Seeking Quotes for Seller Handbook Story: How did you get serious about your Etsy shop?

[AudMod]

Hi there!

Was there a moment when you looked at your shop and thought "it's time to get serious"? If so, I want to hear from you! Share your story and tips below for a chance to be quoted in an upcoming Seller Handbook article.

Some topics I'm interested in hearing about:

Stories about how your shop evolved from part time hobby to full fledged business
Changes in how you view your shop now vs. when you first started it
Tips you'd offer other sellers looking to take their shop to the next level
How your attitude and approach towards your shop has shaped your success

Feel free to share even if you're still in the process of "getting serious" about your shop. All perspectives are welcome.

Can't wait to read your responses!

Update: The Seller Handbook post is live: https://blog.etsy.com/en/2015/how-to-get-serious-about-your-etsy-shop/

[WilliamsGiftshop]

Then there's the category that I belong to: sellers that took their business serious straight from the start.
You make us all sound like a bunch of kids who just play shop, rather than adults who run a business.

[heartsabustin]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - my shop got better as soon as I started listening to those giving me advice about better pictures. I learned from other sellers about how to use my camera, what the best backdrop was, and from sheer determination and a lot of practice. When you sell online, your photos HAVE to be eye-catching. They have to stand out from everyone else's - whether it's a neat prop or the perfect lighting or just killer close-ups of beautiful products. I'm still learning about my camera and how to best take my pictures, though - I'll never learn enough.

[Former_Member]

To me it started as a hoby. I have always tought that the real luxury is in handmade items. Something made just for you.The harest part was to make the dessicion to put my creations for sale. I was thinking are my products good enough? Would they really make people happy? Can I do that? . Once I got over it , it was step by step that I had to take and clim , but I realize that I can do it. And after seeing people happy and interested in my creations. After seeing how much their adore my work, that is when I tought Its time to take it to another level. I am still in process and I know that is hard work and a lot of time, but I learn new things every day and I know that step by step i will get to where i want to be and make a lot of people happy with my creations

[ArtisanBathandBody]

Hi Audrey,

There was definitely a moment when I looked at my shop and thought it was time to get serious. I like sharing when this happened because it still encourages me to continue doing what I love.

When I opened my Etsy shop, I worked at a full-time job. Soap-making was a hobby for me back then. My first sale was on February 15, 2013 just two months after I decided to sell online. From that moment on, sales started picking up really fast. I had set a goal to quit my job when I achieved 1,000 sales. That soon came on October, 2013.

Since then, I have dedicated most of my time to my Etsy shop. This was the moment I said, "It's time to get serious!" I have changed many things ever since I made this big step. My shop name changed from ArtisanSoapinVegas to ArtisanBathandBody. This change happened because I started selling different products other than soap to offer a more diverse variety. Another thing that changed were the number of listings. I introduced many products to suit the needs of customers. Finally, my photography, titles, and descriptions changed. Thanks to the help of Etsy, I got motivated to make my photography, titles, and descriptions stand-out.

If I were to compare in how I view my shop now vs. when I first started it, I would say that there's a really big difference in between. I really did get serious about my business. I put it in this way. We never stop learning, so we must never stop growing.

Some tips that I'll give other sellers looking to take their shop to the next level are to first and foremost, follow Etsy advice! You might not know this, but Etsy is not just a marketplace; it's a place to get inspiration and motivation from. Errors are your best teachers, learn from them. Never say you can't do something, always try. Always keep the good vibe, your attitude and approach towards your shop will shape your success. I like providing customers great service by replying to their questions as professional and soon as possible, this is one way my attitude has shaped my success, and may be the best to recommend doing. There's still much more to get serious about, but never let something bring that moment down. You'll regret it.

I ♥ Etsy!
Cristy

[Former_Member · Accepted solution]

My shop improved drastically once I joined my local Etsy team (Buffalo Etsy Team, Buffalo, NY). I found a community there of like minded individuals who also were looking of ways to improve their shop and network. It gave me the encouragement and motivation I needed to put more work into it. My advice is to join teams and find a community that inspires you to keep working on your shop. Make connections, gather new ideas and work with others!

