Case Study – How Nap Got Started with Print on Demand (POD) with Napoleon Beltran

In this episode, we sit down Nap to explore his inspiring journey into the world of Print on Demand (POD). From his life before launching his own brand to the mindset shifts that led him into entrepreneurship, we cover the challenges, support systems, and motivations that fueled his path. Plus, we dive into the growing entrepreneurial movement in the Philippines and his role as the first chapter leader for GFA Nexus.

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[00:00:00] Episode 459 of Global from Asia. I am here in Ty. I’ve been on the road for weeks here in Thailand. I did this show with nap, our amazing GFA chapter leader in Bangkok. It’s a great story and motivation. Let’s tune in today. Welcome to the Global from Asia Podcast, where the daunting process of running an international business is broken down into straight up actionable advice.

And now your host, Michael Micheli. [00:00:30] Thank you so much for choosing to listen to or watch maybe this. Podcast 459 shows in. I was in Bangkok for recording in Batya right now Was in for a mastermind all in, mostly south. The Thailand escaping the burning season up in the north, but the pollution’s not been the per most perfect.

In some of these places. It’s a little bit sad, honestly. Uh, I’m hearing it’s all over. Asia or Southeast Asia and all over the world is [00:01:00] this pollution. So it’s very annoying and it’s very sad and I hope some smart people can make some entrepreneurial solutions. Speaking of entrepreneurs, we have this week’s show NAP or Napoleon, our first GFA chapter leader from GFA Nexus came in to Bangkok for my birthday and our decom night, and we had a great little interview.

Sit down where we talked about his story and it’s actually very inspirational how he kind of found his [00:01:30] way, uh, you know, went against the maybe normal idea of his maybe family and his peers and builds his own business, making lots of money doing prints on demand with Amazon. So I think you’re gonna enjoy this.

Let’s tune in. Do you enjoy the podcast Global from, do you enjoy all the community events that we do? The best way to support is coming out to our annual cross border summit. Dot com In Chang Mai this November 3rd, fourth and fifth, 20, 25. I have amazing speakers, [00:02:00] amazing people getting together. We’re pushing the limits.

We’re making things happen. This is where the movers and shakers and the deal makers come. It’s a limited supply of attendees and tickets, and we have been selling out every year, so I recommend checking out earlier cross border summit.com. Alright, thanks everybody for choosing to listen to or watch a Gold Measure podcast.

We’re here in Bangkok, Thailand. Just had an amazing party with Global from Asia and our other community partners and a birthday for me [00:02:30] and I’m so happy to meet Na in person for the first time. Hi. Came from Manila or actually, which? Where? Where? In Philipp Manila. I am from Manila. From Manila, okay. Just confirming.

Came in from Manila for this. Yes. It’s great to meet you. Really great to meet you. Hi. And, uh, you’re our new chapter Leader of GFA Nexus, which we’ll share about later, and also a successful POD print on demand seller with Amazon merch. Yes. And I’m very excited to just get a little bit today about your story [00:03:00] and some inspiration and tips for others that wanna follow in your footsteps.

So, how are you doing today? Now I am. Okay. And first, uh, I wanna greet you. Happy birthday, Mike. Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Lots of birthday wishes, so I appreciate all the love. Thank you. You have fun at the party? Uh, yes I did. And um, it’s my first time in Bangkok, so I’m really enjoying it. Oh, first time?

Yes. Amazing. Okay, so Napoleon is the, your full name. Do you mind maybe giving a [00:03:30] little bit about your yourself? Um. Okay. Um, I’ve into been, I’ve been into many things, like I’ve been into photography. I, I write and I still write for a website, and I always doubled on finding ways to make money online because I mean, like, everybody needs something, you know, to work on and to find what, what you’re good at.

So. Does your family have other entrepreneur business owners, or are you like Not [00:04:00] really, except, uh, my dad started the photography school. Oh, nice. Uh, in the Philippines. And a lot of wedding photographers started with him. Okay. And I, and even I, when I took up, um, his photography course, that’s the reason why I was able to work as a cruise photographer for four years.

