What do you do best?

The digital era is upon us. The last few years have shown us all that the time to invest and understand the internet and what it can provide is here. As we watch the rise of content creators, bloggers, podcasters, and even online schools, transforming education, we watch the world transform.
​Design is no exception.
Digital work, especially web-based graphic design, has leveled the playing field for all designers. You do not need any previous experience (or in my case, real talent) to create your graphic design niche.

You make a design, you list it for sale, and you make a royalty percentage of the product that you created once it has been sold. It is a financially low-risk way to start your own small business.
When I started designing for Print-on-Demand platforms I was 15.
What fifteen-year-old has a clue about how to design? Not me.
At 15 I confidently pronounced epitome as ‘ep-i-tomb,’ repeatedly, in front of everyone I knew.

I know, I know, personal product placement… boring.
At least I saved it until, like, the third paragraph.
Still, it won’t happen again, I promise!
So now that we know where to design, how to break into these platforms to become rockstar entrepreneurs?
And I know what you’re thinking. “Author, you also said we would be traveling the world? So far all we know is that you couldn’t pronounce epitome in high school (which is too late to not know how to pronounce epitome) and that you wrote some books… what gives?”
Trust the process, my friends.
Soon you will have the tools to create your own Print-on-Demand stores that could give you the freedom to work and travel all at the same time.

Before you jump headfirst into the design world you need to figure out what makes you, you. This can help you when it’s time to actually start designing.
I enjoy traveling, journaling, and reading.
All of these things are what I considered before I opened any of my Print-on-Demand shops.
And, in doing so, I figured I might as well try my hand at designing postcards, address labels, and journals.
I had interests in each of these things… might as well profit off of them!
But I quickly learned that both of these products bring in a relatively low royalty percentage.
I’m talking less than 10 cents a sale. You can’t even buy a mint for 10 cents. (I’ve never bought just one singular mint before, but I imagine it costs around 10 cents.)
​
Either way, I needed to expand my inventory.

Okay, okay, I get it, you’re tired of the nitty-gritty and ready to create a brand that allows you to travel the world…
But… You made it! Time to learn the secret: building out.
Building out is growing your Print-on-Demand based business into something more.
This means it is time to open up a website and start growing your social media presence.
If you have been following City Unlikely for a while I know you are tired of me telling you to ‘Build Out’ and start a blog and open up an Instagram account, but it really is the key to brand growth.

Opening up yourself and your business to new opportunities to acquire new followers and customers will help expand your store. Posting regularly on your website and your social media platforms will help you obtain and keep followers.
It took me about a year to get my social media accounts and blog where I wanted them to be in terms of followers and engagement. But, it was worth it.
That is because the increase in engagement allowed me to increase my sales to the point where my Print-on-Demand stores stopped being passive income and allowed me to make enough to travel and work.
How?
This is a purely remote job. I can work on my designs, post social media content, and write blogs from anywhere. So, might as well do it in a place with a nice view…

And that is why Print-on-Demand designing is so versatile, you don’t need formal training, only internet access.

Having a remote job is the dream for those inflicted with wanderlust. For those who love and dream of traveling.
But, you should know…
You have to want it.
Creating a business is no small task, even if it is fun and easy to do.
You have to grow an audience, list products, constantly market your brand, and watch trends. Either your business will keep its place in the market making sales with attention to detail and quality products or someone else’s business will.

To turn your ideas into a business and your business’s passive income into your ticket to remote work and traveling the world you will need to work hard and stay focused.
But, I believe in you and your ideas.
And when you find yourself in a motivation-less pit of despair with no end in sight just remember the 15 year-old-girl with limited grammatical knowledge but passion and persistence who turned her small idea into a business that earned 5-figures last year.
When I say anyone can do this, I mean it.

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