Fancie's Heart

You shop name *	Fancie's Heart
What PODs do you use *	Cafepress Zazzle
How long have you been a POD shopkeeper? *	6 months-1 year
What is the best advice you would give to someone who is new to PODs? *
Consider the first few months to be your college faze (but at least it is not as expensive, lol). It may take a little bit to earn an income, but if you keep working at it, it will come. The longer you work on your POD stuff, the quicker you get, and the better your designs will be. It takes a bit to get noticed, but each sale becomes a little pick me up and a motivation to do more. A great thing to do after you get your first sale is to get or print a small map of the world, and every time you get a sale put a sticker in the location of where the sale came from. I find it motivating to see where my art work is sprinkled at all over the world. Also Don't give up, but don't forget to take breaks if you need to.
In an average week how many hours do you put into designing, adding, promoting and all other parts of your POD business? *	30-40 hours
Pick a fun question to answer - *	If you won the lottery what would you do with the money?
Answers to the chosen question -
Pay off my house and my debt and buy a huge farm so I can have chickens, ponies and horses and tons of other animals (and hire someone to help take care of them. Maybe start a fish farm, I breed bettas now, I wouldn't mind doing it on a larger scale. or grow plants in greenhouses to sell to stores around here. I start my own plants most years, and enjoy it, so I think that might be fun as well. Maybe do some auctions and buy stuff to sell online. I always wanted to do that,, but never had the "start up" funds. I would also have my husband start something he would want to do, whatever that would be. Maybe buy a camping type place. I would put a lot away as an investment, I would love it if my kids could have a trust. I would still do the zazzle thing cause it is fun.
What art programs do you use? *	Photoshop (PS)
Your Favorite design on Zazzle *	http://www.zazzle.com/dog_and_cat_embrace_in_a_heart_shaped_yin_yang_keychain-146329782852223340
What is your newest design? *	http://www.zazzle.com/squite_beauty_is_one_of_a_kind_with_snowflakes_notebook-130409244590550019

Flissitations

You shop name *	Flissitations
What PODs do you use *	Zazzle PAOM OArtee Other
How long have you been a POD shopkeeper? *	1-3 years
What is the best advice you would give to someone who is new to PODs? *
For anyone just starting up on POD (Product On Demand) stores I would firstly and foremost say don't do it if you want to get rich quick or even get rich slowly. However if you love designing and are prepared to put in a lot of hard work, not just designing but researching, promoting and if your like me learning new techniques etc; then it's a fabulous way to earn yourself enough to pay a few bills, have a few treats and feel good about people appreciating your designs. There is plenty of how to information on the Zazzzle help centre and I would advise you make the most of this along with the Zazzle forum where most people are very friendly and happy to help if you need advise on anything. Some advise which I wish I had had when I first started was be organized, keeping records of what designs you have used on what products for example. When I started out I never dreamt that I would make so many designs and have so many products to sell and now I find it hard to remember what designs I have put on what products.
In an average week how many hours do you put into designing, adding, promoting and all other parts of your POD business? *	15-30 hours
Pick a fun question to answer - *	Where do you get inspired the most?
Answers to the chosen question -
What inspires me? well I would like to tell you that I get inspired from country walks, mother nature, travel and the like. However if I am truthful I get inspiration from trawling internet sites like Pinterest and following the latest fashions and styles in bricks and mortar shops. When I see pictures/graphics on products I like, I don't copy them because that would feel like steeling but I do use them as a base and usually come up with something completely different. I love to look at vintage and retro designs these and whimsical cute kids stuff inspire me most of all and I am sure that anyone who visits my store will probably see this straight away. I love it when I come up with a new design, each time I think that this one is the best I have ever done; its bound to be a seller. In reality the ones that I am not that pleased with tend to be the ones that sell, there is just no accounting for taste.
What art programs do you use? *	Other
Your Favorite design on Zazzle *	http://www.zazzle.com/cute_colorful_family_of_russian_dolls_fabric-256403916633568001
What is your newest design? *	http://www.zazzle.com/cute_girls_polka_dot_shoes_theme_personalized_fabric-256711044998760024

