Introduce: Small Starting Point of a Small Rental House
Three years ago, in a 30-square-metre rental house in Sydney, Australia, a small family consisting of Somchai and Sudha, along with two children, Mu, 5, and me, 2, faced financial challenges. Somchai works as an accountant in a private company for a low salary, while Souda is studying for a master’s degree in graphic design.
“We want to earn extra income to make life better for our family,” Mr. Somchai said. “But because we have limited time and little money, we are looking for businesses we can start from home.”
The turning point came when Suda came across a video on YouTube talking about Print on Demand (POD) or print-to-order business. “At first, I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like a great opportunity because we didn’t have to invest in machines or store inventory,” Suda said.
Early Days: Understand the Difficulties Before Printdoors
Before meeting with Printdoors, the family had experimented with the traditional T-shirt business.
“We first bought a used thermal printer for 15,000 baht,” Somchai explains, “and every day after work, I would sit down and design shirt patterns with a Photoshop program. Suda taught me and printed them on the shirts we bought from local markets.”
The process is very complicated:
- Night stripe design
- Print patterns on transfer paper
- Use a thermal printer on your shirt.
- Wrap it up and mail it the next day.
“The problem is that we have to buy empty clothes to stock them,” Suda added. “Sometimes we order 100 pieces and only sell 30. The rest is a mess.”
In addition to inventory issues, shipping costs are a huge hurdle. “It’s very expensive to ship overseas and we can’t provide a tracking number because it’s an additional expense,” Somchai said. “As a result, about 20% of orders were lost en route and we had to refund or send new products to customers.”
Turning Point: Printdoors Discovery and POD World
After many difficulties, Suda discovered Printdoors for online sellers through Facebook.
“At first we were worried because we had never used this kind of service before,” Suda admits, “but after studying the data and reading the comments from Australian users together, we decided to give it a try.”
Here’s how to get started with Printdoors for Family:
- Sign up for a free print account
- Connect to an existing Etsy store
- Select products from the Printdoors catalog (starting with T-shirts)
- Upload design
- Pricing and open sales
“The most impressive thing is that we didn’t have to deal with production and delivery issues at all,” he says with a sigh of relief. “Once an order is placed, the system processes everything automatically.”
The Result of Using Printdoors
Within six months of switching to Printdoors, the family-owned business saw significant growth:
- Revenue has increased by 300%—from 20-30 animals per month initially to 100-150 now.
- Save time—from the initial 4-5 hours per day. Now, there are only 1-2 hours left to design and answer customer questions.
- Expanded product line—from the original T-shirt to now more than 50 products including hoodies, bags, mugs, and posters.
- Expanding the market—from being initially sold only in Australia, it can now be easily sold in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
“The most important thing is that we have time to come back,” Souda said with a smile. “Now we can take the kids to the zoo or do activities together on weekends without worrying about order backlogs.”
The Secret to Success from Practical Experience
Based on experience, the family has summarized some important tips for anyone interested in starting a POD business with Printdoors:
- Choose a niche market—”We started by selling T-shirts with modern Australian cartoon patterns,” explains Suda. “It is different from the usual patterns in the market and attracts foreigners who are interested in Australian culture.”
- Use free tools—”Printdoors has a very easy-to-use built-in design aid that even those with no graphic knowledge can get started.”
- From small to big—”You don’t have to have hundreds of products all at once. Start with 5-10 really good products and then expand from there.”
- Learn from data—”We analyze the sales data every week to see which patterns are selling well and should continue to evolve.”
- Excellent customer service—”Although Printdoors takes care of production and delivery, we still answer customers’ questions quickly and kindly.”
Adaptation During COVID-19
When the COVID-19 crisis hit, many traditional businesses were affected, but for this family, it was an opportunity.
“During the lockdown, more and more people are turning to online shopping,” Somchai said. “We’ve adapted our strategy by creating designs that relate to home work and health, and those are selling like hot cakes.”
Suda added: “Printdoors is very helpful because their printing plant is still working. Even in some countries, we can still deliver to our customers as usual.”
Future Plan
Currently, the family plans to expand further by:
- Opening stores on other platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce
- Creating their own brand instead of selling it separately through Etsy
- Managing marketing campaigns on Facebook and Instagram more professionally
- Expanding to new products like hats and sweaters
“Our long-term goal is that we want the business to be big enough for Somchai to quit his full-time job,” says Mr. Souda firmly.
Conclusion: From Challenge to Opportunity
This family trip to Australia is a clear example of how, with the right commitment and tools like printing, anyone can turn their idea into a revenue-generating business.
“Printdoors has not only changed our business, it has also changed the lives of our families,” Somchai concluded. “From a family struggling with monthly expenses, we now have more savings and time to share. That’s the biggest success for us.”
For those who are considering starting an online business, Suda has one last piece of advice:
“Don’t be afraid to start a business, even with limited knowledge. Today, great tools like Printdoors can make it easy to start a business. If you have love and patience, you can succeed like us.”