One Pastor's Side Hustle: Subscription Boxes for Women in Ministry
Photo by Dmitry Mashkin on Unsplash
Our Church Anew blog editor, Pastor Mary Brown, recently sat down with The Rev. Dr. Ruth Hetland to talk about a unique side hustle she engages in called ConseCrate Subscription Box.
Church Anew: How long have you been a parish pastor?
Ruth Hetland: I was ordained in 1999 and I served 4 full-time calls in churches. Now I am doing part-time interim work in addition to my calling as business owner of ConseCrate Subscription Box, LLC.
CA: What led you to consider pursuing a second vocation?
RH: I love being a pastor but always felt very restless and liked doing new things. I had many different side projects over the years and so I was a big fan of a podcast called Side Hustle School. The ideas were so creative! One in particular was someone who started a subscription box and they talked about how important it is to find a group of people that are underserved. In thinking about a good market for a subscription box, it occurred to me that women in ministry didn’t always have many resources just for them. I thought it could be a really fun idea to start a subscription box for women in ministry. I posed the idea with some clergy friends and there was a great response. I found some other podcasts that focused on subscription boxes and related topics, such as how to find boxes, source items and set up an LLC. I followed all of the steps and gave it a try. My first ConseCrate box was for Advent in 2020. I started with 170 subscribers and had fast growth right from the start.
CA: What is your subscription base now and how have you grown it?
RH: Today I have 500 subscribers a month from all around the country and throughout the world. Most have found me through social media and other ministers sharing about ConseCrate on social media. We originally packed the boxes at our home, but now we use a fulfillment center.
CA: What types of items do you include in a ConseCrate box?
RH: We have a monthly subscription box and also special one-time boxes for ordinations and installations, etc.. Typically there are five to six items each month, including something useful, something humorous, something inspiring and always a surprise.
I also do custom boxes for special events, such as synod assemblies, conferences, and retreats.
CA: How do you continue to source such a wide variety of creative items?
RH: I love to include items that are created by ministers who have their own side businesses. We’ve had roasted coffee from Oregon and honey from a beekeeper pastor in Kansas. We have included books from several ministers who are authors. After three years of doing this, the list is very long of items we have included from ministers who make things: earrings, mug rugs, lip balm, soap, cards, stickers, cookies, finger labyrinths, and prayer strands. Ministers are very creative people and it is fun to share all the cool things they are making!
CA: How have you grown the concept beyond the boxes?
RH: We recently started a book group that meets virtually for the discussion. Authors of the books join us, too. We are also offering a travel experience - it is called ConseCrate: Out of the Box - for women in ministry. In January of 2024 we are going to Belize for our first journey. We still have a couple of spots open! We are doing this along with another pastor-owned business, Sunlight Tours led by Pastor Sarah Raymond at sunlighttours.org. There will be good food, adventure, rest, warm weather, yoga, and renewal along with women from many different denominations and from all around North America!
CA: What is your hope for the future?
RH: Most of ConseCrate’s subscribers are ministers who buy ConseCrate for themselves. One of my goals that I’d love to see is more congregations buying boxes for their ministers as a fun monthly surprise or clergy appreciation gift. It is a simple way to share a bit of joy with a minister and to support the creative work of so many other people who make the fun and useful items that go in each box. Find out more or subscribe for your minister at consecrate.cratejoy.com.
Rev. Dr. Ruth Hetland
The Reverend Dr. Ruth E. Hetland is an interim pastor and founder of ConseCrate Subscription Box, LLC. She is a happy cat lady and mother of sons. She lives in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota where she drinks a lot of coffee, practices yoga, and writes morning pages every day.
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