How These Subscription Box Owners Made $1M in 12 Months by Doubling Down on Their Subscriptions

This episode is a celebration and a masterclass. I'm joined by two amazing students from my mastermind who each hit a milestone. They didn't have massive teams or big budgets. They started small, nurtured their audiences, and stayed ridiculously consistent. What made the difference? They leaned all in on their subscription box as the heart of their business, and it paid off. We talk about how they built momentum, what they focused on, and what they let go of, and the mindset shifts that help them scale without losing their sanity. Whether you're just getting started or dreaming of your next big milestone, grab your earbuds and come join us. Welcome to the Launch Your Box podcast with weekly tips, tricks, and strategies to start, launch, and grow your subscription box.

Now here's your host, Sarah Williams.

Y'all are going to have the best time listening to this episode because I have two of my favorite people. On this episode talking about an epic milestone that they have achieved in their business recently. And I hope you listen to this episode feeling encouraged, feeling motivated, feeling inspired, because that's our goal here today. I have two of my mastermind ladies with me. I have Kristi Bottell and Stacy Collins in the house with me today, and we're going to have just a very candid and a very actionable conversation about something that happened to both of them in the the last year. So if you don't know Christy and Stacy, we're going to start there. So Christy, let's start by telling everyone who you are, what you do. Just give them the rundown of where you started in your business. I like to use you as an example all the time of someone that just served, served, served before you ever thought about selling. And so why don't you give us an update on all of that and kind of take us to where we're at now in the business.

Okay, so I am Christy and I'm the owner of Christy's Craft Room. It started out as just a little something to do on the side. I used to host little craft nights at my house all the time, and when my friends couldn't come, they'd be like, you should do it online and then you can just send me the kit. And I was like, you know, okay, I'll think about that. But I've— I didn't— I didn't even know that existed. I didn't know that was a thing. And then, um, I had a family member come into town and she's like, well, you've got the perfect setup, you should do live crafting. And I'm like, okay. Sure. And then it just sat with me. And then several other things had happened, and it just kept coming back to that. So I'm like, I told my husband, I said, I'm gonna start doing some live crafting tutorials, just teach people how to craft. And he looked at me and he said, how much is this going to cost us? I said, nothing. I got enough craft supplies I could craft for a year. Of course, I shopped for more crafting supplies, but I just started doing online tutorials, teaching people how to make different crafts, and Um, people followed and people shared, and then more people followed and more people shared. And, um, I started in September of 2019. Well, we all know what happened in March of 2020. We all got stuck at home. We all did nothing but scroll our phones and go on the internet, and suddenly there was a huge audience of people that were stuck home with nothing else to do but watch crafters, right? So that really helped, like, really push us forward. And people started saying, well, we can't get out and do shopping, you know, and we'd like to do the same kits you're doing. Can you make some kits? And I'm like, I guess I can do that. Okay, I'll make a kit and I'll send it. And I did my first kit, I sold 12. I was like, yay, 12 people want to work with me! And then the next month I did another one and we sold like 26, and next month we sold like 38, and it just kept going. And I noticed it was the same people over and over and over again. And I noticed that, um, there were people there, and then all of a sudden they couldn't get a kit and they were so disappointed. They're like, I missed it when you released them, and we had sold out. So I had remembered seeing this lady in— as a guest speaker in another coaching group that I was in, and Sarah's like, I'm looking at her And I watched it and I was like, so we started it. We launched it in, um, April of 2020. It was our first one. And we grow it through. Um, I outgrew my craft room. I took over another room in the house. I took over the garage. And then we built a pole barn. And then we moved in there in October. And by that February, we had outgrown that and we were looking for another space, which we're currently in now. So, um, it's just continued to grow through the years, and now we're here 5 years later, almost.

