Print-on-Demand FAILURE - Zen Watercooler Podcast

In this audio-only podcast, I do a deep dive into failure and why it can be so devastating for adults who are trying to make sales in the print-on-demand world. You don't need to look at failure as a negative! I also share my own failures and provide tips on how you can have a positive mindset when trying to make sales on sites like Redbubble, Etsy and Merch by Amazon.

[@MissMolly3377]

Well, I know there are scammers out there, but you are NOT one of them. People are just miserable, so they don’t like to see others succeed. You’re one of my favorites, Crafty Zen. You do add value to this platform. 😊

[@lemonlimegreenbanana]

Hello Doctor, I don't have an appointment, just wanted to say that this was just what the doctor ordered! This a.m. after a rejection from our friends at AZ, I was ready to take my laptop and toss it across the room, fortunately, I was driving and heard this podcast. I have since refrained from destruction and readjusted my game plan. Thanks, Zen, I needed that! ( long time listener-watcher and pod'er).

[@anotherperson655]

Putting out a content on a channel is like being your own sports team. You might have a good team that wins a lot of games, but there’s going to be a lot of people on the sidelines with things to say. “How could he make that play? That would never work.” I like your calming voice and I’ve sincerely appreciated you helping me through your videos over the years. Thank you!

[@tmatti79]

Thanks for the advice, Zen. Just got my third rejection from Amazon Merch on Demand, but I'll explore other platforms. Moving on.

[@norwaynicole]

Another Generation X'er who loves how Zen puts thoughts into words. He mentioned that some are afraid of wasting time. The time is going to go by regardless. My plan is to use the next 10+ years to continue to hone my skills, see what sells and what does not, so that when I retire in 15+ years I can turn this wonderful hobby into a lovely part time job I can putter with.

[@zenwatercooler]

Beautifully put!

[@jcarlin596]

I love these podcasts. Truely inspiring

[@soniaz1487]

Your channel is a great resource for print on demand content with solid advice and a good sense of humor. Great job!

[@ozabadi5795]

Hello Zen Watercooler, I really like to hear your podcasts. I enjoy it + it contributes me a lot

[@jbmusic4095]

i love your attitude and your ai voice(im just kidding man), you are one of the few i trust in the space, down to earth, insightful and positive, thank you for all your content i appreciate your work and guidance alot !

[@nacerovich7836]

I like u man ill be watching ur videos everyday , notification on ❤

[@ianian2502]

Great podcast thank you. Your content is consistently top class, both educational and inspirational.

[@zenwatercooler]

Thank you for the feedback, I truly appreciate it!!

[@PenguinChangas2]

Hearing this is a great prespective shift ty for that 👏 🙏

[@zenwatercooler]

You are most welcome, thank you for the feedback!!

[@GoWestYoungK9]

I like your voice. I find it very calming. Combine that with the sound tips and advice you give, and it's a winning combination, IMO. Please don't start over-emoting 🙂.

[@forattentionpress491]

Einstein wrote "Failure is success in progress." Dr Watercooler, as usual, this a *b*r*i*l*l*i*a*n*t* podcast that every artist/writer either doing POD or thinking of it needs to hear! A perfect remedy to all the "you too can make $1k pm" balls on YT. Failure can be your friend: it's all about how you look at (and learn) from it. A VGSOH helps :)

[@zenwatercooler]

Well said! Thank you for this!

[@AdaleCreates-oj1mw]

Thanks Zen, I am probably going to listen to this podcast from time to time for help with mindset! I agree with you completely... I see POD (the act of creating and listing) as a very enjoyable hobby. I measure my sucess by how I've enjoyed the time I spend on this. A major issue for me is how family and friends view what I'm doing. 'What's the point? You don't make enough money! It's a waste of time' If I was knitting a scarf or playing board games with friends, they wouldn't be asking that question. Money goes into ANY hobby. Just with POD, we are likely to get money out of it as well haha. Eventually

[@zenwatercooler]

Very well said. I figure no one is paying me to watch my football games so if I make ANY sale, it is fun and occasionally pays me!

