How many hours do you spend on your shop...

[Former_Member]

I have started dedicating a lot more time to my Etsy shop, blogging, and using social networking to try to get things running. My family seems a bit worried about me. I also work a part time job and volunteer.

How many hours do you spend on your business? How do you stay balanced and avoid burn out?

Thanks,

Elise

[Former_Member]

At the moment it's a part time job for me really, I spend approx 30-35hrs a week on it. I do have a 10 week old baby though which makes it harder to put in much more time ;)
As for staying balanced, it's just a matter of prioritising your day, make up a to-do list each morning (or the night before) and then work through it from the most import jobs to the least important. Anything that doesn't get done can be put onto the following days list :)

[Former_Member]

Thanks! That's a good tip. :)

[Former_Member]

Kelly, I can't believe your baby is 10 weeks already!!! time flys!

Elise, I would say I work on something to do with Etsy about 30 hours a week. I also work full time doing 40+ hours at my day job. I love my Etsy shop and the Etsy community so it is easy to get lost in it. To fine balance I have tried to do less even though other people would like more from me. I try to listen to my body and my mind to watch for signs of being burnt out. I know a sure sign that I am getting burnt out is I stop doing everything and just watch TV for a day or two. Then it hits me. So I cut out 'such and such’ so I can actually accomplish something without 1/2 doing everything. The strongest advice I can give is listen to yourself. When you have the energy and the inspiration run with it and follow your heart. Don’t be afraid to take breaks when you need to. And make lists like Kelly suggested. Lists always help me.

[Former_Member]

I honestly can't say how much time I work on it - I'm a part time student at school (health/money reasons), so I technically have the summer 'off' but I run three blogs and my etsy shop every day from early morning to 11pm at night - making designs, drawing new designs, promoting, social media, etc.

I agree with Mori and Kelly. Follow your heart, try new things, nothing is up for failure. Don't be afraid to ask for support within the Etsy community (people are amazing here!!) if you're feeling burnt out of ideas, and take a break! Go for a walk, read, play solitaire - find some things to do away from you Etsy so burning out doesn't happen frequently! :)

[CaseyHPerez]

Hmm, It's hard to say, something I should probably start keeping track of. I recently quit my part time job (I'm a full time student) and started a dog walking business and am trying to turn my shop into a more full time thing. What I've found is that it is really easy to get caught up in the blog/forums/anything online/promoting aspect... to the point where you don't leave enough time to create and have time for your life outside of etsy. What I do now, is try to add a new listing every day or every other day and then do all my promoting for that item immediately after listing it, I tweet and pin it straight from the listing, then post it to my tumblr, then my facebook and then wanelo, and then a couple etsy teams. It takes me about 10 minutes to do all that promoting. I feel that its the best way for me to not get caught up with spending to much time online but I still get all my items promoted on different websites.

Making a list really does help. If that isn't structured enough for you, you can always estimate how long it should take you to do each thing and put yourself on a time schedule as well.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for the tips everyone :)

Cassi Jo I've been wanting to start a dog walking business myself! How do you like it? I may have to get some advice from you :)

[CaseyHPerez]

So far I love it. I literally have only had it for a couple months, 3 of those weeks I was out of the country, so only have been seriously promoting it since I have been back (1 week). Definitely a low cost business to start up, really only need insurance, possibly a business license depending on where you live, and a way to get to clients houses. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. I'm definitely still in the early stages of this business though and trying to build some more regular clients. It inspires my art though :) much more than sitting behind a desk in an office.

[Former_Member]

How many hours do I spend on the business?

About 12 hours per day, 7 days per week.

This includes not only the time I spend on Etsy but also the time I spend on all other parts of the business.

Etsy is just a portion of my overall business plan.

[Former_Member]

Mori, neither can I, she's gotten so big so fast :D Her weigh in this morning.. 4.75kgs (10lb 4oz) and 58cm (22.8 inches) long!

I do my promoting the same way Cassi does too, plus an extra plug here or there. I limit my time on the forums to 30-45 mins a day.. I could spend all day here but really.. so many other things to be doing :D

[Former_Member]

Internet shops (primarily etsy) takes up hours of my time each day.

I'd love to say that its worth it - but quite honestly we will really need to see sales go up in order to justify it long term.

We are giving Etsy the full year - just about to reveiw all our packaging....

