In 2018, alongside my existing graphic design business Pfeifer Design, I embarked on a creative side venture, launching an online e-retail shop called Bunkybee. My concept was products for people who are passionate about their pastimes. With a special focus on unusual pastimes that were often overlooked in the mainstream market - think bocce, foosball, pickleball (back when it wasn’t such a well-known craze) and disc golf. As a graphic designer, coming up with and creating new ideas was the fun and easy part. Navigating online selling platforms, sales tax and bookkeeping were some aspects I didn’t love quite so much. My shop has migrated a bit- I started with Shopify on my own url, moved to Etsy, closed down my Etsy shop and pivoted to Redbubble, Spoonflower and Society 6, and most recently have gone back on Etsy. What I have learned, is that working two businesses is a lot of, you guessed it, work. I’ll get into that a bit more now.

My foray into e-retail introduced me to the intricacies of the print-on-demand (POD) business model. I knew I didn’t want to hold an inventory. I’d had a previous side gig where I overspent on supplies (one was a hand-painted children’s furniture and gifts business) and determined that I didn’t like selling in person (like at craft shows) or having to drive tons of traffic by my own efforts to my website. And packaging and shipping was a hassle. So POD seemed like a dream come true. While it offered benefits like low upfront costs, streamlined inventory management, and white-label dropshipping, I quickly learned about its limitations, like slim profit margins and limited control over production and fulfillment.

E-commerce Realities: Challenges and Opportunities

Running Bunkybee alongside my graphic design business provided invaluable lessons in navigating the e-commerce landscape. From selecting the right platforms to understanding sales tax regulations and optimizing product listings for keywords and SEO, I gained firsthand insights into the nuances of online retail. I’ve learned that adaptability, market research, and experimenting with SEO and marketing techniques, are all keys to profitability. As well as pivoting. My initial website on the Shopify platform allowed for more flexibility in building my website, reinforcing my branding, and categorizing products, things that were important to me as a graphic designer. But as the monthly fee was eating up my early profits, and with no build-in advertising or sales tax collection, something I am getting now from Etsy, I decided that ultimately I would sacrifice some control, for a platform that better suited my overall needs.

I’m not getting any kickbacks here by mentioning (I need to spend some time on better figuring that out as a side gig tbh!) but I am here to say that Printful has been the best POD provider to work with overall. They are responsive - usually within a day if not sooner - to resolving issues, and I have found their quality to be top-notch overall. I have also tried Gooten, who has been pretty reliable, but I ran into some quality control issues, so have removed some of their items from my shop. I have found Printful to be the most user-friendly too, for creating new products and seamlessly pushing them to my shop. Now if I could just stop ordering samples for myself or making stuff for my kid’s college dorm :)

Integrating Side Ventures: Leveraging Existing Skills for New Opportunities

My shop Bunkybee, started out as an e-retail shop that appealed to “people who are passionate about their pastimes”.

While Bunkybee began as a side venture, its integration with my existing graphic design business has proven to be an added asset. By leveraging my design expertise, I am able to skip hiring an outside person to create my products and can expand my line whenever I see fit. And when designing new branding for a Pfeifer Design client, I can direct them to my merchandise on Bunkybee as an example not only of my capabilities but also to illustrate the range of products that I can assist them with when applying their new branding to products.

Customer Service and Communication Challenges

One of the recurring challenges I faced was effectively managing customer inquiries and expectations. With POD, although I could focus on designing and marketing products, customer queries about shipping times and order statuses required prompt and clear responses. This aspect became particularly intense during peak shopping seasons like the holidays, highlighting the importance of proactive communication to maintain customer satisfaction. My sales through my Etsy shop would increase during the Dec holiday season. But so would the questions from customers about when their shipment would arrive. Or if they were purchasing something as a gift, they wanted to ensure that it would arrive in time for the gifting (reasonable, sure, but when I state very clearly in my policies what my shipping times and policies are, it got tiring fielding those questions frequently). With the world accustomed to the “in my hand now” mentality of Amazon Prime (hey- I love it too, and am always a bit in shock when something does arrive even same day), running a shop that is dependent on another company’s shipping policies and processes was not without frustrations. The pro- I didn’t have to run to the post office, or worry about packaging anything. The cons- I could not offer rush shipping because my POD supplier only offered this if you warehoused popular items with them, which defeated for me the appeal of POD and only having to order what sells when it sells.

Platform Diversification and Market Reach

The decision to migrate between platforms—from Shopify to Etsy, and then later exploring additional selling options like Redbubble, Spoonflower, and Society 6 (I actually removed myself from this platform due to some of their new artist policies and charges) —was driven by the desire to either be less-hands on when possible, or to increase my profits. Each platform offered unique advantages in terms of audience reach, ease of use, and backend support. Diversifying across platforms not only expanded Bunkybee’s market reach but also provided insights into different customer demographics and preferences, informing future product development and marketing strategies. What I have ultimately landed on is that each selling platform has it’s own target audience to some extent, and when selling on platforms like Redbubble, you will probably not be making big sales unless you are keeping up with trends. My business is less about being trendy, and more about a niche and a brand that I have established. So while I see the profitability of creating a sticker for the latest meme, or creating something in the currently popular design trend, it’s not for me. And maybe that’s dumb! While sales have trickled in on these added platforms, there are also things that negatively affect my profits, like when the platform is offering sales, my margin decreases. And although less client interaction was something that appealed to me when I was feeling frustrated with the constant upkeep with messaging on Etsy regarding shipping times, custom order requests, and the like, I do realize that having that personalized relationship with customers on Etsy is what brings back repeat customers, and makes me feel more connected to the people who like my stuff. Conversely, on Redbubble, it’s just an anonymous buyer. Thank you, anonymous buyers, whoever you are! A note on Spoonflower - this one has been a recent addition for me, and like the others, is very saturated with great work and artists. But I decided to give it a go, since they may reach an untapped type of client, that purchases fabric and surface patterns. So far it has been my least profitable, but I also haven’t done much to optimize my sales potential. They suggest doing things like entering design contests to improve your visibility, which I have not done yet.