So yeah, so Christy's just showing up doing crafts because that's what she loves to do. And it was those first 12 people that really propelled you. And I want everyone listening to understand, it just starts with those first 12 people. For me, it was the first 44 people, right? And for Christy, it was the 12 people. It might be 5 for you, and it doesn't matter, but it starts somewhere and it continuously builds on something. And I think that's the important thing to, to think about here. We're not going to talk about the milestone yet because I want you to, I want you to listen to Stacy's story. But it's going to be really powerful when we share here in a second where those 12 people got us to today. So Stacy, Stacy, why don't you give us your kind of update? Just give us like who you are, what you do, who you serve. Give us the journey just like Christy did. Where would— where did your journey begin and where is it now?

Yes. Um, so yeah, I'm Stacy Collins, owner of Wilshire Collections. Um, DIY and decorating obsessed. I have had my business since 2013, so 12 years now, which is just so crazy to think about. And yeah, if you would have told me then I would be where I am now, what we're about to talk— I would have A, not believed you, B probably would have ran away scared and like, no, no, no, I can't handle all that, you know. So it's just crazy. But I started off as a furniture painter doing custom furniture. I had— I was a vendor at several local stores and I sold my furniture and some handmade, um, you know, DIY kind of things and whatnot. Um, and it was around 2017 that I was tired of being a— I called it like a prisoner to my garage, right? Like in order to make money, I had to be in the garage painting furniture one piece at a time. Very physical, very whatever. So I, you know, I'd had a Facebook page, but I'd only been focusing on my local community. So I started kind of trying to grow online. At the end of 2017, I went live for the first time, which was one of the scariest things I had ever done in my business to that point. And I just started showing up and I started, started with a lot of decorating, just going on, doing little quick tips and little styling things. And then I incorporated in the crafting and I would you know, crafts. And when's your next craft? And I'm like, I don't know. Okay, well, we're gonna keep doing this. Like, we're gonna keep going live, kind of like Christy. So I would just keep showing up, and I started building a community. So at the end of 2018, I started my first subscription, which is my decorating and creating community. And I think I had around 30-something members, but half members— half of those were friends and family that I asked to be in the Facebook group just so it didn't look like no one was in there. I'm like, will you join this group that I'm starting? You know, so I probably had about 20 max paying members at that, at that time. I still have that same subscription along with a couple others, and that one now has over 1,100 members, and it's just an amazing community. So it has been just— it's been a wild ride. And I mean, I have literally just pivoted and shifted so much over the years. But what has happened is I leaned more into the things that I love. I figured out what it is that my community loves and wants from me, and I've been able to just show up and serve them. And just, it's the best of both worlds because I'm doing something that I really love, and I love, I love it. I do. I mean, I wake up excited, you know, to do this, and, and they love, you know, what I'm able to bring them. So it's been crazy. But yeah, it's been a lot of, a lot of pivoting and shifting. And, and I do think it's so important as we talk about this and the milestones that we're going to be talking about, is that this did not happen overnight, right? Like I have been working hard for 12 years. There's been ups and downs. There's been, you know, good times, bad times, you know, times I've cried myself to sleep. I mean, all the things to get to get to where I am now. And, you know, that's why I say, too, like, if you would have told me then, I don't know that I would have believed it. And it would be scary to know because it's a lot of work. And I have a team now and I have people that count on me. And, you know, there's just a lot that goes into it now that I never would have imagined then. But it's It's been awesome and been a blessing.

So, well, let's talk about that milestone, because when we were at 12 craft kits and we were at 20 members of our, our group here, we couldn't ever have imagined hitting this milestone and hitting it in a 1-year time frame. But I'm here to celebrate with all of you because these two ladies hit $1 million in revenue last year for the year. Not in a lifetime, not over 5 years, in 1 year they both hit $1 million in revenue for the first time in their businesses. And gosh, I'm so excited for you. Like, and I know both of you were very close the year before. And so to see you guys hit it and to exceed it was just super proud moment for me watching you both do that. Now I know there's some challenges. That you both face throughout the year. And like we kind of opened this, we've had a few tough years since that good old 2020 days, right? We've had some— we've had about 4 or 5 good hard years in our belts. And I think one thing that when we go through these challenging times, it really makes us stronger. We don't want to hear that in the moment. Like right now, you know, I'm going through a hard time with the business. It's going to make me stronger.