More hours!!!! LOL

Kiddies running round me at the moment so I'll have to take a break.

[Former_Member]

This is my full time job, so I spend at least 8-10 hours a day on my business as a whole. More during the busy months. But it pays the bills and I love it so I don't mind!

I do try hard to strike a balance and prioritize. I have a 3 year old daughter so family time is important. Every day I just try to get through my to-do list in time to spend time with them as well!

[OneUrbanTribe]

About 80 hrs a week. I know, I know, I need a life.

[Former_Member]

I'd like a life, too. I pretty much work 7 days a week on my etsy shop from the moment I wake up until the evening, when I try and relax a little by doing a bit of knitting, but even then, I still check on my shops, answering convos, renewing items etc.

[ElwynJewelry]

I'm college student so as much as I can afford it during the year.. But I go over the limit during the summer. Usually, one coffee with my friends in a day is enough to keep my head of jewelry. Etsy is always open when I'm at home.

Excuse me, I need a cofee break! :)

[Former_Member]

Lots of great advice here! Finding balance is super important. I have just recently made this my full-time job (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1906708600/steelhead-studio-is-going-full-time). My biggest challenge right now is to not get sucked into the computer for too long a stretch. Time just disappears! I'm committed to not working after 8pm, and not being on the computer past 9pm to make sure I get a full night's rest and be ready for the next action-packed day. It's also really important to give your eyes a break, whether it's the computer or working your craft (close-up work for a lot of us, yes?) Trust me, when you get to be my age, your eyesight becomes that much more precious!

[dorsetclothing]

It can vary from week to week, but somewhere between 40-80 hours a week. I try to spend 5-6 days a week making things for at least 3-5 hours. If I'm lucky I can get 8 hours of making into a day. The rest of the time is spent photographing, listing, promoting, packing and mailing, reading up on things and doing the boring stuff like paperwork.

When I was working part time I would focus 2 solid days on my business, and a couple of hours each day before and after work.

I try to keep a balance with family and friends as much as possible. I try and make one day a week a non making day, and get out of the house for a few hours. I still do the promoting and looking after my store on those days, but that takes less time.

[Former_Member]

Hi, This discussion contains very interesting information. I spend 25-30 hours per week. I would like to spent more, but impossible due to family responsibilities. Before kids, I had stared a marketing career in the medical business with lots of international travel. And after all I think that my hourly earning today with etsy is not far below what I earned before, I just work 1/3 of the time and thus gain 1/3 of my previous salery. But now the rest of my time is for my kids! And my previous job did not come part-time.
Thank you etsy!

[Former_Member]

I guess right now I am putting in 10 hr days on this shop but I am pretty new and just trying to get it going. I'd like to have things well in place before the holiday season starts. oh, also, I don't currently have a day job, but not out of choice.

[Former_Member]

I spend 40-80hrs on my business. I use lots of checklists and then I have a chalkboard, a bulletin board, and a wall filled with my to do lists and design ideas.....It's getting very crowded in my apartment!!

[Former_Member]

I have a new etsy shop, and I spend probably about 30 hours a week on it & related things (including my blog).

I also have a 45 hr/week full time job & a part time job that runs anywhere from 5-20 hours in a week.

Yea, I sleep very little haha. But if I have a busy week for the pt job, I will do a little less etsy/blog stuff. When I have easy pt job weeks, I do more etsy/blog stuff.

[Former_Member]

I only have time at night after my kids are in bed to work on my shop and weekends but I have now reserves Sundays to my "day off" otherwise it was just getting out of hand. Try using great apps like www.shopmarketinghelper.com to help out with your social networking. It lets you organize it all ahead of time so you aren't constantly going to your shop to promote things all day long. It's really helped me out. I look at it like this. If I get swamped and feel like I am devoting every last minute of my "off work" time to the shop I get burned out. It's little things like apps that can help out a lot.

[FenderGemsNCrystals]

I put in about 30 hours a week or more. Etsy and shows are my sole source of income

[Former_Member]

At least 30 hours a week...probably more than that. I am an unemployed new mom. It's hard to balance everything out because of my little one, but I make it work. I usually am working away on Etsy when my baby is sleeping. His father helps out, a lot though, when he gets home from work.

If I didn't have help and a team mate, this wouldn't even be possible.