There are quite a number of people who dream of leaving behind their full-time job to become a successful knitting subscription box entrepreneur. The sad reality is that only few take a leap and readily leave their full-time job to become one because of fear that their subscription box business might fail. Well, this article will be tackling on how you can start a knitting subscription box business while still having a 9-5 work. Not only does it grant you a reason to follow your passion, but it will also give you a feasible plan to in starting your knitting subscription box.
Several knitting subscription box entrepreneurs have actually began their subscription box business while they still have a full-time job, so it can definitely be accomplished. Here are some useful tips on how to get your knitting subscription box started while still having your regular day job.
Getting started with your knitting subscription box
Setting up a new business always entails some possible risks, but that does not mean that you will need to do a complete jump into was is unknown.
The very first thing you need to do is to validate the idea of your knitting subscription box. It can save you a lot of money and time if you will be able to get any inputs and feedback early on in the process. You would not want to put much effort into an idea that you think would not sell or is not feasible. Generally speaking, clever business founders validate their business idea with relevant informations before pursuing it and knitting subscription box businesses are not exception. Sharing your ideas or concept with people is one of the easiest ways to affirm your knitting subscription box idea. You can just begin with family and friends, however receiving feedback from users on your target market would be far more helpful. Since you are planning to launch a subscription box for individuals who enjoy knitting, you will have to contact those individuals (it may be online or a face to face meet up) and ask them questions about their knitting hobby. For instance, you could ask them on they would usually like to be included in the knitting subscription box and whether there are any sore problems which can be solved by getting the box.
If you actually intend to start up a knitting subscription box business without doing any validation of the idea, you could very well be missing a great chance to make the business all the more successful and profitable. It does not have to be particularly hard or time-consuming to validate an idea, and it can save you a lot of frustration down the path.
It will then be time to develop a business plan after you have validated your business idea. You can now prepare a business plan once you have assessed what your start-up and operating costs are going to be. You must write down the details of your business in the business plan which would include the name, niche, target market, and your short and long tern objectives. Your business objectives would have to include actual dates and figures, such as the desired launching date, number of knitting box subscribers, and monthly income targets. You can develop substantive measures toward attaining them when you have set these objectives.
For instance, you could use a calendar to set up your weekly to – do list if your main aim would be to start up a knitting subscription box in thirty days. When your weekly assignments are set up, during the spare hours you have at your disposal, you can develop a strategic plan. It is essential to get very conscious with your time and adhere to your timetables and to-do lists when undertaking a side business – such as starting a knitting subscription box. This will enable to keep you on schedule towards your objective.
It would also be best to do some competitor research first before you kick start your subscription box business. There is a need for you to ensure that your brand, service and pricing are fairly different to compete with others with the same business.
If there are other people who have tried and failed with the same subscription box business, try to reach out to them and see if they would share any tips with you. Their inputs will help you prevent in making mistakes that they may have made, and it will also give you more information regarding the feasibility of your knitting subscription box idea.
Stay organized when dealing with your subscription box business
When you are working on a usual forty (40) hours per week job, then you will have the need to use your available night, weekend and holiday hours to set up your knitting box subscription business. The more organized and disciplined you are, the more productive you will be with your available time. You will spend considerable time marketing and selling products, contacting suppliers, and setting up your branding and marketing funds in the early phases of starting up for the subscription box. To organize your research, suppliers and monitor progress, we suggest that you use a tool or program which will make things easier for you.
You actually have two choices when it comes down to branding and marketing, you can either choose to outsource them to a professional or you can do it your own. Whether you choose to hire someone for these tasks or try to do it yourself is up to your level of ability with the task at hand, the available time you have and your cash flow. When you work on a limited budget, some early logo and marketing may be better if you do it your own. However, when you have allotted your business a budget, it is recommended that you hire someone to do the tasks you do not want to do or do not have the skills and experience to do. ⠀
Associate with business-minded people
In so far as relationships are concerned, we are significantly impacted by those people closest to us— whether we like it or not. It has a great impact on our attitude, way of thinking, perceptions in life, our self-esteem, and our preferences. Everyone is their own person, of course; however study has shown us that the environment or the people that we associate with generally affect us more than we think they do.
Therefore, there is a need for you to surround yourself with other like-minded and entrepreneurial colleagues if you want to be successful. It would be best if you will be able to join some online entrepreneurial communities. Not only will these groups serve as an excellent tool for answering your questions, they will also be able to provide you with an inclusive community of individuals who will be able to understand your struggles and therefore can share also their experiences.
When to take a leap
There will really come a time in your knitting subscription box business journey that you will be confronted with the options of whether to stay and still work at your regular day job or if you should just pursue being a full-time business entrepreneur for your knitting subscription box. This is really not going to be such a simple decision for you to make. It would have been beneficial for you if there was a magic formula saying that: ‘”You can resign with your full time job once you reach xxx knitting box subscribers”. Sad to say, there is no definite number that works for each entrepreneur. The figures will mainly rely on different parameters such as the profit margin or return of investment, expenditures, and lifestyle.
It would be best if you could ascertain what your target figure since it can be a useful as a manner of establishing some early targets or goals. In this kind of case, it is suggested that you have to take a look at your financial situation and start coming up with the amount of funding that you will need to generate for you to be able to decide to quit your full time work. Take for instance, if your personal expenses will amount to $5000 a month, you know you need to make a profit, at the minimum, of at least $5000 a month. If you get an average profit of $20 on your subscription box, you know that you will have to get at least 250 box subscribers first before you can even think of quitting your full time job. Once you have reached 250 box subscribers, your monthly expenses will now be fully paid and you can now think of starting to transition to become a full time entrepreneur for your knitting subscription box business.
Point of fact, you will really have to work harder than you ever have once you start launching your knitting box your subscription box. That being said, you may very well sacrifice your evenings, holidays and weekends. However, if you already have a stable system in place, your company will definitely be operating much smoother and you can even get some of your free time back, but until then it will be pure hard work at first.