I’ve been trying to figure out how to bring in some extra money. Since we lost our business, things have been pretty rough. Then I had an idea.
I thought that maybe I could combine my passion for spreading #Autism Awareness with my families need to survive.
This is what I came up with.
I had a gift card and so I designed this t-shirt and wanted to know what you all thought.
The way I see it, Lost and Tired not only plugs my site but also describes how many of us feel as parents to children on the #Autism Spectrum. Having said that, we love our kids more than anything in the world.
I think this would be a great way to spread awareness and start conversations.
I’m not sure of the cost but part of the proceeds would go to help my family as well as cover the shipping costs of the tablets I’m giving away with Idolian..
Keep in mind that this is just the first design and there is more to come.
Let me know what you think and please be honest.
Also, please keep in mind that I designed this one for me. I would obviously want to advertise my blog so that I can connect with new people. If I pursued this, I would make the URL optional.
Lost and Tired isn’t meant to be depressing. It’s meant to describe how many of us feel and despite those feelings, we rise above and continue moving forward as best we can for the children we love so much.
This site is managed via WordPress for Android, courtesy of the @SamsungMobileUS Galaxy Note 2 by @Tmobile. Please forgive any typos. I know how to spell but auto-correct hates me. 😉
For more ways to help the Lost and Tired family, please visit Help the Lost and Tired Family.
that’s a great idea. Rob, I have a friend with a similar situation to yours. She supports the whole family from home, because she has one child with autism, husband is disabled and daughter had life threatening health problems. She has multiple revenue streams to survive alongside disability. She raises chickens and rabbits, sells a jewelry line, does part time accounting work and resells garage sale items on ebay. She is a distributor for a publisher and sells their books online. The ebay thing made her over $150,000 one year. Just find stuff that is in demand and sales like hotcakes. use dropshipping if you are going to be a distributor for any time of item.
I LOVE IT!! My son used to go to the Experimental Education Unit @ the UW (eeu.org) and I know quite a few parents who would love something like that.
I wish I had some suggestions on making money, but I’d be using them myself if I did… my husband hasn’t been able to work for the last 7 yrs due to a bad MVA (still needs several surgeries) and I can’t bcuz of my own MH issues. Between the 2 of us we’ve got about $1200/month in SSDI. After rent, we’re pretty much broke. That’s one reason why I started my own blog, to try to generate income. (although, it’s not working yet…) I’m still working on trying to find companies to let me review… I’d LOVE to get a company like Idolian to let me review their products!
I would love to have the back design on the front and nothing on the back. I would also like the heart to be the puzzle motif. Maybe adding the front design on the sleeve could work and definitely need it in a short sleeve for those of us who are in the western states. I love the lost and tired because as you said I know I am lost and tired. I would also love a bumper sticker. I have been looking for one and I am just not inspired by any of them. Oh and hey did you know that Build a bear is releasing an Autism bear in March? You can RSVP for one on the website. Also maybe have an option of the shirt saying I love someone on the spectrum. I would say Aspergers but that will be going away in may
Hi Rob. Well I would buy one of your shirts. I think you would be able to sell some right here on your lost and tired site for those who read your blogs. My sister makes candles and they sell like hotcakes, not that you would probably want to make candles.Your wife maybe. She works fulltime driving a dump truck in the mines here with her hubby and on her days off she makes flavoured candles, some smell so yummy. She started off with a candle making kit , made some and now everyone wants them. She sells them in smaller stores. A bit messy though and you have little children , so you would have to have a certain area in which you make them, any way just an idea. Hope your days been great. Raining here in Sunny Queensland. Dalby Australia. Trish. I am reading Lost and Tired every day, helping to keep me sane. Having issues with my Khai , nice to know theres someone else out there.
@TrishMorrin well thanks Trish. I would probably design a few different ones. This was just the one I did for myself.
I just think that many people can relate to feeling lost and tired.
No response to the book idea at all? Ouch.
@dotdash sorry about that. I got lost u the first part. I’m not firing on all cylinders today. I’ve been thinking about the book thing and I’m actually been talking with someone about that. It’s just a ton of work and I’m already stretched way to thin. Any thoughts?
@dotdash seriously Dot, I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m just trying to do too many things at once. I get distracted and forgot to respond to the second half. I feel bad. Sorry…
@lostandtired @dotdash No worries! Aren’t we all crazy with stuff to do… If you find the space to think about it and want to pursue it, I can probably find you the name of an agent or two. You have a kind of honesty and forthrightness that set a very readable tone. It would be a great book.
As a marketing professional, I do not advise selling t-shirts to make money. It’s too hard, the profit is too small, you have to keep stock around, etc. It’s a great idea for the site or for a hobby, but it’s not a way to support a family. Plus I agree with Michael Miller’s comments.
However, I would encourage you to do something bigger and closer to your heart. Collect all your blog entries, photos, video logs, etc. Get a NY agent and shop around a book. You’ve already done a lot of the work and you could make some real money. Autism is a hot topic now (sadly) and people are looking for help. With the video and photo tie-ins, yours is a book that would work well as an electronic offering as well as paper. This is something that is entirely do-able and would do a lot of good in the world. Also suggest you think about the mental illness side of things as focus, as that (again, sadly) is a focus of the country’s interest.
@dotdash thanks for the feedback. Again, the URL was for my shirt. This was designed for me. I was just trying to get feedback on the idea.
Also, this would be a Cafepress thing and I would make a percentage of the sale and have nothing really invested. I was certainly not going to do this on my own because you are totally right. It’s just something I was offered and I was thinking king about doing it. I suppose I should have probably clarified that in the post. 😉
I think it’s a cool looking shirt, but I have to admit – it’s not something I would buy. I love the message of loving someone with autism (my son has it) and I think the little hash tag is kind of cool. But the URL is the turn off for me. And yes – I fully understand and appreciate why you’d want it there. Yet as I’ve sat here for the last 3-4 minutes trying to think of alternatives… I’m coming up blank. Maybe it’s combining the uplifting message of loving a child with autism combined with a less-than-uplifting URL of “lost and tired”. The two sort of contradict each other. Again, though, I can’t really place my finger on it.
@Michael Miller Lost and Tired isn’t meant to be a downer. It’s meant to describe how many of us feel. There’s no instruction book for raising a child on the spectrum and so we often find ourselves at a loss. It’s also exhausting as well. The name call attention to this and gives people a better understanding of what we go through.
However, despite being Lost and Tired, we love our kids and never give up on them.
That’s the point of this shirt. Also in truth, I designed this one for me and so I would likely not have the URL on the back or at least have the option to not have it there.
Great feedback. I really appreciate it. 🙂