Creative Monthly Kits – A Viable and Easy Business To Start

Yes, I’m a guy, and yes, I’m not afraid to admit that I spend quite a bit of time poking around on Pinterest. No big deal, right? I take my fair share of ribbing from the guys for it, but I don’t care. They aren’t as savvy as I am.

I knew early on that Pinterest was going to be popular, but I’m pretty sure even the developers didn’t know exactly how hot it would get, and how valuable it would become as a source of inspirational data. Here’s the thing – aspiring entrepreneurs, such as myself, know that the best place to find new ideas for products and services is, without question, Pinterest.It has easily become the go-to site to search for that type of data.

Courtesy of Jenny Burtt Florist @Flickr

Not to pat my own back, but I have used Pinterest to help more than one creative family member source ideas and launch successful side businesses. You really can’t put a price on that.

One growing trend that has recently caught my interest and full attention is the “monthly kit” start-up business. Look, I always have an eye and ear open for new business ideas, especially ones that are easy and affordable to start, and this certainly fit the criteria that I have as far as starting new ventures.

Let me first say that “monthly kits” are not anything new. This model has been around for a long, long time. Think of all the popular ones, like meat of the month, wine of the month, beer of the month, etc, etc. The list goes on and on. This industry was dominated by food and drinks, but over time, this changed. Creative types everywhere who specialized in a wide variety of niches started creating very unique monthly kits and they are absolutely soaring in popularity to say the least, and Pinterest has played a huge part in that.

Modern examples of this booming niche industry include Eco Friendly Activity Kit of the month, scrapbook supply monthly kits, crochet pattern monthly kits, and so on. As you can imagine, there are hundreds of thousands of possibilities in this easy-to-enter business.

Pinterest has hundreds, if not thousands of boards from users who promote their monthly kit businesses online, and many of them have thousands of followers (which surely translates into hundreds, maybe thousands of subscribers). The visual marketing approach, which Pinterest is based around, can do wonders for nearly any niche (especially if you take great photos of your product).

Monthly kit ideas, just off the top of my head:

• Fishing – lure or worm of the month.


• Coin collecting – foreign coin of the month.


• Dogs – dog treat of the month.


• Hair care – shampoo of the month.


• Woodworking – DIY woodworking project plans of the month.


• Science fiction – new book of the month (strike a deal with self-publishers!)

Folks, the list goes on and on. There are actually many ways to further monetize this kind of business – you’re only limited by your creativity here. And like my last example, the “new science fiction book of the month club” – think about it…that could actually turn into a big deal! You might possibly have dozens of emerging science fiction authors sending you their books each month just to get it in front of your list of subscribers. The possibilities are endless.

Try it out, and who knows, maybe down the road you might have a few more types of monthly kits to offer, then maybe a dozen or so. Who knows?

Fastest way to launch and be successful with your own monthly kit business?

1. Decide on a niche, preferably one you’re comfortable and passionate about.

2. Decide what goes in the kit each month – you may or may not know more than a month ahead of time, depending on the niche you’re in, but having a rough idea will help so that you can source the products more efficiently and at a better price. It wouldn’t hurt to obtain a state tax ID, in order to obtain wholesale pricing on your products, if applicable.

3. Promote the heck out of your kit. Use Pinterest (and Facebook) to its fullest. Brush up on Pinterest marketing here.

4. Once you get your first few subscribers, start thinking about the future. Depending on your niche, there’s a possibility that it could either fade out or get REALLY big.

5. If you strike gold and start becoming popular, consider streamlining your kit shipping with a third party, and the start another one. Major shipping/packing companies are starting to recognize this growing, lucrative industry.

6. Keep it fresh – many people who sign up with you in the beginning do so because they recognized the passion you have for your product. Don’t cheap-out and make it all about money. Provide quality materials, keep it affordable, and the loyalty will pay off much more in the long run than easy profit in the beginning.

So while I can’t tell you exactly what niche to start with, remember that if you’re vegan, you probably won’t fair well with a “jerky of the month” kit. Passion or superb knowledge of your niche is going to be the golden key to your overall success with it.

Better yet, the holiday shopping season is literally right around the corner, so there isn’t a better time than now to get something started. Most of us are always trying to find a unique present for our friends and family, and a monthly kit program could be the perfect solution!

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/social-selling/creative-monthly-kits-viable-easy-business-start-0628205?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=creative-monthly-kits-viable-easy-business-start