Amanda Rain

Your name or shop name as you wish to be identified *	Amanda Rain
How much time do you work on your shops per week on a normal week *	30-40 hours
In a normal week do you work on your shop *	3-4 days
when I work: *	I have a set amount of time but i am flexible and sometimes work less or more
choose which statement is closest to how you feel *	I just work on what is in front of me and what i feel like doing that day with no set goal to accomplish it
your 1st tip to getting work done and/or staying organized *
Concentrate on one thing only at a time until you have completed it . try not to get side tracked , once you do it is too hard to go back and pick up where you left off... Spend one day a week promoting. Keep templates up to date ..Only add products that suit the products you want to sell. I think it is pointless add a design to every single product .. and do take the time to make sure things are not just slapped on . take some pride in your work. eventually you will shine though all the crap out there . Oh and I stopped trying to think what the customer wants or if anyone will like my stuff ,that is just more added stress. you don't need . I work for me . I enjoy it . and if someone buys it great . if they don't well it doesn't bother me . I
your 2nd tip to getting work done and/or staying organized
keep folders and designs organized. I now do all my shop and comp folder by year . Make sure you back it all up on an external.. . People say don't delete but I don't care I delete anything that is crap even old sections of designs I did years ago. It hasn't affected my ranking and I even went as far as pulling down a whole shop I had had for a few years and started from scratch.. It is now my best selling shop after 2 1/2 years . and was worth the effort ... try to update a few old sections a week if you can.. and ten tags or phrases is all you need so make sure they are effective. Did I mention coffee ? yes .. I can't work without it ... I used to make little work lists ,being an anal organizer.. but I always failed in completing them because I was like a bull in a china shop, which made me feel defeated . these days I am much more relaxed in my approach to my work. and the results show .
your 3rd tip to getting work done and/or staying organized
plenty of coffee. Take time out for you . After years of slogging away up to 14 or more hours a day .I finally just one day stopped . now I work in the mornings and got to the beach in the afternoon and cook a nice meal . after that I rarely feel like working again .and after a good nights sleep I get more done in 5 hours the next morning than I used to get done in a whole day .. and seriously unless you have a facebook business page . don't waste your time posting products in groups . no one looks at them and if they do well they are your competitors your time could be utilized much more efficiently .. . in your spare time try to learn . photoshop and get some more skills or develop your own style and perfect it .
A link to 1 product in one of your shops on zazzle *	http://www.zazzle.com/aum_wheel_throw_pillow-189573500061529972
A link to 1 product in one of your shops on zazzle *	http://www.zazzle.com/st_georges_basin_3_autumn_keepsake_boxes-256790333228021740

Auntie Shoe

Your name or shop name as you wish to be identified *	Auntie Shoe
How much time do you work on your shops per week on a normal week *	40-60 hours
In a normal week do you work on your shop *	7 days
when I work: *	I have a set amount of things to accompish each day that should take roughly the same amount of time, so sometimes it is more or less
choose which statement is closest to how you feel *	I never have enough time to complete my goals each week
your 1st tip to getting work done and/or staying organized *
Being informed is a big part of your new career. Each POD has different rules and ways of doing things. Read your emails from the PODs FIRST. An urgent change from any POD, can change your work plans for the day. If the urgent item takes several hours for you to complete, it is better to have that information at the beginning of the day and not the end. It will help you plan your work time for the day. The same holds true for forums, Facebook threads, Google hangouts, etc. Skim it at the beginning of the day to help plan your time. Be careful, though, forums and Facebook and other social media can be, if not used effectively, become enormous time wasters. Be sure to balance any socializing you do with actual productive work.
your 2nd tip to getting work done and/or staying organized
Use folders on your computer with reckless abandon. As your business grows, so will your designs. Some PODs will require different file formats than others. You will.have color or text variations of some designs. To avoid where-the-heck-is-that-itis, organize your designs. You can do this by POD, design, colors, whatever you want. I'm my case, organization is simple. Most of my designs are flag oriented. One folder for each country. Then, inside the country's folder, one for each design. In each design folder you can organize by POD, text colors, etc. It is vital that you organize in some way, otherwise you will spend endless hours wasting time looking for the item you need in order to do your work. So, please be sure you have all your images in a way that they can easily be found when you need them. It might just save your hair from being pulled out in frustration.
A link to 1 product in one of your shops on zazzle *	http://www.zazzle.com/italy_flag_and_word_wrist_watches-256466035651507556
A link to 1 product in one of your shops on zazzle *	http://www.zazzle.com/italy_flag_and_word_wrist_watches-256466035651507556

