“The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it.”
Debbi Fields
Getting into the Print-on-Demand business was one of the best decisions I ever made. (Next to buying my cute dog, of course. I call her ‘Etsy’. I’ve made a lot of money from Etsy, so it’s the least I could do.)
Okay, I don’t have a dog named Etsy. I don’t even have a dog! But if I did, I would definitely consider calling it Etsy.
So, you know my story. You know I’ did many things in the past – nothing that I could do over the long term.
Then I found the POD business, which I have been doing since 2015. I’ve had my share of ups and downs. But they all made me stronger and more knowledgeable about the business.
Anywas, POD changed my life! It was a whole new experience for me.
You’ve already read my chronicles of side hustles. So, you know what I’m talking about. As an internet marketer, I want to make steady income from a stable and scalable business with long-term potential.
Now that I have over 5 years of experience with POD, I can tell you that the print-on-demand business has offered me pretty much everything: income, consistency, scalability, and long-term potential.
It’s the kind of business you can start on your own. You don’t have to have a team or make a big investment when you’re getting started.
You can do it alone, as a Solopreneur.
The most fun part about it is how I have been able to develop a near-perfect way of running my business. I hardly have to do a thing.
Sure, it wasn’t like this when I first started. I worked my ass off! I had to handle every single detail about the business ALL BY MYSELF!
Yep. I wrote that in caps so you wouldn’t miss it.
My start as a Print-on-Demand seller wasn’t so smooth. There was so much to learn. Almost too much!
Honestly, I didn’t know much until a few months into my business. But with time, hard work, and patience, it all started to come together.
I’ll be sharing many of the things I learned, so cheer up! You should enjoy a better start than I did after reading this book. And if you’re already in the business, you should get what you need to pick up you game and scale up!
So, let’s talk about Print-on-Demand, shall we?
First things first…
What exactly is Print-on-Demand?
When I started my Print-on-Demand business, it wasn’t completely new terrain for me. Selling customized shirts on
Teespring was my first introduction into the dropshipping business. But there were and are some differences.
Let me give you a simple one-sentence go-to definition of POD:
Print-on-Demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which products are not produced until the company receives an order from a buyer, allowing single units or small or large quantities of the product to be sold.
It’s pretty straightforward.
But there are different key components of the Print-on-De- mand business.
First, it’s like any other business out there. You can sell different items, from customized T-shirts, to coffee mugs and face masks. But it’s totally different from a regular online store.
First, the products are made by a supplier who takes care of the *printing *process. You, as a POD seller, can set up your online store in a marketplace like Amazon to receive Print- on-Demand orders.
The safe thing about the POD business is that the products are not produced until a buyer places an order for them.
The POD seller then forwards the order to the supplier, who creates the product and oversee the fulfilment of the order.
Basically, that’s how it works.
Yes, there’s more to it than this. But let’s start on a soft note.
One of the most fascinating things about selling Print-on- Demand products is that you can get at least one new order every single day – if you play your cards right.
Teespring was my first entry into the POD business before moving to Amazon. I made good money from it, but Amazon was a step up. There are a whole lot of sellers out there making 5-6 figures from Amazon alone every month.
So, yeah, Amazon is a good place to sell POD products.
I started selling POD products on Amazon, but then I saw other people crushing sales on Etsy. It seemed they were doing just as well on Etsy as they did on Amazon. I want to get a piece of the pie.
I’d heard stories from other POD sellers about how they made a fortune from selling on Etsy. So, my hopes were pretty high. I decided to spread my wings to a different marketplace - Etsy!
When I started selling Print-on-Demand products on Etsy, I got amazing sales traction in just a couple of months.
Two months after I began selling on Etsy, I had only a few products listed in my Etsy shop. Much to my surprise, I made a sale or more almost every day on Etsy for 30 days straight.
I made **$642 **on Etsy by selling Print-on-Demand products within that time. That was pretty fast compared to how long it took me to make the same amount on Amazon.
With just 800 products on Etsy, I was able to make at least a sale every day. It was fun!
A lot of people make a ton of money from Amazon. But there was something about Etsy and its constantly purchasing buyers that I found fascinating.
But it all begins with knowing what to sell.
As I said, when I started out selling T-shirts on Teespring, I didn’t know I could make a lot more money by selling other stuff. I know better now. I sell better now.
If you want to have a great business as a POD seller, you must know what you need to sell. Some products perform better in the marketplace.
