Full time Etsy?

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone!
This time i think about becoming a full time Etsian one day... actually i exceed my january target and my sales are increased month after month. Of course my sales are not miraculous, and i'm still a new selle and i have many many things to improve in my shopr, i definitely don't earn enough to live :)
Actually i'd like to have your point of view, especially if you are a full time Etsian.
How long did it take you to become a full time etsian? Did you have a gains target to reach before regarding yourself as a full time Etsian?
Was full time a goal or something which happened to you as a surprise?

Thank you so for sharing your point of view or experience :)

Sarah

[Former_Member]

So, I guess most of us are not full time Etsian... :)

[Former_Member]

I don't know where they are hiding out today. hahaha. I'm not one of them, but I would love to hear the responses. Hopefully someone will soon! :)

[TheDorothyDays]

Interested to read the responses :)

[TerraRhapsody]

I would love to do etsy full time one day too! I think I would have to make at least close to what I make in my full time job to be able to move over full time. At the moment, it's just a little bit extra for me to be saving to get married and start making a mark on my house!
I think my one worry with doing it full time would be keeping up with trends, or managing to set them and keeping afloat!
I would be very interested to know the answers from a full timer too!

[ScrapendipityDesigns]

I don't do it full time, but if you have a regular job right now, try setting aside your regular income and putting in savings and see if you can live off your Etsy income alone. If you can do it for 6 months, then you know you are ready and the bonus to this is you will have a nice savings as well so it won't be so scary to make the jump.

Best of luck!
Rachel

[diarysketches]

I think I became a full time Etsian last month!! If things continue as such then I can (I already kind of did) forget about my schooling. I am now open 6 months an I'm so grateful for this amazing experience!!
I actually started a very similar thread here: http://www.etsy.com/teams/5002/etsy-success/discuss/11604680/

good luck
laura

[littleglamour]

I became full-time about a year ago after selling for a little over a year :)

How? LOTS of hard work - great customer service - products people want that are well made. It is SO worth it if you are ready (emotionally and financially to make the jump! Good luck!

[StarlitNestBunting]

I wish you the best with your shop! Etsy is amazing.

I opened my shop in 2007 and sold stuff in my spare time at first, but I have been a full time successful Etsian for 2 years (I am fortunate to be married to a stable man, so I do have that benefit; but I am definitely contributing to the household income now!). My Facebook fan page seemed to help a lot to generate new business way back when, but now that they charge for your fans to see your posts I no longer use it as a business tool; although I am proud to say I have over 17,000 "likes".

If you can get a little bit of "buzz" going, that is the first step. One of the US's best portrait photographers used my bunting in a photo shoot, mentioned me on her blog under the portrait, and it was gang busters from there. THEN I got a lot of mention by one of the US's best NEWBORN portrait photographers... and I have not looked back.

Etsy is my life. I wake up and fall asleep thinking about my customer's orders and ideas for my next products. My house needs cleaning, but who's doesn't?

I don't really have sales "goals" per se; I really just express humble gratitude to the universe every time I check my Shop Stats. So thankful to be able to make art that people want to buy.

"Full Time" happens to you when you lose your false belief that you do not deserve success.

If:
you have a product that is relatively unique, or at least on trend,

you have the ability to put your soul and personality into that product so that
even if someone tries to copy you ...yours is still different... ie: better ;) ,

you are committed to creating a product of only the highest quality materials &
craftsmanship,

you can meet your customers' deadlines,

you continually receive amazing feedback and convos that make you teary with joy and pride,

you maintain repeat business from people who treat you with respect because
that's how you treat them,

you KNOW you deserve unlimited abundance,

your work is what feeds your soul,

and you can't live without making art...

you are a candidate for Full Timer status.


I will be eternally grateful to the Etsy staff for everything they have done to allow me to work from home: doing what I love and getting to write off my fabric addiction!

Since joining Etsy I have grown my passion into an true income, sold almost 4,000 items, been published in Better Homes & Gardens and have had my work seen on national TV.

Again, best of luck to you! Don't ever give up!

[Former_Member]

I'd suggest reading Etsy's 'Quit your Day Job' series for inspiration from successful sellers who've gone full time :)

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/tags/quit-your-day-job/

[SanaGem]

I would like to know if there are any foreign sellers, not in US, who had made it full time... Do you know any?

Alison A, you are inspiring! Thanks!

[Former_Member]

Hi there, yes I am a full time etsian and have been since about august last year. I don't do enough sales to keep us yet by far, but I do a market in our local town of bourganeuf in france and between the two, it is my sole source of income. I am kept busy with custom orders, and I tend to sell lots of my little elephants, monkeys and sun hats through the tourist season. My sales on etsy have picked up and I am hoping that I can go from strength to strength. Oh, I gave up my job as a teacher to follow this dream. I am lucky because I have a really supportive family

[WaterStreetDesign]

I am a full time Etsian (only in time, not in sales) because I am a stay at home mom and my kids are at school all day! Good luck Sarah -- your store in absolutely FANTASTIC!!!! I bet you'll know when the time is right!

