From the pages of In Business magazine.
For Jessica Marking, an event specialist at WPS Health Solutions, May 1, 2019 started and ended like any other day, not knowing that just 24-hours later, her life was about to change.
But first, the back story.
About four years ago, Marking, 34, was looking for a unique and personal gift idea for her dad’s 60th birthday.
“I had an idea to cut a large map of each of the 50 United States out of foam core like a puzzle so they could attach photos to each state from family vacations we’d taken over the years.”
Her parents loved it, “but it almost killed me,” Marking laughs, reflecting back on the amount of time she spent carving each state by hand with an X-Acto knife. A creative person, she’d posted many ideas online in the past and decided this one might have potential, as well.
Marking approached Sun Prairie-based Routed 4 U about her idea and together they came up with a process to laser cut the states from thin sheets of wood. Satisfied, she posted the idea to Etsy.com, with the slogan, Adventure Awaits, and put the X-Acto knife away for good.
“Frankly, I didn’t pay much attention to it after that,” she admits. Over the next three years, the idea generated a few hits and 15 sales.
That is, until May 2, when her sister alerted her to a similar map she’d seen on Facebook. “I researched it and sure enough, someone had shared it online.”
That person, a romance novelist from Texas, had purchased one of Marking’s maps and shared the idea online as a DIY (do-it-yourself) photo display of a trip she and her husband had taken.
Marking contacted her, sent her the Etsy.com link, and orders trickled in.
In fact, her maps went viral.
By the time she went to bed that evening, Marking had received 10 new orders and the next day there were dozens more.
“I remember driving to work thinking I should order 50 maps, but then a co-worker suggested I order 100 just to be safe. I didn’t want any inventory,” she laughs, thinking back.
By May 10, she contacted Ken Wundrow, her business counselor with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), asking for an emergency meeting. “I wrote everything down because I thought I was going to die,” she recounts, adding that she was also battling a serious case of the flu. “That was my first two weeks.”
With what seemed like a million of her own questions to answer, she contacted Routed 4 U again needing to make some quick decisions. “The wood caused my first panic attack,” Marking states. “We couldn’t get the same wood at first, so the grains and colors didn’t match.”
Then she had to think about how she would package 50 individual wooden states per order in shipping boxes, when East Coast states are tiny and western states are massive. One simple solution was to score the smaller states as one so they could easily be snapped apart.
Another issue was ensuring that none of the 50 U.S. states would be missed or damaged through the packaging and shipping process.
Her dad, a retired printer from Webcrafters, saved the day. “He knows production,” Marking says admiringly, and his knowledge and ability to streamline the process helped tremendously.
The pressure was on. Shipping times to customers doubled while they worked out the kinks.
“My dad was going to Routed 4 U on a daily basis and then coming home and packaging maps for me,” she says, but soon he couldn’t do it alone.
By the end of May her company, Marking Maps, had sold 1,600 maps through Etsy.com.
Overnight success
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An illustration of Marking’s U.S. map with photos applied. At last check, 3,179 sales had been recorded. |
Still maintaining her WPS job, which is her first priority, Marking became a manufacturer overnight.
She learned on the fly, scrambling to fill orders with the help of her parents, friends, family and extended family, and neighbors who offered to help.
“We watched a lot of Brewers games during that time,” Marking chuckles.
Uline became her go-to source for boxes, bubble wrap, and tissue paper as her dedicated team of volunteers folded the 15″ x 11″ x 2″ shipping boxes and packaged and shipped the maps. Their help allowed her time to respond to an endless barrage of questions coming in from potential customers.
Marking Maps has since expanded its product offerings, and now offers wooden maps in three sizes: small (2 x 3 feet), medium (3 x 4 feet) and, and large (4 x 5 feet). A cork option was recently added, and individual states also can be purchased for a nominal fee.
Responding to popular demand, the company now sells maps of Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, and Africa.
(Continued)
Sound advice
Marking assembled a trio of experts, including SCORE advisor Wundrow, who came with a business background in accounting; a financial advisor/CPA; and a social media expert hired to handle messaging on Instagram and Facebook.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for her first copyright infringement situation to bubble to the surface.
