What It's About
A fashion subscription box service for busy adults!
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Samuel learned a lot building Urbane Box, and here's what he said for anyone looking to do something similar:
"I would advise someone to always think of the two Ps, perseverance and patience. Growing a business is challenging and it's not easy. Success does not happen overnight. It takes hard work and dedication. It took nearly 4 months for my first customer and I almost quit. Instead, I decided to keep pushing, and I am very grateful that I did."
Fun Fact
Growing up, Samuel had a difficult childhood. His father struggled with substance abuse and his mother didn’t know any English. When the police raided his home and arrested his father, he knew he wanted to do anything he could to help other kids in similar difficult situations.
Those early experiences helped lead Samuel to become a police officer and inspired him to adopt and provide a healthy upbringing for an orphan. They also impacted how he runs Urbane Box. For every sale Urbane Box makes, the company donates $1 to organizations that help homeless youth. For Samuel, it’s not a gimmick attached to his business; it’s part of who he is.
Notes from Chris
Episode 236
For everyone out there who has struggled—basically all of us—you might like today’s story. It has a great conclusion, but what’s interesting is how long it took to reach that point. Being a full-time police officer, father, and husband, North Carolina-based Samuel Gonzalez rarely found himself with free time. When he did stumble upon some time, he rarely used it to go shopping. This created a problem for Samuel: when he needed to refresh areas of his wardrobe, finding the right clothing items was frustrating. So he decided to solve this problem not only for himself but also for anyone else with the same struggle. Samuel placed his first clothing orders, built a website, and started marketing with $5,000 of his own cash. He spent every ounce of available time developing his brand, product, and content. It was exhausting, but finally, Urbane Box launched. And nothing happened. A couple months went by. No bites. Samuel began to lose hope. He was at a serious crossroads: he could quit and cut his losses or he could press on and hope for traction. As you can guess, he decided to press on. And good thing he did. Urbane Box is now on track to generate $150,000 in sales this year alone. Website traffic is up, brand trust is on the rise, and more brands are opening their doors to Urbane Box.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Urbane Box: Interested in having someone pick out clothes for you? Check out Samuel's subscription box service!
- Project NY: The trade show in NYC that Samuel traveled to in order to make network connections
- Railway Children, Unicef, & Magic Bus: Three of the charities that Samuel and UrbaneBox donate a percentage of their proceeds to
- Cratejoy | How to Start a Subscription Box Business: Looking to start your own subscription box service? Check out Cratejoy's how-to guide
- Dutch Personal Shopping Service for Kids Measures Up: This clothing subscription service delivers a box of children’s clothes to parents in The Netherlands each month. It’s a close-knit competition, but you’re tailored to win!
- Subscription Box Service Delivers Candy from Japan: An expat living in Japan packages candy twice a month and sends it around the world to hundreds of people who pay $29/month
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