Anyone can become 6 figures richer by selling personalized jewelry. Skup.net founder Matt Schmitt believes he found an evergreen product that people buy throughout the year, no matter the season and occasion. He seems convinced that print-on-demand jewelry is the best online business out there. But is it?
To be honest, I find Skup’s POD jewelry idea pretty interesting. It’s something that appealed to me as a mom looking for an income opportunity from home. Print-on-demand jewelry is the kind of business moms enjoy because it’s cute and interesting. I was about to jump in, but after researching the course and business model, I found issues that made me skeptical about investing. If you’re also interested to know, keep on reading.
Skup is a coaching platform that teaches how to make 7 figures with print-on-demand jewelry. Founders Matt and Devin believe that the secret to a successful e-commerce business is to automate the process and drive real profit from your store. There are four coaching courses inside Skup, which include the four-day workshop (level 1), jewelry profits (level 2), the incubator (level 3), and diamond (the final level). Aside from these courses, Skup also offers software tools such as a DFY jewelry store, avatar themes, and a providence theme which gives the digital store a professional-looking finish. The four-day workshop costs $17 and the Jewelry Profits cost $1,750. You’ll need to book a call to know the prices of the Incubator and Diamond programs.
- Skup’s DFY Jewelry software costs $37 per month with a 7-day free trial.
- Avatar theme costs $220 onetime payment and,
- Providence Theme costs $200.
Matt Schmitt is the founder and CEO of Skup.net. According to his LinkedIn, he earned his degree in information technology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2009. After graduation, Anheuser-Busch employed him and he worked there for almost 13 years, taking various roles. His last role in the company was as a category space analyst, where he created automated merchandising processes to increase productivity. Matt’s extensive tech and retail background laid the foundation for Skup.net. He launched a company in 2016 and now has a team of 17 people based in the United States and different parts of the world. In the same year, he acquired shares of Smar7 Apps and became the company’s Chief Content Officer. The company rebranded to Skup and has reached over 10,000 businesses.
Devin Zander is the Chief Marketing Officer of Skup. There’s not much information about him on LinkedIn. All we know is that he co-founded Skup with Matt Schmitt and is still an active partner in the company until now.
Skup and the Print-On-Demand Business Model
The name “Skup” is a combination of the words “SKU” (stock-keeping unit in retail) and “up” which is the company’s trajectory for the clients they’re helping. Skup received a recommendation from Matthew Parks on LinkedIn. He is one of the company’s clients and the chief marketing officer of 2782 Digital. Matthew praised Devin and the Skup team for creating an amazing product. He also said the company continues to push him to improve his Shopify e-commerce store.
A recommendation left by Matthew Parks on Devin Zander's LinkedIn.
Skup.net has an excellent 4.7-star Trustpilot score based on 69 reviews given. A recent review posted by Jerome Jay Davidson thanked Ben Kilby for helping him set up and troubleshoot the issues he encountered. Barbara Mukungu also praised the Skup team for their amazing service and helpful and responsive staff. Another review from “LS” commended the cohesiveness of the program. According to him, each lesson served a purpose. He was guided throughout the process, and the entire framework was clear and concise. LS pointed out that Skup sets realistic expectations for its students, there’s accountability, and the community is supportive.
I’m impressed there’s only 1 one-star review on the program. Aldair Vanegas calls the company a scam and warns other people not to purchase any of their offers. He said the course is too basic and they don’t like doing the 1-on-1 mentorships (which he considers important). Aldair also accuses Skup of faking their store’s success to make themselves believable to the public.
A Skup representative reached out to the commenter the next day and confirmed that he indeed purchased one of Skup’s programs, but it was still back in July 2021. He apologized for the poor customer service he experienced and provided him with an email where he can reach out for assistance. He even linked one of Skup’s retail websites (Pawz) to debunk the commenter’s claim that they’re faking the success of their home-grown stores.
Niel Twa Interviews Match Schmitt On His Podcast Channel
In an exclusive podcast interview with Neil Twa, Matt Schmitt revealed how he built a 2 million dollar business using direct-to-customer e-commerce. In this interview, Matt narrated that he transitioned from owning multiple ecom stores to focusing on only one. This has led to significant financial growth for him in six years. He also emphasized the importance of customer service and after-sales support in the success of print-on-demand and to any e-commerce business. Matt advised new entrepreneurs to follow trends and invest in brand-building because this is the way to move forward in the industry.
Are Skup.net’s Programs A Good Fit For Stay-At-Home Moms?
Skup.net’s programs, especially Jewelry Profits, could be a good fit for moms who are into accessories and all things personalized. However, print-on-demand isn’t the most beginner-friendly business, and it’s not passive income. You need to develop new trendy products, manage digital stores, attend to after-sales concerns, promote products, collaborate with marketers, and keep the financial side of the business on track. If you hire a virtual team to help you with operations, you also need to conduct regular meetings to align the team and do the payroll.
The print-on-demand business is expected to grow by 25% from 2023 to 2030. It’s a booming industry. That’s why many people are enticed to try this growing market. Customizing jewelry and other personal stuff also seems like a fun business for moms. And the profit margin is quite fair, typically 15% to 60%. However, I also found that it has a relatively low success rate. Only 24% of those who explore POD keep their business three years later. 76% of POD sellers quit because the business is difficult to scale, the market is very saturated, and it’s highly dependent on third-party suppliers. Print-on-demand market trends are always changing. You need to constantly conduct market research to keep up with new changes and stay ahead of the competition. POD requires a lot of time and hard work. Busy stay-at-home moms could explore other passive income business models like local lead generation.
The goal of a local lead gen business is to build sites and rank them on Google. Ranked digital assets are like prime real estate in the physical world and you’re the digital landlord. As the owner, you can explore passive income opportunities by selling leads and renting sites to local business owners. Just one site can make at least $2K monthly income. Unlike print-on-demand, you can predict your income with local lead gen because it’s stable and consistent. It’s low maintenance (I barely touch my ranked sites) and you only need about $500 capital.
0 comments