This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
All right, last week we heard from a listener who was hoping to sell vintage vinyl, like vintage records in the form of a monthly subscription. This week, similar idea, at least in terms of a physical product going out in a subscription box or some type of subscription, we'll talk about it. But the item in question is antique maps. Will people buy my antique map reproductions? That's the thing.
So Helena from Missoula, Montana, she's got a treasure trove of antique maps thanks to her globetrotting grandfather. Her grandfather has passed recently and left her his collection. And instead of selling them off, like as a one-off or in the whole collection, she's got an idea to turn the originals into high quality reproductions, which could obviously go to multiple people as opposed to single collectors. So let's look at the pros and cons of this idea. Might it be a good idea or at least a good experiment as a subscription?
Might there be a better way? Let's talk about it. Helena's question coming up after this quick sponsor message. [Music]
Hello, and how do you do for Missoula, Montana? My name is Helena and I am a geographer by background and I absolutely love your books.
Because I'm so familiar with your books, I really wanted to ask this question. I inherited a sizable collection of unique antique maps from my grandfather. He was a world traveler when he was in his heyday. Instead of selling these beautiful, absolutely gorgeous gems, I had this idea of offering a historic map monthly club. The idea would be that you could subscribe to receive a high quality reproduction of a unique map from my grandfather's collection each month.
And along with that map, you would get a backstory, kind of just detailing how he came into possession of it or, you know, anything important or something that maybe that people would really like. Since people really love history and they love unique home decor, do you think this could be a successful venture or do you think it would just be better to sell them off and maybe hang a few up, you know, as special keepsakes? I'd love to hear what you have to say. [Music]
All right, first off, this collection of antique maps sounds really cool. So indeed, a treasure trove.
Wonderful to have this from your grandfather's travels and from his own passion. But speaking of passion, you know, turning a passion into a subscription service like, you know, the historic map monthly club, you know, the trick is like who's going to buy it? I believe you always need to have that question front and center if your primary goal is to make money. And the same thing was true, you know, last week with this guy's question about vintage vinyl. Okay, where is the customer base?
Yes, a lot of people like listening to records. A lot of people like maps, but are you connected with them? Like, do you know who they are? Do they know who you are? Probably even more important, right?
Like have you built an audience? And if not, you got to think about where that's going to come from. Doesn't just happen magically. So you've got the cool backstory about your grandfather's travels, some personal touches stand out. But if this is an e-commerce business, we really need to think a lot about the marketing of it.
So if they are truly valuable, if you're not opposed to selling them off, that might be the better bet. Perhaps hanging on to a couple of special ones as personal keepsakes and memories for you. But if you're leaning toward the subscription idea, maybe try a soft lunch or a limited edition first. Just try to really test the waters to see, you know, is there interest in this? I mentioned Crate Joy last week.
They are a great resource. They have, I mean, they're a business, but they have a lot of resources on how to make your subscription box a success. So definitely check that out, cratejoy.com. We've had some other episodes about them as well. In the end, I think the historic map monthly is a neat concept.
It's got potential, but you need to match that potential with an audience. That is something that needs to be front of center in any kind of idea like this. But of course, I'm wishing you well, Helena, everybody else out there. If you've got a question or some comments, sidehustleschool.com/questions. I'm on Instagram, 193 countries, 193.
And of course, new episode every day. It's all completely free. You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, in fact. And I hope you'll continue to join me. My name's Chris Guillebeau.
You're listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