Operational Efficiency and Cost Management

Beyond platform selection, optimizing operational efficiency was crucial for maintaining profitability. This included fine-tuning SEO strategies to enhance product visibility and implementing cost-effective marketing tactics. There are lots of people selling courses on how to do this. One strategy that I found to be time-consuming but effective was using Tailwind to schedule posts on Pinterest. I learned about this in a course, and put it into practice, as I wasn’t currently doing much on Pinterest. I think ultimately it drove more traffic to my site, but was also an additional subscription to keep up, and without an assistant, it was a considerable chunk of time to keep up with. I don’t think there’s harm in trying some strategies though. Optimizing my SEO on Etsy was also eye-opening when I learned that most people on the platform are employing the same strategies- so I needed to also. Additionally, becoming educated about business tools like Quikbooks and Tax Jar was helpful in deciding what I wanted to do myself, and what I wanted to outsource or streamline. I also employ social media scheduling tools to take the day to day stress out of maintaining a social media presence. I set aside time monthly to create my posts, and boom- off they go. Although as a graphic designer, it’s in my nature to poo-poo tools like Canva, I have seen the light of day on this one, and encourage anyone who is struggling with content creation to utilize it in a way that is authentic for your brand. It’s a time saver, and honestly I would rather use my design energy on client work and creating new products for my side gig, than crafting meticulously designed social media posts that will get a glance at best.

Regulatory Compliance and Legal Considerations

Navigating sales tax regulations and compliance requirements posed additional challenges. When I started with Shopify, I felt I needed to become an expert in nexus, and other annoying aspects of sales collection when running an online business, to the extent of having to apply for a tax ID number in states that my printer had Nexus. Partnering with platforms like Etsy, which provided built-in tax collection and reporting tools, and keeping up on the regulations and policies myself to stay compliant, streamlined this process and allowed me to focus more on business growth and customer satisfaction. Even tax filing gets more complicated when you run a side gig that’s a different entity than your primary business - so I encourage you to talk to a tax accountant to make sure you are staying informed and compliant.

Pivoting, evaluating and re-inventing

The new focus of my Bunkybee Etsy shop is for people who are passionate about their vacation destinations!

This is your business. You are an entrepreneur, freelancer, or whatever term you wish to apply, for a reason. My reason is that I want to be creative, I want to work from home, and I want to be in charge of my schedule, my products and services, and my client processes and interactions. And you have your reasons too. And something has driven you to consider what else you can do as a side gig, that probably relates to your area of expertise as a graphic designer. When you google side-gigs for graphic designers, you’ll get an encouraging list! But ultimately, or at least in my case, I think it needs to be something you are passionate about. And this became an issue for me with my e-retail shop. It was not bringing in the money like my other business, I was spending a considerable amount of time on it, as well as money for my support and streamlining applications, and realized that I should really be focusing that time and energy on my more profitable main gig. But the problem was, I still liked the idea of it. I liked my products, and I liked the enthusiasm I felt toward them from my customers. I still liked creating designs for my shop in my down time, and hearing the cha-ching when I made an Etsy sale. I just wasn’t feeling as much joy over my product offerings, and realized that in all the years that I was offering apparel as one of my POD options, it was my best selling, but also my most frustrating product category from a customer support standpoint. So with a lack of enthusiasm and a burnout from providing customer support on an item that I was ultimately making about $4 on the sale, I up and closed my shop. For a year. Then I missed it. So I tried the Redbubble approach- same products, less investment, money and energy. And then at the start of 2023, I said, what the heck, let’s try it again! This time I reopened my Etsy shop, with the same name, but an entirely new product line “the Beach Towns Collection” that I felt passionate about designing. So far, I am not seeing the sales like I did with my old product line. But I am also remembering that it took time for the search algorithms on Etsy to kick in, So I don’t think this will ever replace my existing “day job” but for now I’m ok with that :)

Conclusion

Reflecting on my journey with Bunkybee, adding a print-on-demand business to running my graphic design firm has been a rewarding endeavor filled with learning opportunities. By embracing the complexities of e-commerce and leveraging my design skills, I've not only expanded my product offerings but also diversified my business in a way that will hopefully help sustain me (financially or creatively and hopefully both!) when one of the other has a slow down period. Whether you're considering launching a side gig or expanding your existing business, I’m sure your experiences will be unique to your own niche and enterprise. But I hope that it brings you joy, additional profitability, and a sense of accomplishment at trying something different, and learning all that it requires. Best of luck!

Looking for assistance with your branding, starting up a new business or just want to chat? Get in touch!

Contact Us!