[NataBurgos]

I started sewing maybe since I was 15 or 16, and I started sewing accessories and bags when I was studying at my university. Back then I had lots of sales from friends and teachers. At the same time I started to collect fabrics, I love doing that, and in the last 8 years I have built a vast collection of fabric scraps that inspire me to work.

Sewing is still a hobby for me, but due to personal things that have happened in the last years I decided to give them more space in my life. The moment that I started to think seriously about my sewing hobby was when I made a deal with a business partner, he didn´t know much about me, but he had tons of faith and conviction in my work. He started to arrange exhibitions of my products in design stores and it was a pretty exciting phase of my sewing proyect.

But I always had this gut feeling that I needed to put my products online. Back in 2010 I opened an Etsy shop with one item, and then the store was completely inactive until June 2014, when my business partner quit working with me because his wife has a terminal illness. It was then when I started to put serious effort in my Etsy shop. I have been learning a lot and joining good teams has been very important to improve my shop.

There is still a LOT to do but I am very pleased with the results until now, from June until this day I have made 29 sales, including one wholesale order. The income has been really important these days (not gazillion dolars though), I was able to celebrate my mums b-day, had some money for my trip to Mexico and right now I will pay some debts.
This might not sound professional, because i'm not investing all the money back in the business, but this has been a blessing for me right now, because this year has been very tough when it comes to a day job.

I also enjoy a lot when I see that people from all around the world appreciate my work. Last week I made a sale to Singapore! Just amazing!

I think that we need discipline and conviction to keep an Etsy shop. Discipline to create, list and to give the best customer attention. Another thing is don't expect inmediate results and don't go around complaining, try to bring out solutions instead of whining. Try to improve your shop as much as you can and read good stuff about SEO and photography (this has been very important for me and I still have loads of things to improve). Another good thing is about building a mailing list, to keep contact with customers that fall in love with your stuff!

[FenderGemsNCrystals]

I knew what success was. I had been in business off line 15 years before coming to Etsy.

After 3 months and getting close to the end of the initial listing term I was not all that eager to go on.

Then I found teams and the sassy critique blog
http://etsymentors.blogspot.com/p/critique-your-own-shop.html. I spent the following month scouring the newbie teams to create a daily to do list. With lots of elbow grease by the end of the fourth month I was having daily sales. That is when I said this can work!

[Rozemake]

I think the moment came where I had to commit to a 1 year lease on a building for my workshop because I was getting overwhelmed in my garage. Was a very nervous time for me....we were a single income family (my other job) trying to make ends meet and I was taking on what was almost a second mortgage. More than three years later things are growing steadily, I still have the same location, and the same full time job.

The other major point was when I changed from recovering boxes from where ever I could find them to ordering them in the 100's or 200's at a time. This was a big time save too.

[KlikKlakBlocks]

We are Guntis and Liga, the husband-and-wife team behind Klik Klak Blocks. It is a family business located in Latvia, Europe. Latvia is a small country, a population of 2 million people and it is one of the greenest countries in the world.

We have two cute kids, Valters and Paula. Our son Valters was the reason why we created Klik Klak Blocks. When he was smaller we were looking for natural wood blocks in our local stores. We wanted him to have the blocks made of natural wood, non-toxic, safe for playing and without any artificial colors. Just like the ones we used to have in our own childhood. We could not find such blocks…and that was the moment our business idea struck us. Valters loved playing with the blocks made by the hands of his Dad, he played with them for hours.

We wanted to give the same joy and fun to other kids so we started making natural wood blocks for children. We make them of Baltic birch and pine cut in the forest owned by our family, and we started our business as a hobby. Now it has become not only our passion but a full time job as well. Out Etsy shop got serious about half a year ago when we added wedding related wooden products and personalized wooden gifts to it.

In the very beginning we were offering only two types of the blocks – ones with a satin smooth surface and another with a ribbed surface which is extremely important for babies as exploring several textures develops language skills. As soon as we became online sellers, we received many custom orders from people all around the world and this is how we developed our products. It was our customers who suggested making personalized wooden blocks, calendars, wooden dice and other products. Some of them were looking for high quality wood crafts supplies and the other ones – free standing wood letters and wooden words.

