Unemployed

[#1]

I am officially unemployed which means the only money I have coming in is through Etsy and some craft fairs. Yikes! any advice? I need to increase my sales pronto

[Former_Member]

I took a look at your shop and though I'm still new with etsy I have some critiques that I hope you'll find helpful. Really work on branding yourself and your products! I myself have been working really hard on that for the past month. Your backgrounds are very varied in your photos and because of that your lighting is as well. You want people to go from one picture to the other without thinking "Am I in the same shop?" (I personally like the clothesline one. I think the lighting with it is great. ) Make sure that your business cards, your shop banner any tags you use in craft fairs etc have the same kind of design. You want people to be able to pick up any of those things and have an immediate flashback to you, your shop, your product, your brand. You also want to be able to carry your brand into your descriptions. Your shop and your products are YOU and YOU are a unique amazing artist! Work on making your descriptions and your profile how you would talk to a customer face to face. Put in some of your own language, your own phrases. Customers have so many shops to choose from on etsy so when they buy they are in essence buying you and they want to know you.
Above all don't give up. Being unemployed may just be exactly what you need to make a major lifechange. I've learned in the past few months to continually be working to improve my products. When I first started out I was going completely blind and had things falling apart and not laying right etc. but I kept at it trial and error and eventually things started coming together.
Be sure not to make etsy your one and only venue. Try boutiques, craft fairs. Let your close friends and family buy your wares at a deep discount and give them business cards to pass out when people admire your work through them. I've done this and had a lot of success that way off of etsy.
Good Luck and continue thinking Positive thoughts and your work will reflect it!

[Former_Member]

Great rant! Love when poetry REALLY tells it in such a way that everyone can identify. Sales are slow, but my chin is high. Craft fairs or really the best way to go, but considering all other internet avenues, Etsy is still one of the most economical venues.

[SleepingKnight]

I became self employed in April of this year. I looked at it as an opportunity to start making my chainmail full time. It has been really good for me. Though I am not quite able to pay all the bills yet, things are coming along. I would love to increase my sales and hopefully the Holiday season will give my shop a much needed boost. In the meantime I learn everything I can about Etsy, other online shops and also attend some craft shows to sale. I am building a strong foundation for my business and hopefully I will be able to maintain all my bills in the near future. Keep you head up and work your butt off.

[Former_Member]

Thanks Victorianswag and everyone else! The advice is great and I definitely have a lot to work on.

[Former_Member]

oh! TangledMetal, someone told me you had a blog post about tags, can you possibly link it in here so I can check it out?

[Former_Member]

@ marylandquilter, no I didn't go to school for English (but that would have been cool). I have a double major in Archeology and Ceramics, but I love to write.

Thanks to everyone for the props. Today was a particularly bad day: took my son to the hospital and seperating from my husband because he HATES what I do (he literally told me that).

Even something as simple as liking my poem can mean alot when you're down. Ohh the power of community and positivity!

Thank you, etsy

[Former_Member]

Where's your stuff springmontes?

[photosbynoelle]

as i said as potterybynoelle

i been unemloy\ed too since the closing of aj wright stores last feburary 2011 and still trying to find a another job in retail clothing store

[Former_Member]

Hi Kaimedeiros,

I'm sorry to hear about what happened. It's happened to me twice and it never gets any easier. I agree that you should use this time to make a lot more things for your store. Have you considered opening a facebook page for your items? Or at least posting new items on your facebook page for family and friends. Check with local hospital gift shops who might take baby blankets on consignment. Lots of people have impulse buys when visiting mom/baby.

[Former_Member]

@ OneFeistyStitch, My stuff? Well, some is waitin' to be photographed (I need a camera and one of those photo cube things), waitin' to be fired, and waitin' to be made. Lot's of waitin' I know. But, I can't do anything about it without money: to travel the 40 miles to school to get it done, food, camera, etc. So for now everything is on hold.

Solution: Hello Flea Market! Time to hustle and sell some of my crap! (By crap I mean stuff I no longer use, not my art)

[WildWildernessPhotos]

My Etsy shop is my business and it definitely my job! I love it!

[BackyardBrand]

♥ your poem, springmontes!
I wrote a poem, too, last Monday (am unemployed too, 3 years)...


That Quiet In The Sky (a poem remembering the day after 9/11/01)


I am an American from the state of hope and sorrow
Remembering September 12th ten years ago tomorrow.

The quiet in the sky was a wound still fresh and open
The shock and awe had left us a silence still unbroken.

Ten years have passed and yet I live and yet am I to die,
Yet I will always remember that quiet in the sky.

Jim McLean
September 11, 2011

P.S. Keep writing, springmontes... your life depends on it!
P.S.S. My poem is on my blog btw at http://www.backyardbrand.com/blog.html

[lilruby]

I'm also unemployed for the first time in my life - when I was working I used to dream of staying home and making jewelry, but in reality it's not exactly panning out so well! :)
Hoping I can find a way to increase sales because this is what I really want to do.

