In this episode of The Creative and Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast, we’re really excited to bring you part 4 of our 5 part series. This series dives deep into each of The 5 Strategies for Success on Zazzle that we’ve developed and used in our Zazzle businesses to become successful. The 5 Strategies for Success on Zazzle are what we use to this day and why we have sold over 15 million dollars-worth of Zazzle products combined.
This is part 4, so be sure to tune into our last 3 episodes, episode 51, episode 52 and episode 53 which cover Strategy #1: Establish, Strategy #2: Create, and Strategy #3: Announce. Then, tune into next week’s episode for the last episode in the series where we will cover Strategy #5: Analyze. It’s important to implement all of The 5 Strategies™ into your Zazzle business if you want to see real growth and success on Zazzle.
But before we dive right in, let us introduce ourselves in case this is your first visit. Welcome to The Creative and Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast. We’re your hosts, Jen and Elke Clarke. We are a mother and daughter team that started Zazzle e-commerce businesses over 10 years ago and have sold over 15 million dollars-worth and counting of products on Zazzle.
The Creative and Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast is for you, the creative. We share actionable steps that you can take to make money in your e-commerce business. In each episode, we will take you one step closer to achieving freedom with your time, location, and finances.
We believe that a profitable e-commerce business is what opens the doors for you to start living your dream life if you work smarter, not harder, use the right tools and follow the proven roadmap. We’re here to give you the tools you need to make your dream life happen. Let’s get started!
And today, we’re talking about Strategy #4: Align which is a critical part to creating success on Zazzle for yourself. We’ll talk more about how you can align your goals with your mindset and actions!
For all the details, listen to the ENTIRE episode of The Creative and Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast on your preferred streaming platform.
Strategy #4: Align benefits you, the creative. Specifically, creatives who are thinking of starting on Zazzle and want to make sure their new business does not turn out to be the same as what they are leaving behind. Having Strategy #4: Align implemented will be key for you because you don’t want to create an online business that doesn’t support the lifestyle you want to have. So it’s important to align your values and your goals with the kind of lifestyle you want to live.
This is also beneficial for Zazzle designers who are struggling to make money while working so many hours that their hourly rate is less than a dollar an hour. When we first started on Zazzle, we thought that the more hours we put into the Zazzle platform meant more sales. When in reality, what we needed to do was work more intentionally and more efficiently to make the sales. Implementing Strategy #4: Align is crucial to learning how to build your Zazzle business with working less hours.
If you don’t use Strategy #4: Align properly, you won’t be getting the things you truly want and need from your business. Strategy #4: Align allows for you to create the alignment between your values, needs, earnings, and how your business is set up so that you are happy.
The next benefit is that it allows you to manage your expectations while still staying motivated to strive towards big goals. You have to be realistic when you create your business. This is a long-term journey towards success, it is not a get rich quick scheme. Success takes time and patience. You can’t just give up at the first sign of challenges. You have to be in the right long-term mindset to reach your dream life in the future.
To align your Zazzle business with your values and goals it’s important to implement certain things to help you create a business that’s conducive to what you want your lifestyle to be.
1. Define how you want your business to be in your dream life. When we move from a 9-5 job to an entrepreneurial role we have certain expectations and ideas of how to reach success. It’s important to set your business up the way you want it to be in the future. This means creating your business with work-life balance right when you start your entrepreneurial journey. Focus on working efficiently and intentionally, instead of working insane hours to be successful.
2. Set your earnings goal (royalty and referral.) Something we go over in our ERSD Goal Setting Technique is how to set your goals up properly. You need to set separate goals for both your referrals and royalty sales, then track these key performance indicators to keep up on your progress. Understand and pay attention to how your business is performing so you can make any necessary adjustments.
3. Set your productivity goal – # products a month = 100. Productivity goals are really important to have as well. You don’t have to create thousands of products to be successful on the Zazzle platform, and we don’t recommend it either! You will end up spreading yourself way too thin if you go that route. Instead, focus on using your time intentionally to create products that will serve the customer. We recommend that you aim to create 100 products per month.
4. Set your hours worked goal = 20 hours a month. Another productivity goal is the amount of time you spend working per week and month. When you are building your Zazzle business. We recommend you spend no more than 20 hours a month or on average 4 hours a week. Our top students have adhered to these hours and they have been really successful! This is because they use the few hours a week on Zazzle more efficiently and intentionally to get the work done. You don’t need to work a ton of hours each week to create successful products.
5. Define your why and remind yourself consistently. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to understand why you wanted to start a business in the first place. Think about what you wanted that your 9-5 wasn’t giving you. Was it time freedom? More money? Whatever it is, focus on your why and use it to motivate you to take the necessary actions for your business.
6. Celebrate your #wins. One of the best things you can do during your entrepreneurial journey is to celebrate your wins, no matter how big or small. Take pride in everything that you’ve accomplished and acknowledge the work you’ve done. Something that we do ourselves is set rewards for small, medium and large accomplishments. These rewards can be anything from taking the weekend off to taking a family vacation. Whatever your reward is, make sure that when you are reaching goals, you celebrate it, this will help keep you motivated and encouraged.
We hope you can see how important Strategy #4: Align is. It’s crucial to create your business to reflect the values you want to have in your business and the goals you want to achieve. If you don’t build your business to fit the lifestyle you want to create, you will miss out on the opportunity to live your dream life!
If you want step-by-step guidance to get all of this set up properly, The Profit by Design Academy™️ Coaching Program is your next step. It’s THE must-have training and coaching program for you if you want to reach your first $5K month of earnings and beyond on Zazzle.
To hear all of this episode: Part 4 of the Ultimate Strategies for Success on Zazzle: Align tune in to episode 54 of The Creative and Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast! AND mark your calendar to listen to the next episode of the podcast (Episode 55) where we dive deep into the 5th of The 5 Strategies™ in our 5 part series.
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Jen and Elke Clarke are a mother-daughter duo that empowers women entrepreneurs to make money online. Through courses and coaching, Jen and Elke help women (and men) become successful creative entrepreneurs on Zazzle and e-commerce. Combined Jen and Elke have sold over 15 million dollars-worth of products, and earned over $1.5 million combined through their businesses on Zazzle. Jen and Elke have influenced and transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide with their free content, paid and private coaching.
They are international, award-winning authors. Click the links to purchase their books through Amazon: Earn Around The World and Create Online and Grow Rich.
Jen and Elke Clarke have been featured in Yahoo Finance as TOP 5 e-commerce coaches.