“I bought a $5,000 Amazon FBA course on credit cards before realizing I had no money left for inventory.”
Not the typical start to a multi-million dollar success story. But that’s what makes Chris Heckman‘s journey from Amazon employee to eCommerce entrepreneur so relatable.
After just three months in the corporate world, Chris knew he needed something different.
Today, Chris shares how he turned Print on Demand from a side hustle into acquisition-worthy brands, and why he believes anyone with passion and persistence can do the same – without making the expensive mistakes he did.
Hi, Chris! Tell us about your journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship.
“I graduated college and started working at Amazon, but I quickly realized I wasn’t cut out for the 9-to-5 lifestyle. Even though I had no entrepreneurial connections, I knew I wanted something different.
While working at Amazon, I started researching how to start an online business, and Print on Demand was one of the first things that came up.
I made all the classic mistakes early on – I even bought an Amazon FBA course for $5,000, half of it on credit cards. Then I realized I needed inventory money, which I didn’t have.
That experience led me to Print on Demand, and after about three months at Amazon, I left to pursue entrepreneurship full-time.”
That’s quite a leap! How did you find your footing after leaving Amazon?
“Around that time, I connected with someone I knew from college who was putting together an eCommerce incubator. 12 of us moved into this big house, all running different Shopify brands – from 3PL and dropshipping to Print on Demand.
Over the next three or four years, we experienced extreme growth, both financially and in terms of personal development.
What we had stumbled into, which I didn’t fully appreciate at the time, was the power of having a community of like-minded people, all driven toward the same goal.
This wasn’t just an online community where we occasionally talked – we were living there, doing nothing but eCommerce nonstop.”
The eCommerce house sounds fascinating. How did it shape your success?
“We’d wake up at seven or eight in the morning to check our ads, and there’d be six other people already at the kitchen table doing the exact same thing – sharing what tests they ran the previous day, their plans, and their mistakes.
We were learning at the rate of 12 people instead of just one.
Over the next four and a half years, I partnered with one of the guys, and we grew several brands. We built a portfolio of four brands and made $20 million in total sales.
While we tried every eCommerce business model, I kept coming back to Print on Demand. It’s what I do today because the benefits are unmatched.”
What makes the Print on Demand model stand out to options like dropshipping?
“The real money in any business – and it took me years to learn this – is in the lifetime value of your customers. It’s about building relationships with them.
With Print on Demand, you can build genuine relationships and create a real brand. Dropshipping is more akin to day trading – you’re looking for the next hot thing, and while you can make money, it burns out fast.
From a beginner’s standpoint, Print on Demand offers three major advantages: fast shipping, high-quality products, and most importantly, differentiated products.
You can create something that truly stands out in a crowded market and apply your own flair.
With dropshipping, you’re restricted to selling the exact same stuff as everyone else.”
You’ve successfully sold multiple print-on-demand businesses, right?
“Yes, we built several brands on Shopify, using Printify to fulfill all the products.
We’d run the company using Facebook ads for marketing and email, focusing on creating a great customer experience. After running it for about a year or two and building a consistent monthly profit, we had the opportunity to sell.
This is all public – we sold one brand called Yogaste to Open Store, and recently sold another, Historee Tees.
With Historee Tees, we ran it for about a year, then entered Open Store’s Drive Program, where they took over the brand for 12 months. We were completely hands-off, and they paid us a guaranteed profit every month.
Both the brands were 100% fulfilled by Printify.”
Why did you choose Printify for your multi-million dollar brands?
“I’ve worked with every major provider – you name it. What I didn’t realize as a beginner is that choosing a Print Provider comes down to product catalog, quality consistency, shipping speed, and pricing.
I’ve made massive spreadsheets evaluating costs across providers, and Printify consistently offers the best pricing while maintaining top-notch quality.
More importantly, I’ve seen Printify evolve to focus on what really drives merchant success – improving impactful areas like economies of scale and international shipping.”
International sales make up 60% of your business – How do you manage global fulfillment?
“We’re only 40% US sales. Our top countries are Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Germany, France, Canada, and Southeast Asia.
Printify makes this possible because they have products printed and sent from locations closest to the customer.
Our strategy is to start with a single Shopify store in a single niche. We launch with 100 designs on just t-shirts, then drive a low amount of traffic using basic Facebook campaigns. Then, we iterate on designs that get cheap clicks.
Once you surpass $10,000 in sales, that’s when it makes sense to add international markets. When you do, it literally doubles the business almost overnight.”
How do you approach Facebook ads to maximise testing and scaling?
“We keep it extremely low-cost in the beginning. It’s a misconception that you need to spend a lot to earn a lot. We can learn plenty from just pouring a tiny bit of traffic into the funnel and seeing where the holes are.
