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In the summer of 2021, former stay-at-home mom Gina van de Vorde worked remotely at a mental health facility, a job that was “ironically disruptive.” [her] own mental health. ”
“I hated my job,” Van de Voorde says. entrepreneur. “I was scared every day, which led me to look for another side job or business.”
Van De Voorde spent hours each day scouring YouTube for inspiration until she found a print-on-demand tutorial. Print on Demand service allows side contractors and business owners to create and ship products as orders come in. This means minimal costs and reduced risks.
Related article: Retired UPS employee starts people-centered side hustle that brings in more than $500,000 a year – and “Anyone can do it if they put their mind to it”
From there, Van de Voorde recalls, “It just clicked.” Despite her “zero” experience in e-commerce and graphic design, she was able to open her Etsy clothing shop within the same day.
“Thankfully, simple designs sell well.”
She chose to utilize the print-on-demand platform Printify and create her designs in Canva.
“I’m not a graphic designer by any means,” Van de Voorde says. “I still don’t think I’m that good at it, but thankfully a lot of simple designs sell very well. Text-based designs sell well.”
For the first few months, Van De Voorde was “just guessing” which designs would resonate with customers. She admits that this strategy wasn’t very effective at first. But Van De Voorde does research from 9 to 5, alongside her full-time job, and the more time she spends on Etsy, the better she understands what styles and trends are selling. Now it looks like this.
Related: This graduate student started a side hustle to help pay for tuition. Last year, he made more than $115,000, more than his full-time job.
“Print-on-demand requires a lot of niche research.”
Van De Voorde started by selling T-shirts and sweatshirts. These are still her best-selling categories.
“Print-on-demand requires a lot of niche research,” explains Van De Voorde. “Initially, I was testing a number of niche markets until I tested a Western niche market, which turned out to be very successful. So this was the first one for me that scaled very well. It was a niche market.”
Van De Voorde now also offers her designs on Shopify, which she says is “completely different” than selling on Etsy. In the latter case, she doesn’t have to worry about controlling her own traffic because she is “close to her market.”
Related: How this seller makes $12,000 a month in passive income on Etsy
“If you keep posting every day, you will definitely succeed.”
Van De Voorde’s consistent trial-and-error approach has paid off in a big way. Now, she not only works “just a few hours a week” at the store, but also makes over $500,000 in sales.
And what is her best advice for other side runners who want to take a page from her book and start their own successful print-on-demand business? Please don’t think of it as a get-rich-quick scheme.
“There is a lot of upfront work,” Van De Voorde says. “So be prepared to have to bring work forward at first to get your shop up and running. Then you can pull back a little at a time. But be sure to post every day and stay consistent.” As long as you’ll be successful, you’ll be fine. ”
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