That’s cool. I’m a, I’m a new father. Uh, I feel new, but I’m trying to. You know, I don’t wanna force my children to follow me, but I hope to inspire them also. [00:04:30] So it’s cool. Their father must be proud, but that’s, I mean, like if you’re very familiar with the culture in the Philippines, not a lot of us have the entrepreneurial spirit in us.

Yeah. That’s what I have on my list today. Yes. I’ve, uh, I, I want to dig into that today. I, I, I do hope that we can help with the GFA XXI and what we’re doing, and I’ve been trying to do this for many years to inspire. Entrepreneurship, uh, everywhere in the world, but especially in the Philippines, I feel. Is, yeah, maybe let’s jump into that then.

Why? Why is [00:05:00] that? Do you want, why? I mean, like, I know it’s a little bit changing with the younger people ’cause I’ve seen it like even in your party there were a lot of younger. Younger, I mean, I even met some Filipinos. They were, they were there and they were a lot younger than I, and they’re into Web3 and they’re like starting their business at a very young age.

It wasn’t like that with. I mean, like my generation, I mean even dad, although he had a small business then, then um, it’s not something [00:05:30] you teach your kids. Mm. What’s important to our parents and was to finish college Yeah. And work for somebody else. And I dunno, it’s just the way things were then. But, um, as I became older, I realized, um.

I, I mean, it’s good to have when you’re young to, to work for somebody. ’cause you learn a lot from it, like if you work in a company. But then I also realize at a certain age you should have the courage to start [00:06:00] something. I mean, like, if it fails, it fails. At least you try. Yeah. And maybe if it fails, it would lead you to something else and try again.

And I know it’s, I mean, it’s not something that is taught. Um, in the Philippines, not even in our schools, unless you take up like a course, it’s very, um, for you to become an entrepreneur. It’s something I think it’s very ingrained in our society. Yeah. [00:06:30] And I think moving forward, I mean like people like us who have somehow, um, became successful online.

It’s for us to teach other people. Yeah. Yeah. That’s great. I think let’s go more into that. At towards the end. Let’s go. I wanna hear more about your, your story. So you, you were doing, you always wanna do online business. Yes. Make money online. What was the early, but you were a photographer. I was a photographer on a cruise line.[00:07:00]

1. Can you give us some? Uh, because like, um, I’ve always been through so many things. That’s why I think my dad is a little bit disappointed because I cannot hold a job like in a company. So when I turned into photography, like within six months, I. I was able to apply for a cruise job, so I stayed there for four years and it gave me the opportunity to travel.

Yeah, it’s a lot around the world. World for free. Yeah. But then I decided to come home. My parents are [00:07:30] already old, and later on I took care of my mom. So when I was like taking care of mom, I had to find a way to make money while, you know, staying at home with her. So one of the things I’ve always, um, I think I’m good at is writing.

Okay. So there was a time I was writing for a website, um, it was medium.com. Yeah. So it’s like a YouTube for writers. Yeah. So you only get [00:08:00] paid when people write, uh, I mean read their stories. But then there was a time I was doing quite well. But then, as you know, like, because we don’t own, own the website, yeah.

Things could change easily without, you know, I’m all about, yeah. I, I am like even YouTube or any like Facebook, every, sometimes you’ll wake up and things have changed already and. That’s what happened to me during the algorithm change. People cannot [00:08:30] find your stories anymore. It’s really annoying. So even if I didn’t want to give up writing, I had to find another way to make money, you know, online.

Let’s, let’s dive into that. I mean, some people might have just given up, right? Some people might have been like, oh, see the. Uh, medium or the big company or blaming other people? I mean, I, again, I, I agree with you. I, I, I’m, even though I sell on platforms like Amazon, I’m still not a platform fan. I always tell [00:09:00] people, build a brand, build a website.

But nowadays it seems like we’re all stuck on platforms, but, and some people just give up, right? They get banned on, or their, their income drops on a different one of these Googles or Facebooks, or. Amazon’s and they just give up. But you didn’t, you didn’t give up, right? So what, did you take a break? Did you like I did it because it’s, it’s, um, I don’t wanna go back in like a corporate job.

