibilities! I can list 100 more subscription box businesses if I wanted, but I won’t bore you with examples.
Here’s why subscription boxes are great:
- Recurring revenue: Once you acquire a customer, they keep paying.
- Predictable cash flow: Easier to plan and scale your business.
- High potential for growth: If your customer acquisition cost is lower than their lifetime value, you can scale up massively.
The above got me thinking.
What subscription boxes are missing? Let’s brainstorm together!
There are book subscriptions out there – however, as book is a huge industry, these businesses cater to a specific sub-niche of books.
Improve 1% With One Book /Month –
The 1% Company
Fairyloot for example is a subscription box that only caters to the “fantasy book reader” market.
Can we start one that will only target the entrepreneurs and non-fiction self help readers?
Possibly! I will name it the 1% Company.
Greener Thumb Like a Hulk
You know I love gardening so this came naturally to me. Imagine a subscription box where every month I get a box with a pack of seeds (2-3 types), a few pots, clear instruction guide and soil to sow those seeds in.
Growing something is one of the best experiences a human can have, and you will immediately get that person hooked.
In fact, I won’t mind losing some money on the first order, just to get the person hooked.
Learn a Skill Every Month
Sorry I don’t have a good name for this one (yet). I was thinking of a subscription box targeted towards parents – where you send a box with a toy that will teach one specific skill within a month to a kid.
It can be chess, it can be reading letters, it can be painting or sewing. There are 100s of skills that parents would love to teach their kids and if your box helps, there’s no reason not to pay a small fee.
If you are outside USA, one of the easiest things to do is to bring an USA idea into your country.
Check out Hunt a Killer, a subscription box that will make you a detective. If I were you, I would spend the weekend looking at 100s of subscription box businesses and ask myself this:
- Do I think i can bring this idea in my country and build a successful business?
Often, it is easier to start with a proven idea and pivot along the way.