Now one of our most popular products is free standing wooden words. The first wood word we made was for Eliana, a baby girl in Canada. While we were making this wooden name, her parents were still expecting her to appear in this world.

Every single one of our products is handmade. We pay attention to the details. We make them to last. It’s true, it takes lots of long hours, but it’s worth every second. We were emotionally touched by a message sent us by one of our customers. The lady wrote us that she lives in the USA but has her roots in Latvia. She said: “After I opened the package of your wooden blocks, I took them in my hands. You know, it felt so wonderful because I had a feeling I can touch my Latvia again…”.

Even though we are still newcomers to online selling we have something we can advise everyone – it’s not enough to love something you do, it should be your passion and your lifestyle as well. One of our values is personal attitude in everything we do. We love sharing personal stories in the descriptions of our products so let us share one of them with you!

“Our son Valters loves playing with the wooden blocks. We always hear different kind of sounds while he is playing – he imagines them to be cars, trains, bikes, he builds houses, castles, towers and he imagines them to be telephones, TVs and much more. Valters has a very special friend in his nursery school – a cute girl called Jennifer. It was Christmas time and we asked Valters about his wishes on Christmas gifts. He answered that he would like to receive a few new books from Santa Claus. Then we asked – “And what about your friend Jenny? What would she would like to receive on Christmas?” He answered: “I will give her half of my wooden blocks.” We asked: “Why?” And he seriously answered: “Then we both will be able to build a bridge to each other’s house…”.

Liga & Guntis
Klik Klak Blocks

[ElegantArtifacts]

When I first opened my Etsy shop I was just looking for a little extra income. I did not give my shop that much attention since I was focused on my design business. Gradually, sales increased until I realized my Etsy shop was outpacing my design business in monetary rewards - that's when I got serious about joining teams, promoting, doing social media, etc. Within a year I had tripled my annual gross. I have been able to close out my brick and mortar shop and my own website thereby saving a ton of rent, and promotional costs while I make more money at Etsy than I ever thought possible. Earning potential is defined only by the amount of time and energy you give to your shop. As with any business, if you have good, fairly priced merchandise, use good business practices and treat your customers like the solid gold they are, Etsy's earning potential is limitless. I am so glad I chose Etsy and I am now seriously considering expansion potential. I'm keeping fingers tightly crossed that the changes currently underway continue to keep the playing field open to sustained future growth.

[Former_Member]

I took my shop seriously from the get go, but it was my third shop attempt. I learned some things from the first two, and started out Rule42 with a plan. I hit the ground running, and never stopped!

[thelavenderpear]

I've been experimenting with my photography over the past year, adding new items and trying to get a handle on tags etc. I've joined a lot of teams, have been listening to critiques and am much more serious about social media, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. I'm still learning a lot, adding items and seeing what sells. I'd say I'm half-serious… I think if sales picked up I'd probably get more serious. It can get frustrating when you only have 8 views one day and 75 the next. I can't imagine how shops get hundreds of views a day and haven't learned how that happens! For now, I'm excited when an item sells… I've increased items in my shop to over 100 and reached my goal of 20 sales by the holidays… I'll keep plugging away. It's fun and gives me a great creative outlet now that I'm retired from the graphic design field!

[thisattic]

Hello Audrey!

I'll admit I really had no idea what I was doing when I started my two Etsy shops in high school (with some help from my wonderful mom). I had been making jewelry as a hobby and collecting vintage trinkets for years, so selling stuff made sense. However, I started off with horrible photos, too-long or too-short descriptions, and small price ranges. I was in school still and doing a few small jobs whenever I needed income, so money wasn't an issue for me. (I'm sure I wasn't profitable at this point.)

When I moved out at the beginning of this year, I got a little more serious. I had put both of my shops on vacation mode, and -- after settling in -- I opened just the vintage shop as I wanted to focus on making that profitable before starting on jewelry again. While taking business classes at a local college, I set up organized shelving for inventory and stocked up a pile of vintage items in my garage and went to work. I had recently invested in a good camera, so I took great care to improve my photographs (and soon purchased photo lights and updated my photo space). I listed each item with careful consideration and tried to stock up quickly, offering the best packaging and customer service I could along the way.