Yeah, of course. Like, I mean, like reality by, I mean you, [00:09:30] you really have to find a way to make money somehow. It’s either I go back to a corporate job or keep on trying. So, so I tried right away? Or was it like a, an next It was a gradual, no, because I mean, fi of course I didn’t want to give up writing, but I had to find another way because it wasn’t really working anymore.

As much as I write as many stories or I changed the way I write. People were not [00:10:00] reading the stories anymore, so I don’t get paid. And, but I was into the print on demand, uh, business so many years ago. But what stopped me then, but was, I wasn’t a graphic artist, it was, I, although I was into photography, I know a little bit of Photoshop.

Yeah. It wasn’t something that I know that I could be good at. Yeah. Like the signing, it wasn’t my competence. But then when I had to find a way, I [00:10:30] tried to learn how the print on demand works. ’cause like from watching videos, I know it’s another way of like to make money online. Yeah. I didn’t, um, in the beginning I didn’t expect to be really good at that.

That it would become like my main source of income. I, I was thinking it would be like one of the things that I would be doing moving forward. Okay. But I really took the [00:11:00] time to understand how the business work or what would sell. And then, but it really took me a while, like almost six months, uh, trying to learn it.

So you were learning, were you signing up for platforms? Like how did you, you’re on mostly Amazon merch now, right? Yes. I. I, I mean like, um, I think I was lucky. Okay. I was, I was on the program like since 2018. Yeah, that is, I did like a few shirts design and I had one shirt [00:11:30] that kept on selling. I mean like just a few pieces, but I didn’t.

Know how to scale it. And, and then when I kept, um, when I started writing, it was just, it became like a passive income. Like you’ll get maybe $20 a month. And it was okay for me because I was writing anyway. Yeah. So I think I was lucky that I was grandfathered. To the program. So when things didn’t work well with Medium, then I started learning again what [00:12:00] really would sell on Amazon.

Um, I just started like designing um, shirts and then then AI came and then it became easier for me. Alright, so let’s, let me break this up a little. So then. You know, the Cruise to Medium article writing to, you know, like lower impressions, lower income to POD, researching for six months, Amazon merch [00:12:30] 2018, and then, uh, ai.

So when, but that ai, at least for me, I don’t feel I, there was some AI tools, like I use Jasper. Earlier on that it was for writing and for writing one. That was one of my first. But Midjourney, what was that, 22? Or when did you start to use these? I wasn’t really fond of majority. I, I discovered around, I think 2023 already.

23. Okay. But, um. The tools were just starting. I [00:13:00] mean, Jasper was for writing. It was, yeah. I think that was one of the first ones I heard. Mm-hmm. But then, uh, these tools, like, uh, from chat GPT, they have Dolly. Yeah. And they started, you’re able to generate, uh, images. Yep. But it wasn’t as good as it is right now.

Yeah. I mean, it kept on improving, so I’m just, I’m sorry. Sorry. That’s one of the first tools that I use. Um, Dolly. Dolly. Okay. So that was probably end of 22 earlier, right? I, yeah. [00:13:30] 2022. 2023. So from like 18 to 22 you were doing it yourself or? Yes. I mean, like if I show you the, the, the shirt that was selling, like, I mean at least a few pieces every month.

It was like, uh, signed by a 5-year-old. It was like just a simple graphic and I put on, um, like a text on it. Alright. And that was it. Um. I mean, like other people would hire a, a graphic artist. Yeah. But what’s [00:14:00] stopping me was, of course it’s an additional, um, expense, but also there’s no guarantee that if I let somebody design a shirt for me that it would sell true.

Interesting. So, yeah, I think that’s a good point. I mean, I think even today with all this fancy AI and high quality designs, it’s more probably about the. The user and the connection. Right? Even if it’s not the most beautiful art, if it says, and it connects with the community, [00:14:30] right? So I think that’s one of your strategies is you find a community, it could sound and they will buy it.

Yeah, I mean, like, of course a good design would always be something that is not as good as, um, like a very, a very striking one. But I mean, like what I discovered, design is not the most important factor why people would buy a shirt. It has to be, it has to resonate with the buyer. It has to mean something [00:15:00] to that person.

