013: A Passion for Animals Turns into 500 Monthly Subscribers

Launch Your Box Podcast with Sarah Williams | Start, Launch, and Grow Your Subscription Box

I love the whole community of Launch Your Box for many reasons, but one of the things that makes it so special is how unique some of the subscription boxes can be. This week I’m speaking with Nicole Jenney, founder of the GPig Box, a subscription box for guinea pigs and their owners. Her story on how she came to create a box for Guinea Pigs is so fun and such a great example of how the opportunity to create a box to fill a need can really be found anywhere.

— Find Your Passion and Build the Audience —

When Nicole first had the idea for a box, she did her due diligence researching what was already out there and saw that there was an opening for gifts for both guinea pigs and their owners. But even after she started, she listened to her audience when they told her that they wanted more from the box than she initially started with.

“We got all this feedback that people want to double the stuff and they wanted more. So, we created a whole other box and another line for them, and that's been just as successful.” – Nicole

Remember, your audience will tell you what they want and what they’re willing to pay for. As long as you’re listening, you can find areas to expand into and really create that exclusive experience for them.

— Managing Growth —

The GPig box has seen amazing growth from just one box when they launched to 500 subscriptions in four months! Nichole has learned quite a bit from that growth in being able to fulfill each subscription in a timely manner. At the beginning, her focus was on having no waste product, which is a good habit to have. But it did create some scheduling problems for her when scheduling out when to send boxes to her members.

“We call this growing pain of small business, but it's a good problem to have. And I think we wouldn't do it any other way. But now to be able to adapt and change is most important and have an open mind of ‘maybe this isn't working anymore.’ But we have to stay proactive and stay ahead of it.” – Nicole

Growth is a good thing to have, but it can present new challenges that can get out of hand if they’re not managed. Figuring out what works for you and what’s manageable for your business is key to being able to maintain the high level of customer service that’s going to make you stand out.

You can find Nicole and the GPig Box at: https://gpigbox.com/

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