Right, right.

Want to hear that in the moment, but we know it's true. So let's talk about this, Christy. Can you tell me some of the challenges that you faced last year and how you overcame them?

Yeah. So last year, I, you know, that was my— I was like 4 and a half years into the business and, and I was pushing hard and I was working late nights, getting up early, 24/7 practically. You know, we always joke we work hard, but we also play hard and then we crash hard. And I was really living that work hard, work hard. Well, But while all this is happening, my kids are growing up. I have one last one in high school. My parents are getting older, they're needing more help. And I was just really feeling the struggle of I'm putting so many hours into work and I have so little in my personal life. So I really had to look at some things and I had decided and I had reached out to our mastermind group and I was in tears in that box that day. And I was like, I just really think I need to step back. I need— I'm going to try not to get emotional. I need time for my parents. They're not going to be here forever. And I don't want to look back and go, I was so busy working, I didn't have time for them. I don't want to blink and have my kids all grown up and gone and I didn't enjoy these years with them at home. And I had decided I was going to cut back because we have our subscription. But then we also were doing every single week we were coming out with a new release, just one-off products. And a lot of that fell on my shoulders to decide what the products are going to be, make sure the designs are right, make sure everything's what it needs to be. And I was feeling really, really overwhelmed and really burnt out. And I was talking it through and I ran all the numbers. And when I ran all the numbers, I realized my subscribers are my number one customers. They're the ones that are buying 80% of what we're selling in those one-off releases because those are my diehard true VIP members, customers, you know? And why am I not catering to them more? Why am I not nurturing to them? Or why am I taking so much of my time and pouring into these one-off releases when I had this customer base that's there for me, supporting me, and, and have gotten me to where I am today? So through lots of talking and lots of tears and lots of advice from the ladies in the mastermind and Sarah herself, I decided, and I let everybody know, we're not going to do any more one-off releases throughout the summer. We are going to kind of take the summer. I need to spend time with family. And in place of that, it's not like we weren't going to be doing anything. We're just going to start focusing on our, on our subscription members. Our VIP group is what we call them, and I'm going to start focusing on them. So we started giving them more exclusive items where it's just for them.

Chrissy, hang on a second because I, I want to talk about this just so that everybody has an awareness of this because these conversations were not easy for you because you were so close to hitting that million dollars the year before. And I remember that conversation being like, if I pull back, I probably won't hit the million this year. And it was something that you had to wrestle with, with yourself. That was a milestone that you've been wanting to hit. And it's important. Like, we're entrepreneurs. We want to hit goals. We want to exceed. We want to hit those milestones. That's, that's what drives us sometimes. But you were having this tug and push and pull of needing to be with your parents. And I remember that specifically. And at the end of the day, you said, you know what, the million-dollar mark is not as important as my family and my health and my sanity. And I was really proud of you in that moment because you had to make a decision, like many of us have to make a decision, of balancing work and life together. And sometimes in the beginning, and like all of us in the beginning, we work too much because we're trying to make it. We're trying to make a dollar. We're trying to make the payment. We're trying to not have to go work a 9 to 5 anymore. We're just trying to make it. So we're doing all the things, but we get to this point in our careers, and it's going to come if you're not there yet, it's going to come where we get to decide what we want to do. And you made the decision that you wanted more time back in your life for your family. And it was very, very hard. And I just want everybody to really understand that she had to make a choice between growing the business and being there for her family. And she made the choice that was for her. Um, and, and that was a big challenge for you.

It was, it was really tough. It was— I remember kind of going back and forth and like, do I want to hit this goal? Because, you know, I had set that goal for myself early in the year, and I was letting that goal go. And, and anybody who has a business And you know that failure is the scariest thing, right? And sometimes it's not really failure, but we look at when things don't go as planned, we internalize it as failure. And it wasn't failure. It was actually completely the opposite.