It has to be personal. Yeah. So even if it’s really nice, beautiful design, if it doesn’t resonate or connect with the, the person, the community, that you won’t sell it, it won’t sell. So it’s not just about your design skill. Yes. So I think that’s one of the things that people who would go into print on demand, ’cause sometimes, um.

People design for themselves. Yeah. And you have to think that it, what you’re selling, it’s [00:15:30] not for you, it’s for the consumer. It’s for the buyer. Yeah. Because I mean, of course there are like really great artists like, or people who know, uh, the insights and outs of a good design or graphic artist. But if you design for yourself, you’ll just.

Be disappointed. How come I have this really beautiful shirt design and no one is buying it because it doesn’t resonate to the person behind, [00:16:00] yeah, behind the, the screen who’s trying to look for a shirt that connects to them? I agree. Like, I mean, I think we use that for print on demand, but you can say that for, for anything in business, I mean, a lot of people build something that they like, right?

Whether it’s a product, a print on demand design, a, a business. Uh, they don’t really, um, think about the customer you have. You’re not, of course you want, if you are the customer and you know, there’s [00:16:30] lots of customers that like what you like, but if it’s just for you, then it’s a hobby and, uh, you know, maybe you could do it for fun, but don’t expect to make money with it is the main point.

Um, five minutes. Oh, okay. Five minutes. Okay. So, um. Was it all smooth? Like is there any ups and downs in your POT or No? Wasn’t, I mean like it wasn’t easy. Like I think if you’ve heard about like you really have to what, spend 10,000 hours to master something. [00:17:00] Yeah. Yeah. I think that’s what I did with print on the med.

Like to be honest, I hardly slept like maybe months and months trying to figure out. What would work and what would sell. Yeah, I think you really have, that’s why I believe there’s no really easy money when it comes to online. Like some people would tell you, you can make this much if you just put in a little bit of effort.

I think for me, it’s not true. You really have to put the time, the effort to learn a skill that would [00:17:30] help you make money. I think that’s the main point, is we’re developing a skill, right? And. I, a lot of people get stuck not doing something. They’re always waiting. But I think it’s about taking action.

Like, you know, I, I feel like what I’m understanding from our talk is you’re, you, you, you had a, you were determined to succeed and you, um, didn’t want to go back. To this, your c the kind of corporate life that, that almost a normal life and, uh, you [00:18:00] learned and you improved, and if one thing didn’t work, you would try another and you would keep improving and, and finding your way.

Mm-hmm. To this print on demand, which is inspirational. Maybe you can share some. Your numbers if you’re willing. Okay. I like, in the beginning I was just looking at like, if I make a hundred dollars on this, I’ll be happy and, and I’ll find another way to make my next a hundred dollars. Of course. Like when you hit your first a hundred dollars, can I make another hundred [00:18:30] dollars?

Yeah. It’s like a, it’s, it’s a game. It’s a game. Can I make another $500? And then surprisingly, ’cause I, I actually, I missed, like usually it’s the last quarter that. Most people would make money online. Yeah. Q4. I missed it. I missed the Q4, uh, big numbers. So when, um, so I was okay with it. I mean, December, I, I, I think I made like $1,500.

I said, wow. In this past year, or [00:19:00] it was like in 2020 for Christmas. Christmas of 20. So I was happy and that I took a break because. Christmas in the Philippines is been, yeah, yeah. I hear so. So I took a break because it’s Christmas and I was happy with what I have because I have dogs. I could, you know, buy them gifts.

But January, when most people were saying online, it’s. It’s, uh, this the dreaded month usually or the, the first, usually it’s q1. Is Q1 is lower. Usually, yeah, it’s low, but [00:19:30] it was in January when I made like $3,000. Great. Of course I have to pay taxes, but still it was my biggest, so I was really surprised, like how much money I could make and my only thought then was.

If I could scale this, so maybe what other people say, say about printed demand, like, um, some people are saying they could make like 10,000 or $5,000 a month. [00:20:00] Maybe It’s true because I mean, like, I. With what I know now and with what I was doing alone, that I was making $3,000, so maybe I could hit it the next time, or who knows.

