My Zazzle Success Story

My name is Pam, but at Zazzle.com I began working as pamdicar.  I had no idea what I was doing, when in the summer of 2007, I heard about this online site where I could use my photos and artwork to make money.  I love to draw,  and I take bunches of photos and it didn't cost a penny to start.  I thought, why not?

All I knew was that I needed an income and any amount would have been helpful at that point in my life, so I opened my first Zazzle store and named it Narrow Road Designs.   I have since turned that name into a LLC business.  I made many mistakes that I wasn't even aware of at the time, and quite honestly I spent almost two years learning "computer stuff" that everyone else seemed to already know. 

I discovered that some people had a bunch of stores, so I opened my second store for Christian items, and then a store for my shell photos, and a shoe store when Zazzle introduced their first Keds shoes.  And on it went, until I had seven stores and each one had a different name and I was too busy to run them all!

But I had products out there and the money began trickling in.  It was awesome!

(All photos on this page are my own.)

Zazzle is a site full of people trying to sell their art and photography and graphic designs for a variety of reasons.

I doubt that there are many who began it as a full time job.  It usually takes quite a while to make enough money to live on, so most do it in their spare time, or as a hobby with a "lets see what happens" attitude.

Some people just want to earn some "extra" money for a trip, vacation or home improvements or a new television.

I needed the earnings to live on and rebuild my life.

I was all alone except for my nine year old, living in a new area without family or friends around to help out.  When my son wasn't in school, he had to be somewhere, and the only place was with me.  That limited my choices for jobs.

I worked as a substitute teacher for a while, but I hated it.  Working at home would have been the perfect solution, but it seemed like an unattainable dream.  The only experience I had on a computer was checking my e-mail. 

I could not fathom how anyone could make money sitting in front of a computer, but I had to give it a try.  I was out of options.

I was watching Good Morning America one morning and a segment came on about working from home.  The woman mentioned adding photography and artwork to products and making a small commission from selling them online.  The only two sites I wrote down to check out were CafePress and Zazzle.

To be honest, I looked at CafePress first but I couldn't figure it out.  So I hopped over to Zazzle and with my teenage daughter beside me, we found some pictures and uploaded them to the site.  I was amazed that I could figure it out and eventually I had some products up for sale.  I don't remember which product sold first, but my first paycheck was small - $43.42, and that was for three months!  But I was amazed to be making money online and it had given me hope and direction. 

I figured that if I could make $40 selling products I could make $400.  I needed more products, because I had read in the Zazzle forum that more products bring more sales.  I visited the forum, which was scarey because I didn't understand what a forum was.  But it was where I found out what others were doing to succeed, and it was where I asked really clueless questions that were (thankfully) answered by very kind and helpful people. 

I read that it was possible to make thousands of dollars a month, and I couldn't for the life of me imagine how.  But that gave me hope, because if it was possible for some, then it was possible for me.  So I kept working and reading and learning.  I realized that my one-dimensional photos could only take me so far.  I needed to learn how to make graphic designs, and when I downloaded Paint.net, I began a new and wonderful phase in creating. 

My first paycheck at Zazzle was $43.42 and it was issued in December 2007.

In 2008 my pay for the year was measly, but I spent most of 2008 learning the basics of html and also how to blog to promote my stores and products.  I have yet to set up a real website, but it's one of my goals to achieve.

The year 2009 was better, earnings wise, and by May 2010, I became a Silver ProSeller (qualifying is different now, but at the time it meant earning at least $1,000 a month.)

Although I do work long hours online, I still make more money each day than I've ever earned in my life, and I wouldn't give up using my artistic talents to make a living for anything.  And this is a job I enjoy!

Guess what?   Four years after I uploaded my first picture to the Zazzle site, I am working from home and making a pretty good living by sitting at my computer!  No one is more surprised than I am.

When my life fell apart in 2007, no one was going to come to my rescue.  I had no home and barely enough money to pay rent and buy food.  I did not have parents to live with while I got back on my feet and I had two kids to provide for.  Talk about a mid-life crisis!

I prayed, and still pray, for financial stability.  And what I wanted more than anything was a home.  I found that I never really appreciated the fact that I had my own home for so many years.  It's tough to go from being a home-owner to being a renter.  For me it has been like being in prison.   I wanted to know that I could take care of myself financially and I wanted the freedom to live in a home that belonged to me, instead of paying the way for someone else to live well on my earnings.

Once my Zazzle paycheck allowed me to save money, I began to seriously consider buying a house.

After four years of paying rent, and wondering if I'd ever see the day I would be approved to buy a house, I finally signed the papers on my home.

I live in the northeastern United States and the cost of living is high.  Even with the housing crisis in full swing, I knew it would be hard to find a decent home that I could afford.  Sure enough, there are affordable houses out there, but they all need a lot of work and my new house is no exception. 

I am not worried about replacing the broken garage doors, adding gutters, fixing the roof and leaking basement.   After five years of working at Zazzle I have learned that hard work produces the kind of raises I could never have earned working for someone else.  I know that as long as God blesses me with the ability to keep learning, and improving myself, I will have the financial stability I've been hoping for.

It took four years of 10-hour long work days, and there was discouragement along the way, but I now feel that I have become successful.  Each year I expand my product lines and branch out in advertising which brings more sales.  My income is continuing to climb and the outlook is bright!

(photo is from Pixabay- a house in the Netherlands)