And we'll save that for a minute, Chrissy. I'm going to— we're going to talk about what you did because you already know by now she hit that million-dollar mark by pulling back. And we're going to talk about what exactly she did that made all the difference in the world. But I want to, I want to chat with Stacy because I know that you also faced challenges last year. And so let's talk about what you had to overcome during the year to get to your million-dollar mark.

Yeah. And it's funny because Christy and I definitely have a little bit of overlap and similarities in our stories this year. And mine was, I remember we were at a mastermind meeting and you had us pull some numbers to figure out exactly how much of our revenue was coming from our subscriptions versus the one-offs that were, that were constantly chasing. And that was very eye-opening. I knew I have a lot of subscribers and that's a big part of my income, but it was very eye-opening to really see that on paper and realize how much time and energy I was, you know, chasing doing, you know, t-shirts in my shop, which through print on demand, which made me hardly any money, but we spent a lot of time on that. And, you know, just different things. And so I thought, okay, not only is it time to lean in more to the subscriptions. But the other kind of challenge that I was facing was I have a lot of very loyal people and they're in all the things that I do and they're just amazing. But I was having a hard time getting new people into the things. And so I can remember having a conversation in the mastermind about like, what can I do to lean in to the groups that I already have and to the loyal people? And what else can I do to serve them instead of chasing chasing my tail or whatever you want to call it, trying to always look— we always want new people because people come and go. That's normal and that's natural. And you always have to be building your email list and doing all the things. But instead of stressing so much about that, I was like, how can I lean in to what I already have? And I put a simple post on my Facebook page about, hey, if you're in my subscriptions, I have 3 of them. I'd love to— because a lot of people are multiple— I'd love to know your favorite. And it was an overwhelming— the DC, the Decorating and Creating community. And so that's when I decided to really lean into that group. I've always leaned into them, but to go even more like Christy said and just offer, you know, even more to them, see how I could love on them, nurture them. Had a really good successful launch after my crash course, um, in January of last year. And I don't know if you want me to get into this part yet, but I started, um, offering them some extra perks similar to like what Christy did that were only exclusive to them where they could pre-order and just really, really treating them like the VIPs that were. And so figuring out that there was something else that I could offer, which was a coordinating throw blanket to go with their pillows that so many of them already got, and just adding in that extra, you know, product and giving them those perks, just, it made a huge difference last year.

Yeah. So what I hear both of you saying is I stopped doing all the things and I leaned into really providing the best possible experience I could for my loyal subscriber base.

Yes.

And so, Stacy, let's talk about, you know, those things that you did. Let's just break them down and make them actionable so somebody listening say, oh, I could do that with my own, with my own business.

Yeah.

Those things that you just really leaned into doing for your subscription base that you weren't doing prior to this.

Yeah. Well, I think one thing that's important to note is I had always, with the Decorating and Creating Community specifically, it's a private Facebook group, it's a membership group, you know, I'm live in they're doing exclusive DIY decorating, but there's nothing that I ship to them, right? This is not a tangible subscription. And so I had always felt like it was a little bit harder to, to sell or to grow because I'm like, I'm not sending them anything, I'm not whatever. But after kind of that eye-opening moment and hearing what they actually loved about the group, that's what I started leaning into, is that people, yes, they're coming for the crafts and the whatever, but they were there for the community and for the perks and for all of that. So that was one component of it. Um, the other component was the throw blankets that I did. The first one back in the fall, they, they sold out really fast. I did like my typical release schedule on the page, etc. So I kind of had a little eye-opening moment afterwards, which I was like, well, what about if for Christmas I really let the DC be the true VIPs and let them pre-order the Christmas throw before I even place my order with the manufacturer? That way they don't have to worry about is it— if it's going to sell out. They don't have to worry about setting an alarm. So I just came to them and went live in the group and was like, this might be a crazy idea. And they were like, yes, let's do it, let's do it. And they love it. And it now has become such a huge perk of the group because they know, hey, I'm in the DC, I don't have to worry, I'm gonna get this throw blanket or whatever it is, because that's one of the, you know, the perks of the group now. And so we did that at Christmas. It was just wildly successful. And honestly, it helped them and it also helped me. It helped me to plan. It helped me to know, okay, I've already got this many blankets sold, now I need to order, you know, this many extra for, you know, for everybody else. But it just, it really became, um, it just made the community even stronger, you know.