We do short, controlled spurts of ads, then pause to make changes based on what we learned.
This keeps costs low and prevents the stress of constant ad spend hanging over your head. By the third or fourth test, you’re typically at least breaking even if not profitable.”
You’ve mentioned the importance of customer service several times. What’s your approach?
“We have a 100% refund policy – no questions asked. Our refund percentage, thanks to Printify, is only about 1.3%, even with this policy.
I know that scares a lot of beginner sellers who worry about the cost. But if you’re delivering quality products, you can afford 1% of your sales going to refunds.
More importantly, we track everything through KPIs – customer feedback, average response speed, and refund percentage. We review these metrics weekly with the team.
It’s about building trust and showing customers we stand behind our products. When people have an amazing experience, they become your best marketers.”
Can you share a memorable customer experience that shaped your approach to business?
“I have to credit my dad for one of the nicest stories from History Tees. A high school history teacher reached out asking if we offered discounts to buy shirts for his class about a specific historical era they were studying.
My dad, being super sarcastic, replied, ‘No, we don’t offer discount codes, unfortunately. So I’m sorry to tell you you’ll just have to buy all the shirts for $0 using this link.’
He sent the teacher an order form to get all the shirts for his class completely free.
It was just 20-25 shirts – not breaking the bank – but to the teacher and students, it was really impactful. Doing things like that makes building a brand people love genuinely fun.”
You’ve built a large YouTube following teaching others. What motivated you to share your knowledge?
“I got burned by buying expensive courses early on, and I know how demotivating that experience can be.
I have enormous respect for people who have a desire to make a lasting change in their lives and are willing to put in the work. That’s why I created a free 21-hour course teaching everything I know.
I’m abundantly transparent about the good, bad, and ugly of building a business.
We don’t just teach things that worked in the past – we’re still running brands using these exact strategies today. It’s about giving people the complete picture so they can make informed decisions.”
Chris’ community is open for those who see themselves building lasting brands 1-2 years into the future. Here, you can:
- Join daily group coaching calls
- Get detailed guidance on business acquisition
- Connect with a community of brand builders
What’s your advice for someone just starting out with Print on Demand?
“First, take ‘print-on-demand business’ out of your vocabulary entirely. You’re building a brand that happens to use Print on Demand for fulfillment.
Start with a single niche, launch with 100 designs on one product type (t-shirts work best), and test with small amounts of ad spend.
Map out the next 12-18 months of your business. Document your daily tasks and delegate time-consuming activities like customer service. Aim for steady growth of at least 15% year-over-year to demonstrate lasting value to potential buyers.
While Facebook ads might be your primary traffic source, aim to build a healthy mix: about 50-60% from paid advertising, 20-30% from email marketing, and 10-15% from organic traffic. It shows buyers that your revenue isn’t reliant on a single channel.
The biggest mistake I see is people focusing too much on just getting the sale instead of building customer relationships. Focus on creating an amazing experience that makes customers want to tell everyone about your brand.
Track your metrics, prioritize customer experience, and think long-term. Don’t get discouraged by the occasional negative feedback – look at everything objectively on a percentage basis.”
What do you see as the future of Print on Demand?
“The future is in building brands and real businesses, not just being a print-on-demand seller.
As AI and other tools like Mystic POD lower the barrier to entry on marketplaces faster than ever, it’s crucial to differentiate yourself.
Each of our brands started with print-on-demand t-shirts, but once you build a customer list of 100,000 people, you can do whatever you want – sell educational materials, wall art, or physical products.
Those opportunities are only really possible when you’re not restricted to a marketplace.”
How did you get your family involved in your print-on-demand journey?
“I had been doing it for a couple of years and kept trying to convince my dad to start a brand.
For years he’d say, ‘Oh, I don’t have anything I’m that interested in.’ I’d tell him, ‘You read history textbooks for fun. Come on!’ He’d respond that nobody else would buy that. I finally told him to make a store and prove me wrong.
It took about six months of convincing before he finally did it, and well, the rest is history – no pun intended. After we sold History Tees, he’s already working on another brand. He still keeps his day job and does this on the side for fun.
My wife also started her own brand independently after seeing my success, and in the past couple of years, we’ve been working together a lot. It’s been really fun turning it into a family business.”
Finally, what drives you beyond just building successful businesses?
“My true interest and what I spend 90% of my waking hours thinking about is what makes people happy and where fulfillment comes from.
Everything we’re doing, whether it’s starting a print-on-demand business or any goal we’re setting, is really about trying to fill something in ourselves.
What people are really shooting for isn’t just sales — it’s freedom, time with family, connection, and achievement.
That’s why I focus on building sustainable brands rather than just chasing quick profits. Print on Demand is just the beginning – it’s about creating something that truly lasts and brings value to people’s lives.”
