Avid Baseball Fan Hits Home Run With Subscription Box

Notes from Chris

Episode 1205

When Josh Band was a kid, he set himself the goal of playing professional baseball. He believed in betting against the odds, but he knew the chances of getting into the major leagues were pretty low. There are thousands of hopefuls who want to make it—but only a select few can grace the dugout of Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park.

So, Josh figured he needed a backup plan... and selling products online seemed to fit, well, like a glove.

Back in 2015, the subscription box craze was taking off. These are the boxes where you pay a monthly fee and in exchange receive a bunch of swag and products. The fad started with cosmetics, but Josh noticed it spreading to other niches as well. He began to wonder, why wasn’t there a subscription box for baseball lovers like him?

He decided that since there wasn’t one, he could be the guy to step up to the plate and make it happen. He already had the perfect name: Plate Crate - a monthly box of baseball gear and greatness.

He set aside two thousand dollars with the goal of making this dream a reality. In fact, he was so committed to hitting a grand-slam that he was willing to go all-in from the beginning… not our normal procedure or recommendation!

To start, Josh had to find enough baseball-related products to satisfy his customers every month. He went straight to wholesalers and tried to bargain for the best prices. But that was hard to do without volume, which he didn’t yet have. Luckily though, he was about to arrive at second base.

In his first month after launching Josh had twenty customers. A successful start, but not enough to bring in the relief team. Those twenty customers brought in around one thousand dollars a month in revenue which Josh fast-balled backed into influencer ads … to reach more baseball lovers.

After more time, hours, and extra innings, the momentum started to shift. Josh felt like he was getting close to the playoffs. Revenue kept increasing and he’d nabbed discounts on several products. He also began ordering gear direct from China that was branded as Plate Crate—a huge move in making his subscription box more official.

In fact, in terms of side hustles, Plate Crate has become a heavy hitter. Josh’s business generated over nine hundred thousand dollars in revenue in 2019. While there’s plenty left over for him to go full time and he has given away most of his other jobs, he does continue to personal train a couple of days a week, mostly because he enjoys it.

He didn’t make it as a professional baseball player, but his side hustle game is ready for the major leagues.

 

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Swing for the fences at Josh's website, PlateCrate.com.

SEE ALSO:

• All-American Hits Home Run With Baseball Apparel Hustle: After first learning Adobe Photoshop to forge his report card, a Hawaiian baseball enthusiast creates an apparel line that goes on to earn millions of dollars.
• High School Junior Earns $10,000 Selling Autographed Baseballs: A Maryland high-school student parlays his love of baseball into a lucrative sports memorabilia side hustle.
• High School Teacher Starts Baseball Pitching Academy: An Ohio high-school teacher pitches a perfect game with his six-figure side business.

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

Yours in the revolution,