Like second quarter is almost here and I think it’s gonna be bigger than first quarter, really. So I’m very confident that I, I could hit those numbers congrat. Congrats. Yeah. And the beautiful thing about print out demand is you don’t pay for any products. [00:20:30] Right? That’s just if you get 3000 Yeah. Tax or, you know, may be admin costs or salary, but basically it’s just pure, uh, income profit.

Yeah. Yeah. So, whereas like me more, I’m more of a FBA seller. I have merch. Actually the tariffs just went up. We should probably talk about that. It’ll be an upcoming episode, episode, episode about Trump. You don’t have to even worry about Trump, right? Like the tariffs. So a lot of others like me have to worry about Donald Trump’s tariffs now in our business.

But you. You don’t [00:21:00] have to. So that’s, that’s really amazing. And, uh, let’s talk a bit about GFA Nexus. So you’re one of our first, uh, are our first GFA chapter leader, and, uh, it’s been great to work with you and you, what is GFA Nexus? What’s your idea and reason for this? Okay. Um. I got into GFA because of Janet, because, uh, she’s been a friend.

And also I consider like a mentor when it comes to my online journey. I mean, it’s, [00:21:30] um, so when we finally caught up, um, had time to, you know, talk and have lunch, that’s. When I told her, you know what, Jan, I really want to give back to, um, to whoever this, I mean to the society. I mean, I could always teach what I know now because it’s something I don’t wanna gate keep for myself because I cannot do everything anyway.

Yeah. So that’s when she introduced me to the idea of maybe you would like to [00:22:00] be part of GFA, like global from Asia. And I think it didn’t, uh, like I only had to maybe think about it in a few minutes and I said yes, because I, not only do I trust Janet, but because also I think it’s aligned with what I want moving forward.

Yeah, it’s great. Yeah. It’s what we are all about. Uh, you know, and you’ve been doing webinars already and, and workshops, teaching the community about how [00:22:30] to build their. Their POD business and it’s, it’s inspirational and we are just at the beginning. Yes. So it’s really great to have you with us and, um, I love to have people join an upcoming workshops.

So yeah, NAP is doing amazing and willing to share, like you said, some people don’t want to share, they think that there’s competitors or there’s gonna be, uh, you know, negative reasons, but it’s, it’s really great to have you. Share with everyone. Um, [00:23:00] also in the Philippines, I, I also really hope I, a lot of, I think, you know, a lot of people on my team and my friends are Filipino and I, I also hope to help build up more Filipino entrepreneurs and business owners.

Um, maybe we convert some of our team to, uh, yes. Convert them. Yeah. It’s also one of the things that I really want to do. I mean, I mean, sharing is, you know, sharing is scary. Yes. Or like, um, I think you really have to give up. Yeah. You have to give [00:23:30] back to society once you’re okay already. Great. I think you need, it’s something I think that ingrained in you, that you have to teach other people.

Perfect. All right. I think that’s a great way to wrap up this amazing episode. I’m happy we made this this happen. Thank you. In person’s always fun. Great to meet you, you and, uh, hope to see you all in our GFA Nexus chapter and others to come. Thank you. Do you enjoy the podcast? Global Community? Enjoy all the community events that we do.

The best way to support is coming out to our annual [00:24:00] cross border summit. Dot com In Chang Mai this November 3rd, fourth and fifth, 20, 25. I have amazing speakers, amazing people getting together. We’re pushing the limits. We’re making things happen. This is where the movers of shakers, the deal makers come.

It’s a limited supply of attendees and tickets, and we have been selling out every year, so I recommend checking out earlier cross border summit.com. Alright, now, thank you so much for [00:24:30] sharing. It’s great to meet you in person. Finally, we’ve done some webinars together. We’re getting some members together where he’s really passionate about helping these people and you know, I’m very passionate to help and we wanna do more together.

There’s more things coming. I’ll be seeing him for sure more and, and future, uh, chapter events and future developments. Thanks everybody for watching. I’m gonna keep this one shorter. Lots of things on the move and I hope you enjoyed that interview. Till next time. Bye-bye. To get more [00:25:00] info about running an international business, please visit our website@ww.global from asia.com.

That’s ww.global from asia.com. Also, be sure to subscribe to our iTunes feed. Thanks for tuning in.