[Former_Member]

I prefer not to think of myself as unemployed - although technically I have been out of work since I was widowed in November 2010 and couldn't function anymore in a traditional '9 - '5 gig. I was only 33 with two daughters at home and needed something less demanding. My creative talents begged to spread their wings in my periods of intense grief. I LOVE SELLING ON ETSY! But at times it does feel like I may never sell enough here to make a decent income. I am trying to stay abreast of tagging, keeping a fresh product line and improving item photography. Hope you have better luck soon! It has been a lot of work just getting to where I am now, but every person who "favorites" one of my items or makes a purchase is greatly appreciated.

Briana
Lexilu and Leelee's Accessories on Etsy

[Former_Member]

I am right there with you all. I was laid off the first time in 2008, executive assistant at a retail architecture. In the days that followed my car broke down and I shattered my knee and tibia in a bad bicycling accident. Since then, I've had a couple of temp and seasonal jobs then I was hired in March of this year at a nutritional supplement company but laid off 5 weeks ago. Now, I'm working hard on Piccadilly Cottage here at Etsy. I treat it like a career, like all of you putting in lots of hours. It will pay off for all of us! It will take time, but we'll get there.

Good luck!

Lisa

[Former_Member]

I have been unemplyed for nearly 2 months. Between interviews I have been really focusing on my shop and promoting it. I have joined a few teams and have made a point to promote out side of etsy, off the computer. I have had a definite increase in views and sales. I have used this down time to improve many of my lisitngs and pictures, learning new techniques and studying every book I can on marketing.

[Former_Member]

I was fired at the end of July. I liked my field of work for the most part but it was becoming extremely stressful and no longer enjoyable. It's almost a relief to have lost the job. I now am focusing more on my jewelry. I've added quite a few craft fairs to my fall schedule. I'm going to see if I can make an income on jewelry design.

I feel like this might be a sign, that I'm supposed to pursue my artistic talents. I've always thought I couldn't make it as an artist so I went to school and got my master's degree. But right now, in a horrible job market, my jewelry is the most valuable skill I have. It might mean spending down some of my savings, but I'm trying to have faith that in the end it will be worth it. I'm much happier now doing what I truly love!

[Former_Member]

p.s. thanks for this post. It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one out there

[Former_Member]

Hello .....where to look at where is craft fair in NY?


convo me ..Thank you. Anna

[Former_Member]

wow! I'm sorry so many people are out of work. I'm glad we have Etsy to keep us busy :) I know its helping me to have something to focus on...and maybe it will help with income

[PearlesPainting]

<~Has been looking for work for 3 years to no avail. Single Mom here working around the clock non-stop hoping to make this work for us.
I finally decided in January this year to start selling out of my Etsy shop.
I hear it takes a little while to become established and build up a customer base (repeats and new).
I am not making enough to survive on but it is a goal.
Good luck to everybody.

[Former_Member]

I survived a life-threatening disease, only to find that my spouse had found a replacement, thinking I would die. I got laid off,found a job paying more than the other job, got laid off on 'Bloody Monday' Jan. 26th 2008 and have been up and down ever since. I was close to retirement age, so gave the 8 to 5 the ole' heave ho. Since then the schooling that I'd pursued the last ten years (workshops, training) has all helped to make this a meaningful time and let me find some happiness.

Been there, done that, everyone here can only chin up and keep going. We are all 'down' no where else to go but 'up'. Follow all the advice here, take classes, keep pluggin' away...

[ShamrockPrintShop]

@The dream I live inside my head

Can I use that as a blog post, it's so fitting ;) Credits to you and your store :)

[Former_Member]

I lost my job of 25 years in July 2010. Big layoffs took a lot of us. I miss it even though I love making jewelry.

[KriyaDesign]

When they let me go in the early summer of last year 2010, I was quite miffed. I love the job but it was not a career thing. At the back of my mind, I know it was not something I would be willing to do or grow into the rest of my life. However, I do feel slighted when they let me go, the exemplary... :-) employee.

As corny as it sound, it was the best thing ever happened to me last year. No, I didn't see it that way when it happened. It took me a (long) while of self-contemplation to see it as blessing. I have inventory that had not move in years, for some odd reason, it did move right after the pink slip month. I did have a pity party for a month, but then I always live on the creed, it happens for everyone highest best. It is easy to live by it when life flows smoothly, but at that time, let's just say "circumstances reveal man."

Magic happens from there onward. I found Etsy. Found my passion for craft again. After long hiatus of college, works, and whatever in between we called life. Yes, there is still bills to pay. But would I found my passion which then lead to Etsy if I am still toiling away my days just coping with life but not truly live? No, I will not. I will only getting busy living but not alive. So being unemployed is my highest best. Cheeky... I know :-)

It happened for your highest best. My sister is reading this, she is shushing me. :-) Hang in there. Do what need to be done. What doesn't break you, make you stronger. All the very best

p.s. devour all the great tips on selling. this team is big on that. put them to test drive. keep tweaking. the wheel of fortune will turn in your favor.