What is Inside

Four videos, about 58 minutes total, each ending with a written assignment. Video 1, The truth about print on demand How POD works and what the platforms pay. Five structural reasons it does not hold up as a standalone business, including the one most designers miss, which is that the platform owns the customer and you cannot follow up with anyone. What POD is genuinely good for. A platform-by-platform breakdown of Spoonflower, Society6, Redbubble, and Zazzle. An honest accounting of the weekly work involved. Income ranges by shop size, stated plainly. And the failure modes worth knowing about before you start. About 14 minutes. Video 2, Setting up your shop strategically Which designs to upload and which to hold back. Writing titles, descriptions, and tags for platforms that work like search engines. Building a shop that reads as a collection rather than an assortment. Pricing on platforms where you control it and what to do on platforms where you do not. File preparation and technical specs, including why you order a sample before you list anything publicly. Driving your own traffic. And capping the time this takes before it eats your week. About 15 minutes. Video 3, Market testing and portfolio building This is where POD earns its place. What to test and how to structure the test. Reading the analytics, including what high views with low sales is telling you. Building a product portfolio from samples and lifestyle mockups. What tends to sell. Then turning sales data into licensing pitches, so you walk into a brand conversation with evidence instead of hope. And how to know when you have tested enough. About 15 minutes. Video 4, Scaling back and knowing when to move on The signs POD is working for you and the signs it has stopped. How to scale back without shutting down, which is the option most people do not realize they have. How to close a shop properly, including downloading your data before you lose access to it. Redirecting the hours into licensing. And what to keep from the experience even if the shop goes. About 14 minutes.

What You Will Be Able To Do

Say what your POD shop is for and how much time it gets. Write a listing that people can find. Read your sales data and tell the difference between a design people like and a design people buy. Walk into a licensing pitch with sales numbers behind a design. Decide to scale back or close without feeling like you failed. What you will not get A passive income plan. Video 1 spends its whole length dismantling that idea. Encouragement to upload everything you have. Video 2 argues the opposite. A recommendation to be on multiple platforms. Pick one. An honest note about time Fifty-eight minutes of video. The assignments are the substance, and two of them extend past the workshop, since Video 2 asks you to order samples and Video 3 asks for three to six months of tracking. You can complete the workshop in an afternoon. You will be working the plan for a season. What comes with it Four video lessons plus the downloadable assignments. Who this is for Surface pattern designers already on a POD platform and wondering why it is not paying, and designers deciding whether to start one at all. Video 1's first assignment is deciding whether POD makes sense for you, and no is a legitimate answer.

Your Name

I'm Telva, and I've been in the trenches of this business for decades—not selling you dreams, but showing you reality. I'm a successfully licensed surface pattern designer who primarily works with international menswear companies and fabric print-on-demand sites. But here's what matters more: I've spent 50+ years figuring out what actually works in the art and business world, so you don't have to. I'm the founder of Telva's Toolbox and author of The Solopreneur's Guide to Surface Pattern Design (Volumes I and II). My mission? Give struggling artists the practical business tools they need without the fluff or the massive price tag. I don't sugarcoat. I don't oversell. I just tell you the truth about building a sustainable pattern design business—with enough wit to keep it interesting.

Curriculum

1 Chapter · 4 Lessons

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Video 1 - The Truth about Print-On-Demand

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Video 2 - Setting Up Your POD Shop Strategically

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Video 3 - Using POD For Market Testing & Portfolio Building

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Video 4 - Scaling Back and Knowing When to Move On

See how POD can help your pattern business today

Print on demand is still worth using. Just not for the reason you were told. It is a marketing tool, and this workshop treats it as one.

Enroll for free