While duplication may be the best form of flattery, Marking soon discovered that her Adventure Awaits photo was showing up on other sites with people claiming the idea as their own. In fact, she didn’t think to copyright anything either, yet she had no choice but to take action.
Without an attorney, she reached out to a number of the copycats online to inform them about her intellectual property. Most were responsive and apologetic, and she was particularly impressed by e-commerce giants Etsy and Pinterest.
But Amazon, not so much, she complains. “It’s nearly impossible to get anyone on the phone.”
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Marking holds the state of Wisconsin at Routed 4 U. In May, after sitting almost idle for three years, a satisfied customer from Texas shared her creative idea on Facebook and the idea went viral. |
In fact, at press time, Marking’s Adventure Awaits photo was still running on Amazon’s craft site, Amazon Handmade, with at least two businesses, one in Kentucky and one in Florida, claiming the idea as their own. Even worse, they are selling the U.S. map for a higher price.
“First, it’s not their image to use,” Marking states. “Second, they’re passing off a homemade product as their own; and third, they’ve sold a few maps that haven’t received great reviews, so now it’s imposing on my brand.”
She’s filed several claims through Amazon and texted the site owners, to no avail. Adding insult to injury, Marking says Amazon’s case log displays her claims as “answered,” although she’s received no response or satisfaction from the company.
“The more I think about it, this isn’t a product everyone has,” Marking comments. “It’s my photo, my concept, and my product, so it’s all been a little crazy.”
It’s also forced her to hire a copyright and trademark infringement attorney.
She’s learned the hard way not to underestimate the power of a photograph when selling or creating a product online.
“It takes many bad ideas to come up with a good one, and yet, I didn’t do anything special.
“In fact, I did a lot more research and marketing on other ideas I had online that didn’t go anywhere, but that’s not how you should run a business, either. Throwing it up on the wall to see if it sticks doesn’t always help pay the bills.”
That said, she remains “in awe” of the impact a photograph can have when shared online. “Now my idea is all over Facebook and Pinterest,” she marvels, pinching herself, and all because a Texas customer decided to share the idea.
Divine intervention
Seven months after going big, Marking’s maps are listed on Etsy.com as a “best seller.” Her site has been shared over 50,000 times, received over 30,000 comments, and has more than 12 million views, she reports proudly.
Each day, she continues to receive between four and 10 orders on average, and as of mid-October, the company had generated more than $175,000 in sales, before expenses. She keeps about 40 percent of the profits.
“It’s been a miracle,” Marking admits. She’s paid off her student loans and all of her credit card debt and now looks forward to purchasing her first home.
“Honestly, I think there was some divine intervention here,” she says. “I had been praying so hard to God to help me figure out a way to pay off my debt. So why me? Why was I any different?
“Eight months ago, I was saving for a house and preparing to pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) because I couldn’t afford a down payment, and now I’m 100 percent debt free!”
At WPS, she’s able to maximize her 401(k) contributions, as well.
“This has freed me financially in so many ways,” she says, crediting her family, friends, and advisors for helping her make sound decisions. Except for giving up tap-dance lessons due to time constraints, Marking insists her day-to-day life really hasn’t changed all that much.
“Never in a million years would I have thought that this idea would be the one that would take off,” she muses. “I have had so many projects in the works that are now on hold, but I’m content and thankful to have this as a lucrative side hustle at the moment and not invest too much into infrastructure.”
She’s been approached about selling her maps in retail stores, but she’s just as interested in using her financial situation to fund other creative ideas.
“My Etsy project has been a blessing to help me get in a better financial position to pursue other avenues, projects, and dreams,” she hints, mindful not to let the cat out of the bag just yet.
Meanwhile, sales keep rolling in. On Nov. 4, a check of Etsy’s website showed Marking Maps with 3,140 sales. Three days later she had sold 39 more with the holiday gift season just beginning.
As for the Amazon situation, Marking says she’s taken it into her own hands, for now. “I just emailed Jeff Bezos directly,” she remarks. “Why not, right?”
Thus far, no response.
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