[@Dudemon1973]

If you don't fail you don't succeed. We only learn from our failures. Participation trophies only keep mundane talent stagnant. People with talent and who deserve to succeed thrive on rejection to push them forward and correct course.

[@colemyst]

My questions is this, should someone create multiple accounts if you want to do several types of design niches? For example you've done videos on Redbubble people that do designs for travel or states but if they also want to do designs for I don't know - babies, pets, and music - would or should they make different accounts. I'd get burned out if i had to stick with only one area niche. Hope I'm explaining this right. Any thoughts?

[@denicase9444]

I've wondered this too.

[@wendyon4517]

Especially with the tiers. If you are ARTISAN tier on one niched account: - would you start a new account and give it up if it isn't artisan? - would you then try again with a third account to try for ARTISAN? I'm trying to decide how to start ETSY. KZbinRS with $100,000+ revenue per year give advice but pretty well NEVER say if their store is general or niched. They just fire off advice leaving out the most important part about the type of store they have. I understand not wanting to out a store to copycats but they should say clearly whether they are talking about general stores, niched stores, single product based stores (like mugs).

[@zenwatercooler]

I personally try to keep things simple, so I have one general store on Redbubble (that has lots of variety) and then another few stores that are specific niche stores. I think having collections can solve this - most customers are looking for a specific design, not necessarily caring about the artist themselves. My 2 cents!

[@colemyst]

Thanks good to know.@@zenwatercooler

[@jovanapereula]

Great voice, bot.

[@zenwatercooler]

Bleep blorp this wins for comment of the day!

[@virosa1391]

Hi, thank you for your videos, they have great value to me. I don't live in the US and in my country, there is no POD. What platform do you suggest for me outside the US but wanting to sell in that market?

[@zenwatercooler]

Hello! I am not sure what country you are in so I can’t really say - a marketplace like Redbubble or Merch by Amazon is a pretty good place to start! If you want to set up your own website or sell on Etsy, Gelato or Printful is very good too!

[@shahar26]

Minute 16:00 is key ❤

[@sabrinaarturis]

With AI now being used more and more , does it make sense to go that route to be able to compete ,or do your own designs and put less content out ?

[@zenwatercooler]

It's a great question and I'm hoping to actually do an entire podcast dedicated to AI. I can say that for me, I really like witty and funny and rude designs, so AI (so far) is not particularly good at those types of designs.

[@sabrinaarturis]

@@zenwatercooler I understand! Thanks for taking the time to answer.

[@thelastwin]

Ha ha sorry that was me, but you did sound a bit stiff. I didn’t mean to be mean. You rock!

[@zenwatercooler]

All good, I appreciate the honesty!! I am always looking for ways to improve!

[@sciencelover3339]

Millennial here. Many of us actually want a stable job, but can't get one. Going to college doesn't guarantee that you'll get a job anymore. Job stability is also not a thing. Boomers and you guys (gen X) had that option. We don't. I graduated a few months before the pandemic and have been laid off several times since then because of lockdowns and inflation. I've been out of work for a long time, because entry level jobs don't exist anymore (employers are asking for 5+ years of experience for entry level jobs, so even the experience that I have is not enough). Unpaid 9-to-5 work is absolutely a thing now and has been for a while. It's called unpaid internships. Many of us had to do at least one of those for college credit or to get "experience" (that companies often don't count anyway) or in hopes of being offered a full time position at some point (doesn't really happen). Technically unpaid internships are illegal, unless you're a student or are doing it as a volunteer, so employers just call it a "volunteer position" and use it to take advantage of desperate recent graduates who basically get zero benefit from it. It's true that some of us start an online business to get out of the 9-to-5 world and travel the world. But that's definitely not the case for a lot of us. I started doing POD because I had nothing else going for me. I was laid off from a job in my field and couldn't find anything else. Even Walmart wouldn't hire me. If I could have my old 9-to-5 job back, I would take it in a heartbeat.

[@LennyYT]

Maybe a bot found your voice cute and was flirting 😂 in all seriousness, it would help to put more about who you are at least in your about page if you don't want to share in the videos and please ignore these ingredients if your goal is a faceless KZbin channel.😊