Yeah. So what I hear you say, there's two main things that I'm hearing you say here that everybody can take away from this, is one, I shift my focus to growing the main subscription.

Yeah.

Um, and I think sometimes we get in the rut. I know I'm guilty of it too, of like, I've had it forever, I've had it for 8 years, Everybody knows I got the monogram box. I don't need to keep talking about it. But you kind of didn't talk about it because, like you said, you didn't have anything to send them. So it wasn't like you were showing them anything all the time. But you refocused on that main subscription because you knew how much the community loved it. And then the other thing was you really turned your subscription, your subscriber, into giving them more benefits, more perks. They're non-tangible benefits. They're not physical benefits, you were giving them other benefits that really solidified them, but you were also talking about it on the main page, right? So you were sharing the benefits that your subscribers got, and that was really important to it, to your success there. And you're just focusing on the main people in your business. Yeah, that's exactly what Christy did too. Yeah, talk to me about how you shifted your business.

So with not, you know, taking all that time to have to do one-off releases all the time, I had a little bit more time to focus on our VIP members. So we started— we were always doing a lot in that group with them, giving them extra content, giving them early access, things like that. But we just started giving them more. We started giving them more options, coordinating things that go with their kits, interchangeable items that go with their kits, exclusive sets that are just for them. And they love that.

They—

it made them feel special. It made them feel like they're getting something nobody else is getting. And then we also started doing more content in there for them. We started doing more just popping in and checking in and hanging out with them, giving them some more like relaxed behind the scenes of what's going on with us and the family. When we'd go on vacation, we'd post little extra videos and stuff in there that we weren't necessarily sharing on the main page. And I share a lot on our public page, I do. And but at the end of the day, I signed up for this. My family and friends didn't necessarily sign up for this. So I'm always a little more, a little more careful and mindful of what I share on the public page. But in the VIP group, in the private group, my family's a little more okay with, you know what, just share it all. It's your VIP members that, that just go ahead and show it to them. My dad's always like, you know, make sure you— did you give them an update on Mom? Did you let them know how Mom's doing? I know they love Mom. So, um, you know, we share a lot more of the behind the scenes stuff and they feel really, really connected by that and they feel really, really close with our family. And it's just a smaller community. It's a safe space where Tim and I feel like we can be even more relaxed. We can truly be ourselves. Everybody who's in that group has signed up to be in that group because they like Christy and Tim and all of our quirks. You know, on the public page, you never know who's going to come scrolling through the comments. So you're always a little more cautious and a little A little more guarded. Yeah, about how far you let yourself show, right? Um, so we just really dove into spending more time with them, giving them more options. And the other thing we did was we started doing box openings. We started talking about the VIP group more. I really wasn't promoting the VIP group a whole lot, occasionally hit and miss, but I wasn't consistent about it. So I started doing box openings every month month. And you know, like Stacy said, some people, some people come, we have members that have been there since day one. Some people come, they stay for a year, you know, then they, something life happens and they can't continue, or they stay for 3 years. It just depends. But you, every month you're gonna have cancellations. And one thing you got to learn not to take those personal because it's not personal. Usually it's medical, usually it's financial, it usually doesn't have anything to do with what you're sending them or what you're giving them. And 9 times out of 10, they're really sad that they have to leave, but those spots are open. So we started doing box openings and opening those spots to new people each month and letting those new people come in. And then we also were kind of giving little sneak peeks on the main page, like, hey, VIP group, we just posted a video over there. Here's a couple screenshots. So other people on a public page are going, well, wait, they're getting extra videos. I want to see those videos too. I want to know what's happening too. How do I become a part of that group? So that has really helped us to supplement. We haven't done a launch and really like opened big, you know, new, new spots since last April. And I was really surprised with prepping for this podcast. I started diving into my numbers. Sarah's really good at making me look at my numbers. I would never look at my numbers before. Sarah's like, let's look at the numbers. I'm like, I don't want to look at the numbers.