[WaterStreetDesign]

Alison, your words are beautiful and inspiring!!!!!
and so is your store :-)

[Former_Member]

I am Full-Time Etsian and sales have been so good that I was able to buy a house last year!

[PrairiePrimitives]

My goal is to sell at least $50 every day. That would give me almost enough income that I wouldn't need to be concerned about finding a day job. Meanwhile, I continue to look for one; if you know anyone in the Sacramento, California area who needs administrative / clerical assistance, please let me know!

[SantasSockCentral]

I did this simple calculation a little while ago:

A: How much money do you need a month? I.e. Rent, Insurance, Car, Food, Supplies for your shop

B: How much money can you make? How much can you produce? Are there enough hours in the day? Assuming you would sell it all.

B - A = anything left?

For me, sadly, the answer would be no.

[Former_Member]

dont think I count as a full time Etsian.. im a full time mummy and housewife so i work on etsy when i can that means nap times and evenings! and then while little one is entertained I can have a quick networking session.

[Former_Member]

I'm a full-time Etsian & have been for the last 18 months or so. I moved back to the UK from the US in Dec 2010 & took a few months off (I'd received a settlement from a divorce). When that money ran out, I was faced with the prospect of stacking shelves at the local supermarket or finding a way to make my own money. I started off selling supplies, selling tie silk, and was thus able to build up my stash inventory. March last year, I started transitioning to making bow ties & then in Nov/Dec of last year I started adding neckties.

I'm now at the point where this shop is bringing in enough for me to live on (thanks to low overheads) and profit for me to reinvest in new fabrics (this year I'll be getting my own silks woven). The supply shop has now just about died, except for a few stragglers, so it's not really bringing in any mentionable income.

Business is going from strength to strength...I've already had £400 worth of sales since Feb 1st. I probably spend 80 or so hours a week working, so it's much more than full-time. But I wouldn't have it any other way, as I love what I do.

[Winterwomandesigns]

Dan - your ties are fantastic! I *love* the bright colors & patterns.

I quit my full time job a couple of years ago because my elderly parents needed help. To contribute some money to the household, I took a part time job in a bike shop and sort of stumbled into the bike jewelry thing. Between Etsy, craft shows and retail outlets I'm doing pretty well, so I'm at a crossroads now about what to do - am I disciplined enough to leap into the craft thing full time? (Scary!) or stay at the bike shop for a guaranteed income and run myself ragged between parents, craft, bike shop and household?

[Lindock]

I am a full time maker. I quit my full time job 1 1/2 years ago.

After about a year of making/selling (via etsy/craft fairs/consignment), I reached a monthly profit that was just enough to pay all my bills. With encouragement from friends, I quit my day job. I always had a dream of owning my own b/m food business- a bakery cafe. But things just happened the way they happened and I couldn't be happier!

Good luck!

[HuggableHound]

I'm a full time Etsy shop owner. This came as a surprise when my full time job was eliminated in May 2012. A bit of a panic rushed over me at the time because it was secure income.

But since then I'm happy to say my sales have soared and I couldn't be happier being 100% self employed.

[Former_Member]

Jean from Winterwomandesigns says

"Dan - your ties are fantastic! I *love* the bright colors & patterns.

I quit my full time job a couple of years ago because my elderly parents needed help. To contribute some money to the household, I took a part time job in a bike shop and sort of stumbled into the bike jewelry thing. Between Etsy, craft shows and retail outlets I'm doing pretty well, so I'm at a crossroads now about what to do - am I disciplined enough to leap into the craft thing full time? (Scary!) or stay at the bike shop for a guaranteed income and run myself ragged between parents, craft, bike shop and household? "

Thanks Jean. :)

Don't let fear hold you back...if you can afford to go full-time, go for it. Sometimes you just have to jump off the edge...I've always found the universe provides a safety net, though sometimes I have to fall a little farther than I'd like LOL

[CopperLeafStudios]

I run my business full time, although it involves more than just Etsy. I would think carefully about being a "full time business owner" vs. "full time Etsy". Websites come and go, sales fluctuate throughout the year, and you'll want to be able to rise above that. Little things like having your own domain name that points to your shop are key steps to maintaining your business identity. Going a step further and adding other venues to your repertoire can help diversify and stabilize your income.

[LuluOleander]

Alison, very inspiring words. Dan another great inspiration from a UK seller!

I'm full time on Etsy, Folksy and any other suitable websites. I had to give up my job in the fashion industry due to my partner taking redundancy and a new job in a completely different part of the country.

I decided to really go for it, making my stuff and filling the shops and it has worked!! It will never make me rich, but I add my solid contribution each month and I am totally dedicated and have the rural lifestyle I yearned for, where no-one tells me what to do any more, happy happy!!