From Apple Store to Millionaire Candle Maker: Francisco Rivera’s Entrepreneurial Journey on Etsy

Francisco Rivera had originally planned to pursue a career in music after completing his degree in music production from Full Sail University. However, he struggled to find employment in the industry following graduation. Instead, he took jobs at an Apple Store and as an online tutor for Outschool which were neither fulfilling nor profitable enough compared to what he does now, Rivera revealed during a conversation with CNBC Make It. Two months into running his Etsy shop selling print-on-demand candles in February 2021, it surged massively due to unexpected high order volume, making him distracted as his phone kept buzzing nonstop while on a date. Since then, Rivera’s shop has grown tremendously with over 5,000 reviews and sales of $462,000 in the previous year alone (averaging at around $38,500 per month). His profits from each sale vary between thirty percent to fifty percent, but these still pay for fees associated with Etsy as well as marketing expenses on Printify. The success of his shop allowed him to leave tutoring last December and now travels the world while dedicating just 20 minutes every day focusing more intricately solely toward dealing only client problems regarding transactions – although he intends not expanding it further due to time constraints that could lead to less income if the focus becomes over-committing instead. As reported by CNBC, Rivera has used his additional leisure time this year on personal music projects while still experimenting with strategies learned through trial and error as well as YouTube tutorials in order for his Etsy shop stand out among its competition due to the increasing popularity of print-on-demand products.