I won't do.

They're scary. So, and I was afraid it was going to be scary because I was like, man, we haven't done a launch since last April and we've just done our little box openings. And, you know, I'm afraid to know what our numbers are. We're probably really low. And I was very pleasantly surprised that we're only 4% less this month, this year than we were in March of last year. So just being consistent has made us be able to be consistent with our subscription numbers too. So, which is, it's really amazing. And I was really pleasantly surprised by that.

That's awesome. Okay. So I'm hearing you say a couple of things, you know, I like to pull the things out of you guys. But I hear you say a couple of the same things that Stacy said. So I want everyone listening to really apply this to your business. But you said, I wasn't promoting the subscription box. I wasn't promoting— Stacy wasn't promoting the DC. And so that is what happens. And we think we are, but when we really look at it, we're really not. And so you weren't promoting that because you were so busy doing all the other things in the business, doing the one-off kits, putting the Easter collection together, doing this, doing that. And so you lost sight of, you know, I think sometimes for me, I kind of think, oh, it's just on autopilot. Oh, that's— it's right, they're coming back, like it's not a big deal. But so I don't promote it. But when I actually do, it's like, oh, if I would quit doing all this other stupid stuff that is making me crazy, burning me out, running ragged, taking all my time, and just focus on those people that know, like, trust, and adore me. Like, that is what both of you did, and that made all the difference in your year, right? Even Christy pulling back and working less, spending more time with family— all you had to do was lean into promoting the thing, the main thing in your business, making the main thing in your business on the public page, because you were only making it the main thing in the private group.

Right, exactly. Yes, exactly. And I think it's so easy. We all do a lot of different things, right? And the DC was my oldest subscription. It's the one that I've had the longest. I've had two others that I've, you know, launched and grown since then. And so not— it never got put on the back burner in the group, like you said. Like, I always have shown up and served them, and I've loved that community. But it did get put on the back burner of my business as being a priority, you know. And I think it's, it's easy to do that when the more you start dabbling in different things, you you get consumed with the new thing, and let's grow the new thing, and let's do this. And, and it's natural that other things are gonna fall to the wayside a little bit because we can't go all in all the time on all the things, right?

Absolutely.

And that's something I've had to learn, is the balance of it all, you know, because I can't be live talking about Primal Club, like, all at once. I mean, they're gonna be like, oh my gosh, like, this is too much. You have to balance it. You have to, you know. But it was just finding, finding that focus again, like you said, and just leaning into it publicly and not just in the group, you know.

Yeah. So Stacy, what does that $1 million milestone— what it— what does that mean to you? Why is it significant to you?

You know, it's just, it's crazy because I've told this to some of the girls in the Mastermind because this is obviously not something you talk about a lot or just go around telling people, you know. Not many people even know I hit this milestone known. But in the Mastermind, obviously a safe group to talk about this stuff. And what's strange about it is it was a personal goal that I set for myself, right? And last year, or, you know, the year before 2023, I came very close. And it was hard to not hit it because I had set a goal and I didn't hit it. But I, you know, I was like, okay, then next year we're gonna go for it. No one else was telling me I had to hit that goal. Sarah wasn't saying, you better hit, you better hit a million or you're out, you know. I mean, my husband wasn't saying, you better hit a million. No, no one was putting that, you know, pressure on me. But it was something that I'm like, this close, and I just know I've worked so hard for so many years that I deserve to hit that milestone. And, you know, hitting it was just such a self, um, a self-accomplishment, you know. It wasn't for anybody else. It changes nothing about who I am, about my life. I mean, and I think people also probably need to know that when you hit these levels, you also have a lot of expenses. You know, my team has grown. My, you know, every time I turn around, I need a new app, I need this, I need that, you know. There's, there's so much that goes into it too, you know. But, but it just feels, it just feels great to be able to say that I hit a milestone like that. And now I'm kind of like, I'm good, you know. Not that I don't want to, you know, grow and whatever, but I'm not like, okay, this year I gotta hit 2. Like, that's not even on the radar, you know. I'm like, okay, I did it and I'm proud, you know.

