Welcome to my 9 to 5 Dropouts review. Can Mike Nelson really teach you how to start your own online t-shirt business and get your first order in 29 days or less, or is this just another scam to avoid?
Here’s what you need to know…
According to the founder of this program, there are over 700 successful students that are already crushing it with this business model.
They all use the same exact method that Mike Nelson implemented in his own online business to earn more than $1.2 million dollars on autopilot (mostly).
The offer sounds good, but I’ve been exposed to many similar training courses that overpromise and underdeliver. That’s why I decided to spend some time and learn exactly what’s inside the 9 to 5 Dropouts.
Let me point out that I’m not affiliated with Mike Nelson or any of his products. I won’t be praising it like it’s the best thing that ever happened on the internet, so don’t expect a thousand low quality bonuses for joining through my links.
By the time you’re done here, you will know exactly what to expect inside, what type of work is expected from you, and how much time it will REALLY take you to succeed.
9 to 5 Dropouts Review Summary
Product Name: 9 to 5 Dropouts
Product Owner: Mike Nelson
Product Price: $497
Product Type: Print on Demand Training Course
Overall Score: 40/100
Recommended: Not Really!
Summary: The 9 to 5 Dropouts is a program that will introduce you to the world of POD (Print on Demand).
You will learn how to connect with printing companies that will create, label, and ship your products to your clients.
During the 4 week’s training, you will see how to create designs even if you’re not creative, how to properly create, set up, and launch your new online store, and how to market your t-shirt store with a minimal budget.
When you’re eCommerce store is ready to make sales, Mike Nelson will teach you how to acquire an audience by contacting influencers and people with large followings in your niche.
You will have to negotiate deals with them and hope that they won’t ask too much for featuring your products, or you could end up spending more than you make.
Overall, the 9 to 5 Dropouts is a basic course that can show you how to tap into the POD industry, but it does miss a lot of crucial information that could really help with growing your online business, such as email marketing campaigns, advanced ads online, chatbots, and more.
As an online store owner, you will have to think about things like customer satisfaction, dealing with refunds, complaints, and customer reviews.
There’s a real potential to make money online here. However, it is going to be much harder and probably more expensive than what you’re led to believe in Mike Nelson’s free training.
I think that there are better alternatives to starting a passive income generating business online without having to spend a lot of money upfront.
What is 9 to 5 Dropouts?
The 9 to 5 Dropouts program can be summarized in 3 simple steps. Step one is NOT to do everything yourself.
There are companies and organizations out there that can charge you a small percentage of your sales, which is a way better alternative than spending thousands of dollars on printing tech, learning how to operate it, and becoming so good at it that you can then start selling your work.
You are an entrepreneur, which means that you have to think about the best way to run your business. Trying to do everything yourself is NOT the way to go.
Step two is all about learning how to use other people’s resources for yourself. There’s a reason why people use these Print on Demand Companies. It saves time, money, and energy that you could otherwise apply growing and scaling your online business.
Step three is to create a design with a specific target audience in mind. That way, you’re one step closer to positioning your online business and products in front of people that will have an interest in them.
Even with the best quality products, if they are not shown to the right audience, you won’t make any money because they will not show any interest.
Once you’ve narrowed that down, you can send your design to your Print on Demand partners and let them handle the rest.
There are many similar training courses out there, such as Joe Robert’s Print on Demand Accelerator.
The only problem with these online coaches is how can you identify the truly successful people from the ones that play a character, trying to convince you how profitable they are when that’s not true at all. Trust me, there are tons of them.
Is The 9 to 5 Dropouts a Scam?
9 to 5 Dropouts is not a scam, but it is a bit misleading. Most people that enroll in this training program think they can start making money online without much effort and time invested when that’s not really true.
Absolutely every business venture out there comes with its set of problems and things that need to be done every day to achieve success.
Even learning new things takes time. Then it will take you even more time and effort to learn how to implement them properly.
I found a bunch of complaints where ex members of the 9 to 5 Dropout couldn’t get their refund back despite them claiming to have done everything outlined in their refund policy.
According to these members, the support team of 9 to 5 Dropouts is not responsive at all. Some people seem to find the 4 week bootcamp a bit stressful, which I’m guessing is because they expected to make money online with very little effort.
This may have something to do with the entire way that the 9 to 5 Dropouts business opportunity is presented.
Being an eCommerce store owner and selling your own t-shirts comes with a lot of responsibility. You need to think about traffic flow, high product quality, and exceptional delivery times. It can be difficult for a new entrepreneur to stay on top of these things.
Some people may want to avoid dealing directly with clients, refunds, and complaints altogether. If that sounds like you and you don’t want to spend a bunch of money to get started, you should see this below.
Who Created the 9 to 5 Dropouts?
According to his bio, Mike Nelson used to be a broke man working 60 hours per week just getting by. At some point, he decided to start his own t-shirt business online. In just over a year, he managed to build a successful business allowing him to buy a new home, and take holidays whenever he felt like it.
Now he wants to transfer that success to his students with his program, the 9 to 5 Dropouts. I don’t know how legit that story really is, but some people seem to think that he makes most of his money by selling his courses, rather than actually implementing what he teaches.
What’s Inside the 9 to 5 Dropouts?
Mike Nelson sells his course, the 4 week t-shirt Bootcamp through a platform called Thinkific. It’s a platform designed for people interested in creating courses and selling them online.
As a member of his program, 9 to 5 Dropouts, you will get access to all future updates, as well as 6 modules, including a bonus one. Let’s dive deep into each one to find out exactly what’s inside.
Module 0 – Introduction to The Business Mindset
Just like most other courses out there, this one starts with establishing a proper mindset when approaching this new business venture.
