Megan Heckman, the nurse who constructed her POD enterprise between hospital shifts – Tech Journal

Should you’re in search of one other ‘I made $10,000 in my first week’ story, this isn’t it,  says Megan Heckman. 

In a world of flashy print-on-demand (POD) success tales and in a single day riches, Megan Heckman brings one thing completely different – proof that constructing a enterprise takes time, grit, and lots of studying. 

Between night time shifts and affected person rounds, she constructed one thing outstanding: a sustainable POD enterprise that confirms you don’t must be a advertising or design professional to succeed.

That is her story – no fluff, no shortcuts, simply actual methods that work.

Hello, Megan. What sparked your journey into entrepreneurship?

“If I needed to look again 5 years, I’d by no means have imagined that is the place my life can be. I graduated with a sports activities medication diploma and was exploring all the things in well being sciences, like bodily and occupational remedy, earlier than deciding on nursing faculty. 

After finishing an accelerated program, I landed a job as a pediatric trauma nurse at a kids’s hospital. That’s once I met Chris, my husband, who was efficiently working POD shops. He observed my inventive aspect and talked about that it could be good for me.

He defined that I might complement my earnings with out quitting my job, saying, ‘If all the fellows I’m residing with can do that, you 100% can do the identical.’”

How did you steadiness each careers in the course of the transition?

“The early days have been intense. I labored full-time in nursing whereas constructing my POD enterprise in each spare second. I’d work night time shifts on the hospital, come house and reply customer support emails, sleep, get up, deal with extra enterprise duties, after which head again to the hospital. 

Whereas it was exhausting, every retailer taught me beneficial classes that I utilized to the following one. These early days of balancing each careers helped me develop sturdy time administration abilities and gave me a security web whereas constructing my enterprise. It wasn’t about making a right away soar – it was about sensible, gradual development.”

What’s the largest false impression about beginning a POD enterprise?

“The most important false impression comes from social media. No person desires to observe a video about taking 9 months to make your first sale – they need to see ‘I made $10,000 in 4 days.’ 

Whereas social media has helped open folks’s eyes to POD changing into an actual enterprise, it’s created unrealistic expectations. Folks assume it’s going to work in 30 days or much less, and if it doesn’t, they give up or assume these profitable sellers have to be particular. 

Like all enterprise, POD takes time to grasp. Simply because it took me months to really feel comfy as a nurse, you need to give your self time to study and develop on this enterprise.”

How vital would you say area of interest choice is when beginning?

“Chris and I all the time begin with one broad area of interest like historical past, for instance, and one particular product, often t-shirts. Many newcomers really feel pressured to supply all the things – mugs, bathe curtains, telephone circumstances – but it surely’s way more efficient to grasp one product first. 

Go for a distinct segment you’re genuinely considering. With our historical past retailer, Chris’s dad, Pete, loves historical past a lot that he’s all the time studying historical past books. 

When you have got that zeal, you perceive your buyer higher as a result of you’re the buyer. You’re not simply in search of designs you want, however creating content material that speaks to a group you’re a part of.”

How did your first retailer expertise form your perspective on analysis?

“My first retailer had no area of interest. I discovered designs I favored, pondering, ‘So many individuals are going to like my designs!’ I discovered the onerous means that not many individuals share my precise style, and that’s okay. The primary retailer wasn’t a monetary success, but it surely was a priceless lesson. 

Now I inform all people to do analysis. Go on the market and look into completely different niches and merchandise, in addition to varied designs and kinds. Examine what’s already promoting within the area of interest, what isn’t, and reverse engineer what we’re seeing and placing into our personal shops.“

Why did you select Printify as your POD associate?

“Initially, I selected Printify on Chris’s advice, however over time, I found why it was the precise selection. Truthfully, it comes all the way down to pricing – I don’t assume you’ll find higher print-on-demand prices wherever else, which instantly impacts your revenue margins. 

When working a Shopify retailer with promoting prices, these margins develop into essential. Whereas platforms like Etsy can generate natural gross sales by means of website positioning, Shopify requires constant advert spending to drive site visitors. 

With Printify’s pricing, we will keep 15-20% margins even with promoting prices, in comparison with the 5% you would possibly see with different suppliers.

Subsequent, choosing and testing completely different Print Suppliers has additionally been invaluable to our enterprise. I all the time inform new sellers to order the identical design from varied suppliers and examine high quality and delivery velocity. 

Having this flexibility to decide on primarily based on high quality and turnaround time has helped us keep buyer satisfaction.”

How do you deal with worldwide achievement?

“We’ve developed a strategic method to worldwide orders. We created what we name our ‘Printify Dream Group’ for achievement – we now have suppliers within the UK, Europe, Australia, and Canada. This helps us optimize delivery instances and prices for worldwide clients.

For instance, if somebody orders from Latvia, we will have their order fulfilled by our European Print Supplier somewhat than delivery from the US. This reduces delivery prices and ensures sooner supply instances.

How vital was organising an LLC as a POD vendor?