As I began to get lost in trying to understand the corporate world of business, I realized the education I was getting was more than I needed. All I wanted was some down-to-earth business coaching, and I realized I had been getting that all along from my parents -- successful entrepreneurs who hadn't any formal education themselves. So, I finished up my semester and stopped school, leaving nothing to hide behind where my finances were concerned.

I knew I never wanted to work a string of odd jobs, climb my way to the top, or anything of that "usual" sort. Given the option of making a living on my own -- held back by nothing but hard work and the free time I had just discovered -- I leapt at the chance. With lots of time, energy, and prayer, I feel like I have really started to get somewhere. I can say I run my own enjoyable business, and it does well enough for me get by (and keeps growing better!).

At 19 years old, I may never have to work a "real" job in my life.

- Heidi
This Attic Vintage

[LamaWorks]

A year and a half ago I casually hired my first employee - or rather she hired me. A friend just wanted to help me out a bit when things got busy and it was great! Having her around made me think more abut how I was going to pay her, what I could have others help me with and where I was going with the business.

The real turnaround for me though was applying to a local small business competition. We sat down with mentors and created a business plan - something I had never even considered before. It made me put down on paper who I was, what I did and where I wanted to go in the future. We didn't win the $10,000, but we did take second place out of 30 applicants so that was such a huge confidence boost for me. It made me feel like a business, not just a hobby.

After that point when people asked what I did I stopped saying "Oh I just make invitations" to "I own a wedding invitation business".

[metalicious]

I had been on Etsy for 2 years selling a handful of jewelry pieces a year. Then after the birth of my son in 2009 I had to have emergency spinal surgery. I was in incredible pain and physically unable to take care of my new infant, I had to hire a caregiver and figure out how we could pay her. On top of that, we had hospital and doctor bills to pay. It was a really scary time but I knew I had to make my Etsy business grow quickly or we'd lose everything. Within a month of hard work promoting, re-taking and editing photos and creating new work I was able to pay for childcare. By the end of that year I had paid off most of the hospital debt and was working on my business full time.

What started out as a beloved hobby turned into my life's work. I'm grateful that my shop pays the rent for a studio outside of our apartment, I'm able to pay our bills and even pay for a family vacation per year. It's an amazing feeling to do what I love and provide for my family. I can't help but think of the Phoenix rising from the ashes, I'm better, happier and stronger for having gone through such a challenging time.

You have to have the fire in your belly to take your shop to the next level. If you want to make your business grow you have to work very hard. It's not going to just come to you, every successful seller on Etsy will tell you they work hard every. single. day. Otherwise you've got a nice hobby that will bring in some cash once in a while. There's nothing wrong with that, but recognize what you truly want from your shop and realize that it's up to you to make it happen. If you want it, you'll do whatever it takes to make it happen: re-take photos over and over until they are impeccable, research your top keywords and don't stop researching because keywords change quickly over time, read the Etsy blog articles, there is a wealth of information about how to be a successful seller here. Be honest with yourself and your products, I had to change my entire design direction because what I thought was amazing jewelry wasn't amazing enough to pay the bills.

If I can do it, you can do it! If I could grow my Etsy business while in pain and emotionally depressed, terrified about the mountain of bills, then you can do it. I had spent so much time making excuses that I wasn't making the work. Once I stopped the excuses and did the work my business flourished. My son is now 5 and although I can't lift him up, I'm able to play trains with him, hug him, do science experiments and run around a bit at the playground. I'm forever grateful to Etsy and my customers for helping support me through such a difficult time.

[Dogdohr]

I was serious as soon as I set up my Etsy Shop! Even before that when just thinking about it.

[Former_Member]

Hi Audrey!