Yes. Christy, what about you? Talk to me about why this was significant for Well, for me, it's—

I mean, I'm just a small-town girl that came from a family with a million kids, that life was always a struggle. You know, my mom made everything the best that she could, and we had lots of handmade Christmas items and, you know, just the struggles, you know. And my parents— my dad's the hardest working person I know, and my mom is the most creative person I know. And I think the combination of those two instilled a lot into me. And I'm trying not to get emotional. This was never a goal for me because this was something that someone like me can't achieve. That's what I thought. That's how I felt. So this wasn't a goal until last year when you made us look at our numbers and I was like, oh, wait a minute, we have— that's what our sales— could I reach that goal? Maybe. And I came very, very close to it. And I didn't quite get there. And that was okay. It was okay. But I said, you know what? Next year we'll get there. Next year. We got so close. Next year we'll get there. So I had set that goal and then things started happening with my family and my parents and their health. And I had to pull back. And but I still feel like it hasn't really fully set in. Yeah, it still doesn't seem real. We've worked incredibly hard to get here. Myself, my husband works for me now, too. Our team, like, we put in a lot of hours and a lot of time, and we work really hard to get here. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Lots of tears when things don't go as planned or when things are a struggle and you're overwhelmed. But, um, the fact that I was able to get here just by working hard, just by figuring things out, just by surrounding myself with other people when I don't know the answer, I can feed into Launch Your Box. I can feed into Scale Your Box. I can feed into Mastermind, and I can reach people that can help me when I'm struggling and I'm discouraged and I'm just like, I don't know what to do. I don't know. I, I'm stuck in this decision. And, and I can find other people who've maybe been through this and have experience. I think that is key, is surrounding myself with others to help motivate me, to keep me going every day, and help guide me. Because I don't have a college background. I don't have the education. I don't have all the things on paper that a million-dollar female business owner should have. I don't have that. But I've got the hard work. I've got the drive. I got the creativity. And I've got the community that is surrounding me that has gotten me here. And I've got an amazing husband who supports me. And, and even though he said in the very beginning, how much is this going to cost us? We didn't have, we didn't have the extra to just go buy a bunch of crafty stuff just for the heck of it. So we had to, um, we had to have a conversation. If I was going to buy something that's going to be $200, we had to sit down, have a conversation. Does this make sense? And then to get here and have had a million dollars in sales in one year, it just blows my mind. It blows my mind. So, um, if I can do it, anyone can do it.

100%. Um, I want to give you a stat. I was recently at an event out in Las Vegas, and I heard Tony Robbins speaking, and um, he, he made a statement that was shocking to me, and he said 95% of all entrepreneurs will never make a million dollars. 95%. And he said a million dollars, not a million dollars in one year, but 95% will never generate a million dollars in revenue. And you two ladies did it in one year calendar. And I just want to express like how proud I am to see you do that. I'm so proud for you. I'm so proud of the way that I've seen both of you uplevel in your businesses. If we were gonna— if we were gonna pull back the curtain a couple years ago, um, I see these two amazing, super smart women that just want to make the cute things.

Don't make us think, Sarah.

Don't make us look at analytics.

Yeah, no, no.