“Truthfully, I by no means considered working it with out one. In Pennsylvania, the place I acquired my LLC, I believe I paid $250 – it wasn’t an enormous amount of cash that will break the financial institution. 

Once you dive into the protections you have got with an LLC, it separates your private funds from your corporation. 

The very last thing I need is for a newbie to get taken benefit of and tied as much as one thing that might put their private property on the road. 

Even when it’s a aspect hustle and begins doing effectively, you wouldn’t need that tied to your home, your retirement funds, or anything.”

Past authorized construction, what’s your method to managing enterprise funds?

“Chris taught me an important lesson about monetary administration. We’d put aside a certain amount for the enterprise and emotionally detach from it. Decide an quantity you’re comfy with and deal with it as already spent. 

This helps keep away from the mindset of ‘I spent $200 on advertisements, so I must make $250 again instantly,’ which may result in rushed selections. When organising your preliminary finances, take into account all features – product testing, advertising, authorized setup, and a buffer for surprising bills. 

This monetary cushion lets you make calculated selections somewhat than emotional ones. Keep in mind, it’s higher to begin small and scale up than to overextend your self early on.”

What’s your technique for testing new designs?

“We advocate having a minimum of 100 designs in your store to provide Fb sufficient information to search out winners which are getting clicks. Once you’re prepared to begin promoting, take $100 and begin your marketing campaign on a Thursday. 

Run it Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, then flip it off late Sunday. This provides you tons of information about your designs and shops for simply $100 spent over 4 days.

After that, analyze which designs acquired low-cost clicks and confirmed actual curiosity. 

Take a look at what features of those designs folks have been considering – was it the saying? Was all of it typography with one thing humorous concerning the area of interest? Or was it a creative design we will replicate in a unique space of the identical area of interest?

We all the time goal to promote two or extra shirts to a buyer as a result of then we’ll make a greater margin. So, we’ve developed varied methods and instruments on our web site to encourage a number of purchases.”

How do you deal with customer support challenges?

“One thing we’ve performed with our customer support that has had optimistic suggestions is our method to returns. Clearly, with POD, we will’t settle for conventional returns – the place would we return it to?  

As an alternative, we’ll say, ‘Hey, we get the match isn’t proper. We’d love to provide you a present card for retailer credit score or ship you a brand new shirt.’ Then, we encourage them to provide the unique shirt to a buddy or donate it, tying it again to our model’s mission. This method has resulted in unbelievable buyer loyalty and word-of-mouth advertising. 

We additionally keep transparency about being a small enterprise, particularly relating to delivery instances. When clients perceive they’re supporting a small enterprise somewhat than a big company, they’re usually extra affected person and understanding.”

What’s your expertise with completely different promoting platforms?

“I’ve all the time began on Shopify as a result of that’s what Chris had performed. As our manufacturers have grown, we’ll put our high sellers on Etsy, as a result of some folks is probably not comfy buying from our Shopify web site in the event that they’ve by no means heard of it. 

Usually, folks seek for our model on Google, Amazon, and Etsy and really feel extra comfy buying from these platforms. 

So, we use Etsy to seize a few of that pure natural search site visitors. However aside from that, I’ve by no means actually centered on Etsy as a lot of a precedence as our Shopify retailer.”

What’s your method to analysis and pattern evaluation?

“Right now, way more analysis is concerned in all the things we do. Taking Historical past Tees for example, we discovered one design – a Lincoln five-star design – that actually took off. 

We observed folks within the historical past area of interest significantly loved sarcastic humor associated to historic occasions. Chris’s dad, Pete, would learn historical past books, and we’d collaborate to search out completely different historic occasions and create comparable humorous ideas round them.

When in search of developments, don’t get too caught up in what different persons are doing on particular platforms. As an alternative, attempt to get impressed by broader developments or themes from artwork, motion pictures, or literature. website positioning and competitor evaluation are vital, however don’t make them your sole focus.”

What function has group performed in your success?

“One of many fundamental challenges when working a web based enterprise is working alone. Though it would sound like a dream to some folks, it has its disadvantages. You’ll be able to’t get recommendation from anybody and don’t have a approach to share your considerations or issues. 

We share what we’ve discovered as a result of we keep in mind how beneficial it was to have somebody information us by means of the early levels. In our group, there aren’t any silly questions – whether or not it’s about LLC formation, design strategies, or advertising methods. 

This help system has been priceless for our development and the success of our group members.”

Trying again at your journey from nursing to POD, how has this profession change impacted your life?

“This transition has given me flexibility and alternatives I by no means imagined doable. Whereas I liked nursing and serving to folks, POD has allowed me to affect lives in a different way whereas being free to dwell by myself phrases. 

We are able to journey, work from wherever, and construct one thing significant. I’d by no means have had these experiences with out taking that first step into entrepreneurship. 

The talents I discovered as a nurse – consideration to element, problem-solving, and buyer care – have proved invaluable in working my POD enterprise.”
For extra about Megan and her wonderful work, test her out at www.mysticpod.com and www.skool.com/heckman.