I started Etsy a little over 2 months ago, and I opened my shop with excitement and hope that my little side hobby could possibly turn into something bigger. Before opening up my Etsy shop I would study blogs, articles, listen to podcasts, journal my ideas and play around with designs- all to help me prepare to open it. I shortly figured out after opening my shop that no matter how much you prepare yourself, the entire process is a learning experience and everyday I feel like I learn something new or tweak certain things in my shop with hopes of one day making it big. I take every order seriously, but I started realizing how serious this could become...

To answer your question, I opened my shop with hope and dreams and continue to feel that way everyday. Although I may not be living off my Etsy shop full time yet, I continue to see the potential everyday that ONE day I might be able to make that transition from side hobby to full time. One of the most rewarding feelings is actually seeing a stranger wear something you created. Another hope of inspiration to make it "big" is when people ask me where I bought my headbands when I wear them... this was my first sign that I truly needed business cards to keep on me. Another example would be when someone approached me on buying my headbands to sell in their boutique, I then started to become even more serious. My most recent experience with continuing the hope of making it full time in the future was taking the plunge on becoming a vendor at a half marathon race. Being able to interact with people regarding your product and utilize the Etsy card reader was amazing!

My goal is to continue to work on my shop everyday, and to one day make my dream a reality.

Thanks!

- Brittney
* BlockHeadBands

[feltmeupdesigns]

I was sat in the car with my dad when I realised that this was what I wanted to do and nothing was going to stop me. I'd been working part time in a book store and making on the side.

It was near Christmas and We were talking about "my silly hobby" (in that way parents do when they think they are trying to help you by asking when you are going to get a real job, go full time, train for management, do something with that degree etc) and I snapped at him and told him exactly how much money I'd made from my hobby that month... which was about twice my monthly salary!

Not only did it make my dad realise this was a real thing but it made me realise that yes it was time to get serious... but not about the "real job" about my "hobby", that was when I realised that this was a business and it was what I wanted to do.

I went home and started writing out a 5 year business plan of where I wanted to be, that was 5 years ago and I have just moved beyond the point of my original plan. I quit my day job nearly 4 years ago and haven't looked back since!

[MargeIilane]

Hi Audrey and everybody else who is reading my feedback,
I have always been in passion to make things myself and in many different segments: felting, sewing, knitting etc. I opened my Etsy shop in 2008 and though that I try to sell there different things: necklaces, hats, scarves etc. I did very few sales as I also had maybe 10-15 items listed. But then I got my passion in couture hats and took some trainings in the UK. After since I started to make hats and sold the mostly in my ateljer.
But about two years ago by now I decided that I will put all my efforts, read all the comments and advises you guys are giving for sellers. Decided to invest into beautiful pictures with pretty girls and then it started. I was so happy with my last years result and when this year begun was even a bit scared how it will go this year. Again made new collection for my ateljer/local customers and get it pictured also for Etsy shop. And this year has overexceeded all my expectaions: I have sold my hats and fascinators twice as last year. I do have now of course two times more products than year ago, already know what my customers are looking for. Try to make things what many like, but also experiment with some more crazy and creative things as I need much new challenges and get nerveous with the routine.
So many thanks for Etsy team- I always read now your tips for sellers and many-many thanks for my lovely customers.
For me most frustrating thing is the postage service as I am living in Estonia (northern Europa) and the postage to USA is about 10 working days. Most of my customers are from USA and many of them would like to receive their package within the week. Unfortunately I cannot offer it because of the distance. The courier deliveries for hats are extremly expensive. So I am just waiting and hoping that in some days also postage from Europa to USA will be within 5-6 days and for normal rates.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

[DecorDesignsAndMore]

"Was there a moment when you looked at your shop and thought 'it's time to get serious'?" . . . a most interesting question indeed.

. . . acting or speaking sincerely and in earnest, rather than in a joking or halfhearted manner . . .

Perhaps, "halfhearted" can mean only about a 50% effort being made which certainly is not a person's best effort. "Attitude is a small thing that always seems to make a really big difference." A single thought or mindset change can really start making things happen. How is that?

For me, it was a day when I discovered this simple mindset attitude that made all of the difference.

"When I have to do a task it is always very hard to do. Yet, when I really want to do the same task it becoms much easier to do."

Setting a "target goal" and really wanting to achieve it --- motivates me to get it done!