Don't make us be the boss. We just want to make the cute things, right? Both of you were at that at some level. And I have just seen you walk into the CEO role of your businesses. I've seen you grow your teams. I've seen you do like boss things over and over again. I've seen you have failures and you keep getting right back up and figuring it out. And I'm just so proud for you to be able to hit this milestone and to celebrate with you. I think everybody listening can relate to your stories. Christy started with 12. Stacy started with 20. I started with 44. And here we are talking about the million dollars that we made in 2024 in an economy that's struggling, in an election year that was crazy, in a weird economy from the crazy past 5 years that we've dealt with. It is possible. And it is possible for everybody listening. And it may not happen this year and it may not happen next year, but if you keep putting in the work— you heard Stacy say, I just pivoted over and over again. You heard Christy say, I just leaned into who I was and found my people. And they both did that. And look at what has happened. It takes time for this to happen. But if you don't give up, if you show up consistently, do the work, work, it's going to happen for you. So let's wrap it up by talking about what does the future hold for both of us. Stacy, what are we doing next?

You know, no new things, no new things. I always tell Sarah, I'm like, no, no new subscriptions for sure. I'm gonna hold steady with my 3 for now. Um, but honestly, I think all of this was so eye-opening last year that it's more of the same this year for me. It's continuing to lean into what I already have built. Um, I am running some Facebook ads now being a big girl with my Facebook ads. So that has been helpful, bringing in those new people that I struggled with last year. So we are going to be kind of focusing on that and just, but just showing up and serving the people that I already have in my community and just leaning in more. And I mean, you know, this is what I always love about a new year and about business in general is I don't know what's coming, right? Like I didn't know last year at the beginning of the year that I'd be introducing throws. The year before that, I didn't know at the beginning of the year I'd start the Pillow Cover Club. So I always love the, you know, just the thought of, I don't know, I don't know exactly what's coming yet, but if something comes up that's a good fit for my business and my community, then we'll lean in and we'll run with it. But right now we're just no new things, and we're just loving on the people that we have and, and going from there. So we'll see what, what happens, you know.

Okay, Christy, what's on the, what's on the horizon for you?

Well, of course I'm going to continue to nurture, nurture our VIP members and love on them and continue to doing what we've been doing. I don't plan any major changes in there. You know, we're doing a couple little refresh things just to keep things fresh and exciting for them, but nothing major. Um, we started our quarterly subscription, our Craft Night in a Box, in last August, which that kind of helped at the tail end of the year too to get us there. And we're going to continue to just focus on that as well. That doesn't have the community, that's more of us encouraging them to get with their local community to craft together. Um, so we're going to work on those I have some ideas rumbling in the back of my head. You know how you just get that feeling where you just know something new's coming, something exciting and big is about to happen? I have ideas. There's nothing in concrete yet, but I'm definitely— um, stay tuned, stay tuned.

A good little tease and a good little— I love, you know, I love that. Now I'm gonna text you afterwards and be like, what's going on? You have to Stacy has to be in the know at all times.

All right, ladies, um, let's talk about where anyone can find you if they want to come watch you be brilliant and love on your audience and get a little crafty in their life. Um, Christy, where can they find you?

So I am mostly on Facebook and YouTube, so it's Christy's Craft Room, K-R-I-S-T-Y. Um, Christy's Craft Room, both on Facebook and YouTube. That's our main places. We're of course on TikTok and Instagram and the other places, but Um, you can come find us there or at christiescraftroom.com.

Okay, and Stacy, I am mainly on Facebook as well, so that's where you'll mostly find me going live crafting, decorating, shopping. I call it— we call it whisper shopping. And so you'll find me at Wilshire Collections on Facebook, and then I'm also on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok as well.

So, well, I hope everyone listening got one little tidbit from this to help you move forward in your own business. If you heard nothing, um, you heard these ladies being incredibly consistent. You heard them leaning into who they are, and they— you heard them making their subscription businesses the main part of their businesses and going all in. And that's what I want you to get out of this episode, because a million-dollar year is possible for all of us.