Flissitations

Your name or shop name as you wish to be identified *	Flissitations
How much time do you work on your shops per week on a normal week *	20-30 hours
In a normal week do you work on your shop *	5-6 days
when I work: *	I work as short or long as i am i have that day
choose which statement is closest to how you feel *	I just work on what is in front of me and what i feel like doing that day with no set goal to accomplish it
your 1st tip to getting work done and/or staying organized *
Something I always try to do is to set things to repost from one single post. For example: - I use Polyvore a lot to promote my products in nice show sets and when I do them I choose post to blogs, in Tumblr, Blogger, WordPress and my Facebook pages. I also come back to them on a regular basis and tweet them for more coverage. In Polyvore you can also make collections of your products, I have a collection of throw pillows, cute stuff for kids, wedding invitations and many others which I regularly update with new products/designs These collections can be used any time to show off your collected products on any of your blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Polyvore is just one of many ways you can get your products seen over a wide area without spending too much time away from the thing the love most, designing!
A link to 1 product in one of your shops on zazzle *	http://www.zazzle.com/mid_century_modern_floral_polka_dot_mix_design_pillow-189643055265656551
A link to 1 product in one of your shops on zazzle *	http://www.zazzle.com/magical_mermaid_sea_creatures_picture_personalized_poster-228466642059977916

Fancie's Heart

Your name or shop name as you wish to be identified *	Fancie's Heart
How much time do you work on your shops per week on a normal week *	30-40 hours
In a normal week do you work on your shop *	3-4 days
when I work: *	I have a set amount of time but i am flexible and sometimes work less or more
choose which statement is closest to how you feel *	I just work on what is in front of me and what i feel like doing that day with no set goal to accomplish it
your 1st tip to getting work done and/or staying organized *
For getting work done first I would suggest to set a routine. Have a certain time to work on the days you have available. I take my kids to school, and when I get home I turn on my morning radio show and start plugging away until it's time to pick them up. I do this most days. The second would be simply just to start. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started, but once you do that first whatever it gets easier to stay going. kinda like riding a bike. But don't forget to take breaks! Burn out can be your worst enemy. I like to listen to ted talks in the background while I work to give me that extra push and motivation to keep going.
your 2nd tip to getting work done and/or staying organized
I use excel for most of my organization. I also have a calendar to give me an idea of what the week will be like (the kid's days off effect my work and such) and a binder to keep a few odds and end things that are not in the computer. I have a profit sheet in excel in which I put in my sales each day, and will give me an estimate as to what I might be getting paid at the end of the month. I also have a list of my designs which tells me where I am at when it comes to putting designs up, when they where made, when they where last updated, the title, description, keywords and when those where last updated. I also put any links I may have to it's public domain resource if I happened to use one for the design.
A link to 1 product in one of your shops on zazzle *	http://www.zazzle.com/common_loon_swims_in_a_northern_lake_in_winter_manualwwfleeceblanket-256229883095157485
A link to 1 product in one of your shops on zazzle *	http://www.zazzle.com/a_cute_brown_otter_swimming_in_a_clear_blue_pool_manualwwfleeceblanket-256651690173489836