I rest my case.

Thank you,

Mike

Hope this helps someone.

[minagraphy]

That's a wonderful question because I think that's it's a question that many are afraid to ask, including me.

I'd have to be honest and say that for a while there I took my shop for granted, until I did my taxes and realized 40% of my income came from my art store on Etsy. This, to me, is unbelievable, that one can go from an amateur artist to a full blown art seller, with collectors - no credentials required, just honesty, hard work and great customer service.

So I'm constantly taking my presence on Etsy more and more seriously, and realizing that dreams do grow wings, not magically - but by constantly building upon them and making them stronger, better and more reliable.

Once you take the step from looking at your art as a hobby to looking at your art (or your craft) as a means to improve upon yours and everybody else's life, that's when you step into the realm of living what you love.

Furthermore, I do not know of any other platform that has built such a following of buyers, such great presence and integrity in the world of handmade.

Etsy has opened a lot of eyes to the possibility of bringing magic to the masses in a sustainable way.

So, thank you for that Etsy!

[Former_Member]

I was not only serious but I had a plan of where I wanted to be in 8 years. However I had to learn everything about selling online. I tried a few different things that failed before I found my niche here.
I knew that this would be the future PLUS it fit my needs. I do not like selling at shows and having to travel to show. As i had been doing for years.
I prefer to be in my studio creating but could not afford to hire a rep. By 2016 or 2017 I want to be making a certain income if possible. And I wanted to be making that income with something I created. That was when I found two online sites, joined both but Etsy won out within one year and I have stayed with Etsy since !

At first I surrounded myself with other local Etsy sellers to help me stay on track and share what we were learning. Soon however we found that not everyone wanted the same goal. Most wanted to just play and create as they wanted with no real goal to make this a successful business. Which is perfectly ok! But it was pulling me different directions.
This pushed me to keep with the group who was serious. This was difficult but taught me that in order to keep my vision we must make choices that are hard at times. It helped a lot!
I now have a group that are serious and fun. We are all on the same page and work well together. Meeting once a week as we can.

It has been a awesome learning process. Way slower than I hoped for but well worth it. Took me a number of YEARS to find my branding!
I am still just as serious but not willing to loose my quality control for big sales. I want to keep it really special for every customer. It is not about just the money it is about following my passions, and enjoying my life. And making it special for my customers too! I want to be a small business not a huge one. I would like to work up to taking on a few wholesale orders a year too. I have to purchase two more pieces of equipment to do that . I am almost there. ;-)

I do have one secret goal. I do not know how I could do it, but if I could afford too and the doors would have to open to accomplish it, I would like to be able to have a weekly place to meet and help others get started. I want to help the women of my community who are lower income find their creative talents and help them supplement their income as I have done. My husband died years ago leaving me with two small children. I worked part time teaching art lessons so I could stay home with the kids at that time. With online selling I hope more moms can get the help they need to do the same.

I love my job!!!! Thank you Etsy and all who are here. It is a great community!

[AlinaandT]

I got serious about my etsy shop about year and a half-two after I opened. At first it was a creative outlet and a little extra cash to cover my supplies costs but as soon as I had to quit my last full time job, having to move half the world away for months on hand and most of all starting to really enjoy what I was doing here and being able to connect with buyers from around the world, I decided that I had to become more serious about it, started planning ahead of time, thinking a lot more about the business aspects and branding/marketing etc.
It was and is a lot of work but so worth it. The timing of this transition was right and I was able to focus on my shop entirely but it was a conscious decision not to go back to working for someone else.

[LynnKDesignStudio]

I think I've always taken my shop seriously but I think the point when I decided to elevate it in order to drive more sales is when I really began to appreciate what my business had to offer.

I have a niche product - Thermofax screens. And I love them like a crazy person but I knew that just having the listings up wasn't going to cut it. In a way, the shop helped give me the extra push to really expand my business. In order to promote the screens, I strated writing magazine articles. Three years later I now have a book, two DVD workshops, TV appearances, a fabric line, a thread collection and multiple other projects in the work.

I view my shop as my jumping off point, the thing that helped everything get rolling. :)

Lynn