You will learn how to navigate inside the training program, how to solve people’s problems, and how the entire POD model works.
According to Mike Nelson, most Print on Demand companies charge about 8-10 dollars per shirt. He sells them for $24.99 a piece.
Module 1 – Starting Your Store With a Strong Foundation
This is where you will learn how to create a brand that people will know, love, and trust, how to set up your online store, how to choose a profitable niche market, how to pick the right name for your t-shirt brand, and how to create a logo that people will remember.
To help you with the foundation, you will be introduced to a platform called Shopify. It will help you set up your online store and integrate all necessary addons.
There are 5 videos in total here, including a live replay of a training Mike Nelson did back in February, and a few PDF files.
Module 2 – Winning Designs
This module is all about finding and creating your designs. The only way to avoid paying money is if you do all the design work yourself.
Unless you’re naturally talented or experienced in design, you will have to invest a lot of time and effort into creating something from nothing.
In other words, most people will likely end up spending money to get someone else to do all the hard work for them. There are 6 video lessons in total, and they cover the following topics:
– How to Create Designs That Sell Without Being Creative. This method revolves around copying other successful t-shirt stores and mimicking their work.
– How to Predict How Much a t-shirt Will Make Before You Even Create it. Again, you can do that by analyzing your competitors, figuring out their best sellers, and calculating the potential returns on your investment.
– How to Come up With Proven Profitable t-shirt Designs. There are some statistics out there that can show you what type of t-shirts sell the most.
– How to Start Working With Designers.
– How to Get Influencers Wearing Your t-shirts.
– How to Build a Team and Outsource Most of Your Work.
Module 3 – Launching Your Online Store
Even if you’re not tech savvy, the training here can definitely help you launch your online store in less than 2 hours.
You will learn the methods for choosing the right domain name, making your store font look professional, and how to integrate it with a Print on Demand Company. There are 6 videos to watch here.
Module 4 – Marketing Your Store
This is another live recording, where you will learn how to contact influencers on Instagram in your niche. You will be pitching a lot of them until you manage to find someone to work with.
Since they rely on store owners, and brands like you to make money themselves, you need to be prepared to negotiate terms that will suit both parties.
Otherwise, you could lose money. You will get a sample outreach letter to use as a template when contacting the influencers. You will also learn how to add the Facebook pixel to your store.
Bonuses
The first one is all about running Facebook ads. That’s the main reason for implementing the pixel in module 4.
That way, you can create a lookalike audience for all your customers and increase your chances of success when running Facebook ads.
The next one is a PDF file with 1000 profitable hoodie niches to explore. After that, you have a text document called the Process Management Roadmap.
It’s supposed to outline the steps you need to take to scale your online store. Then you get another text document with a t-shirt/hoodie design vault. Finally, you have another text document showing you how to copyright your designs.
How Much Does The 9 to 5 Dropouts Cost?
The main offer is currently priced at $497. It’s where you will get access to 4 weeks’ worth of training. Then you have many additional offers, which you will learn more about once you become a paying member of the 9 to 5 Dropouts. Let’s take a look at each one now.
1. T-Shirt Designer Workshop ($27). It’s one video all about becoming a great designer.
2. The Official Business Toolkit ($97). This is a 4 part training course, teaching you how to create your LLC, EIN with the IRS if you’re from the USA, opening a business banking account, and more.
3. 1000 Profitable Niches ($197). This a PDF file with 1K niches you could explore.
4. Inner Circle ($37/Month). This will give you access to a private group of like minded individuals.
5. Protect Your Genius Copyright Guide. This guide will show you how to protect what’s yours.
6. Sold Out Hoodies ($497). This is all about creating an online e-commerce store selling hoodies instead of t-shirts.
7. T-Shirt Design Vault. ($97).
8. Instagram Growth & Sales Secrets ($47). There are two lessons inside.
9. Instagram Influencer Secrets ($97).
10. Flash Sale Bundle ($197).
11. FB Ads Lab ($597). There are two lessons inside teaching you how to run paid ad campaigns on Facebook.
12. T-Shirt Business Accelerator Pre training Bundle ($37). There are 5 lessons here.
13. 4 Week T-Shirt Bootcamp Full ($997). Apparently, if you want to take full advantage of the 9 to 5 Dropouts, you will have to spend way more money than what you’re initially being led on to believe.
What I Like About 9 to 5 Dropouts
1. It Teaches a Legit Business Model. If you’re willing to work hard, you have a real potential of making money online with Print on Demand.
2. Lot’s of Satisfied Customers. I can’t really comment on their legitimacy because I’ve seen course owners fabricate these things, but if they’re real, it means that many people are seeing success with this program.
What I Don’t Like About 9 to 5 Dropouts
1. It’s Too Basic. There’s not a lot of in depth information that can help you really stand out from all your other competitors.
2. A lot of Upsells. As you can see, you could end up spending thousands of dollars on everything included in the 9 to 5 Dropouts when you include all additional costs that are required to run your online business.
3. It’s Not The Best Business Model for Beginners. Getting started with making money online can be very difficult, especially in the eCommerce world. There’s a lot of competition and a ton of things you need to think about before you dive into it.
Is There a Better Alternative?
I still think that affiliate marketing is the best business model for beginners to get started with.
The costs for launching your online business are incredibly low, you don’t have to think about product creation, selling, running ads, negotiating with influencers, and dealing with clients. All you have to do is connect people with products and services they need.
You earn a commission each time you introduce someone with a product or service and they end up buying. All of the above mentioned issues are handled by the product owners.
All you have to do is figure out a way to bring in more clients. Using this strategy I was able to make as much as $1K in a single day. If that sounds interesting, you should see this below.