In the summer of 2021, Gina Van De Voorde found herself working remotely for a mental health facility. However, the job proved to be more detrimental to her well-being than she had anticipated. “I just hated the job. I dreaded it every single day. And that’s what kind of led me into looking for different side hustles or businesses to start,” Van De Voorde shared with Entrepreneur.
In her search for a new opportunity, Gina stumbled upon a YouTube tutorial for print-on-demand services. These services allow individuals to create and ship their products as orders come in, minimizing costs and risks associated with traditional business models. Intrigued by the potential, Van De Voorde decided to delve into the world of print-on-demand, despite having no experience in ecommerce or graphic design.
Opting to work with the print-on-demand platform Printify and creating her designs on Canva, Gina opened her Etsy clothing shop on the same day she discovered the concept. “Thankfully a lot of simple designs sell really well,” she noted. Although lacking graphic design expertise, Van De Voorde found success with text-based designs, setting the foundation for her growing side hustle.
In the initial months, Gina admitted to guessing which designs would resonate with customers. However, her dedication to research and spending hours on Etsy paid off. She discovered the importance of niche research in the print-on-demand business, emphasizing the need to identify trends and styles that would capture buyers’ attention.
T-shirts and sweatshirts emerged as Van De Voorde’s top-selling categories, with a Western niche proving particularly successful. As she expanded her reach to Shopify, Gina acknowledged the platform’s differences from Etsy. On Etsy, she benefits from the marketplace dynamic, while on Shopify, driving her own traffic is essential.
Despite her lack of prior experience, Gina Van De Voorde’s consistent trial-and-error approach led to significant success. Today, she spends just a few hours a week on her shop, which has generated over $500,000 in sales. Her key advice to aspiring side-hustlers echoes the sentiment that success in print-on-demand requires dedication and hard work upfront. “It’s a lot of work upfront, so just be prepared that you have to front-load the work in the beginning to get your shop off the ground. Then you can kind of pull it back. But as long as you’re consistent, posting every day, you’ll see success.”
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