Thursday, August 5, 2010

Interview with Veronica AKA Superstarbing

The ProSeller Corner Tell the world a little bit about yourself.

Veronica My name is Veronica. I currently live in Northcentral Arkansas although I was born and raised in Michigan. I am a single gal with no kids. I do have a yellow lab named Marley. Not the most original name, mind you. When I first got her, I called her Marley dog because I couldn't figure out what to name her. Tried to change her name but she wasn't having it. She's the perfect dog for me. Goofy and a bit misunderstood...just like me!

The ProSeller Corner When did you start designing at Zazzle and what made you choose them?

Veronica I signed up for Zazzle in early 2008 but did not really start taking it seriously until early last year. I chose Zazzle because I thought that their interface was much more cleaner and sharper than other print-on-demand companies. I liked that each product that Zazzle offered had the option of being customized by the customer.

The ProSeller Corner Do you have any other stores at Zazzle?

Veronica
  • Superstarbing Designs - This is my main store and features a variety of designs (music, cats, floral designs, etc.) and business cards. Most everything in this store is customizable to certain degrees and reflects my personality and current inspirations. I've really become obsessed with minimalist design and this is tending to show in my recent business card offerings.
  • Dynamic Weddings and Stationery - This store features my wedding invitations and save the date product lines. I have plans to eventually expand into other invitation types (birthdays, baby showers, etc) and other types of stationery. 

    The ProSeller Corner What has been you best selling product?

    Veronica

    Rockstar Guitar Keychain, Fuchsia keychain


    My Rockstar Guitar design has been my most popular product
    from my Superstarbing Designs store.


    Simply Glamourous Wedding Invite invitation


    This Simply Glamourous Wedding Invitation has been my most popular product from my Dynamic Weddings and Stationery store.




    The ProSeller Corner What do you enjoy doing when you're not working on your store?

    Veronica I like to read. I'm currently reading a book called "How to Survive & Prosper as an Artist: Selling Yourself Without Selling Your Soul" by Caroll Michels. I just happened upon it while browsing through books at a local thrift shop. It's more about advice for working with art dealers and the like but quite informative nonetheless!
    Checking out thrift shops and antique shops is another thing I really enjoy doing. I love finding great deals on little things and almost always find inspiration or cheap craft/art supplies. I have a bit of an obsession with shoes (I only have 80 pairs. Not too many.) So shopping for shoes is another thing I might be found doing.
    Some of my other interests include writing poetry, playing computer games (I like to flaunt my inner nerd with games like Bookworm Adventures!), and anything having to do with music. I can't really say that I'm an outdoorsy type of gal. I rather like the comfort of indoor plumbing and air conditioning much better!

    The ProSeller Corner How do you balance your time between Zazzle and life?

    Veronica Over the past year this was more of an issue for me. I used to co-own a Auto Repair/Bodyshop with family members and spent upwards of 50-60 hours at the shop a week. This didn't leave much time for Zazzle or anything really else really. I found myself getting up early or going to bed late to work on designs or upload products. I finally made the decision to leave the business for good a few weeks ago. I think I made the right choice and I have been working full steam ahead on my Zazzle stores and promotional sites ever since. I will be looking for employment again soon, but it is nice to have a little bit of time to upload designs and get things organized before I am too busy again.

    The ProSeller Corner How long had you been with Zazzle before you reached a ProSeller status?

    Veronica After I started taking Zazzle seriously, I think it took me almost a year to finally attain Proseller status. With the business venture I was working on with my family, I couldn't put as much time into my stores as I wanted. I would get really close and then miss the mark by a little bit and have to start over again. I had a wonderful holiday season and have managed to keep the momentum going up to now.

    The ProSeller Corner Getting noticed and becoming a ProSeller takes a lot of hard work and time. What advice would you give to those aspiring to become a ProSeller?

    Veronica I think the thing that I wish I considered more when I first started on Zazzle was the importance of great descriptions and keywords. I had just over 1000 products when I found Customizables thread in the Zazzle forums and I took the advice in that thread to heart. It took me awhile to revamp all of my product descriptions and tags but it was so worth the effort!
    My advice to fellow Zazzlers is to take advantage of all the helpful hints and tips you will find in the Zazzle forum and through your fellow Zazzlers' tutorial sites and videos.
    Another thing is to remember that Zazzle (or any other POD) is not this "get rich quick" sort of deal. It requires a lot of patience and a lot of hard work! It really is worth it when you achieve each goal that you have set.

    1 comments:

    Jasmine said...

    I'm a Michigander myself. You have some wonderful items in your store. I'm glad you have found something you enjoy doing!

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