Notes from Chris

Episode 289

Long business meetings are rarely a breeding ground for good ideas. In fact, they often end up getting in the way of good work. But, for Stefan Pretty, one of these meetings is where he was struck with the idea for his side hustle.

Sitting in a client meeting at his digital marketing agency, Stefan was working with a company who wanted to sell juice cleanse subscription boxes—but needed to do it on a bootstrapper’s budget. Creating a site like this from scratch requires a lot of coding, design, and a number of tools being brought together under one roof…. Which is of course something hard to achieve on a tight budget.

So Stefan went in search of more affordable plug-and-play solutions his client could use. But, what he found was that no such system existed.

Even though subscriptions were growing in popularity and demand, nobody had created a platform that made it easy to set up. And that’s when it hit him. What if he was the person to create an all-in-one solution for subscription boxes? He had the coding, design and marketing experience to build a basic model and get it running, so why not put it together himself?

He named his new idea and brand Subbly and set to work in his spare time around his day job. Although this was time intensive and sometimes exhausting, this investment allowed Stefan to start his entire business for less than $200. Not bad considering how high-tech a lot of this can be.

Unlike their main competitor CrateJoy that works as a marketplace for people to buy and sell crates, Subbly focuses on giving you independence. To be able to create, design and sell from your own platform, and not be reliant on someone else’s platform and their search engines for your sales.

So far, it seems to be working. Subbly has grown their income to five figures per month and is growing its member base month on month. Stefan has also been able to leave his digital marketing agency behind and focus on his side hustle!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Subbly: Learn more about the many features Subbly offers on Stefan's website!
• Stripe, ShipStation (use code HUSTLE for 60 days free!), ReferralCandy, Zapier: Some of the integrations that are available as you upgrade your membership through Subbly

SEE ALSO:

• Subbly | How To Start a Subscription Box Business: Learn more about how you can start a subscription box business of your own with this in-depth guide from Stefan and the team
• 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
• Entrepreneur Reads Tea Leaves to Launch Subscription Hustle: A New York-based consultant brews his need for energy into a tea delivery service that offers customers a chance to discover new tea varieties each month
• 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!
• Friends Team Up To Create Student Care Package Hustlep: Two college friends create StudyBox, a care package for all those late-night cram session needs

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

---

Download Episodes By Months:

Season 6 (2022): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 5 (2021): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 4 (2020): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 3 (2019): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 2 (2018): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 1 (2017): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |