Turning Your Hobby Into An Etsy Shop: Find Your Passion & Enter a Global Market
Have you ever heard the saying, "..love what you do, and you will never work a day in your life.."? It's so very true and can be a reality for anyone who has the drive to make it happen. The first step is finding your passion. Everybody has a skill that makes their heart happy (even if you don't know what it is yet). You then pour your heart into that hobby, perform some market research, then finally transform that into business plan [we will cover market research/business plans in upcoming blogs - so stay tuned!!]. Whether you love to paint, crochet, sew, sculpt, etc., platforms like Etsy foster an environment where buyers and sellers can come together in one place and create a global marketplace. The best part is, you don't have to have a storefront to run an Etsy shop! This means you can start your shop with little or no overhead.
There are a few steps that you must take prior to opening your shop and making your first sale. Probably the most fun step {in my opinion} is choosing the name of your shop! This sounds easy, but it can actually be challenging (just an FYI: Etsy.com does not allow spacing in the shop names, but does allow upper case and lower case letter to differentiate between words). The website will let you know immediately if the name you have chosen is available or not. You may have to try a few different variations if the name you are wanting if it is unavailable. But don't give up or be discouraged, the perfect name is out there waiting for you to discover it! Your shop name will possibly lead to branding in the future, so make it catchy :-) Catching the attention of your potential buyers is the name of the game. You want your shop to be memorable!
Once you have decided on your shop's name, the next few steps will involve adding your personal & bank account information - this is how you will get paid and pay your Etsy fees. Finally, you come to the last step of opening your store and making your first listing! This is very exciting because this is probably the first time you have seen the platform from this point of view. Don't worry, you can always go back and edit [or delete] this listing once you get the hang of how you want your format to be. From here, take your time to get to know the platform and with time, it will be a breeze navigating the site platform. Explore the different ways to design your new store in a way that makes your future customers want to visit and come back again and again! This WILL involve branding and logo design. We go over the details of branding and all of its glory in its very own blog - have you ever seen a super successful company without branding or a logo? Us either :-)
Now that you have an open store, here are some tips that we have learned over the years to make the process of running a shop easier and look more professional.
1. Be consistent! - Your store's success is largely at the mercy of customer reviews. We have so many happy customers that complement the fact that when they order (& re-order) from us, their items quality and packaging are always consistent. You build a trust that will keep them coming back! From your listing descriptions, listing pictures, all the way to the final product...Be Consistent!
2. Provide excellent customer service. - Having a handmade craft business includes lots of personalization. This all starts with the customers reaching out to see if you can meet their needs. ALWAYS provide a timely, cheerful reply. This is a big stepping stone to transform those potential customers into paying customers. (warning: this part is not always the most fun, but sometimes it is :-) You will speak with a lot of interesting people along the journey of being a business owner!)
3. Format your listing descriptions carefully & allow them to evolve. - This is one of the things that will evolve with your store. If I were to go back and look at the very first listing's format, it would be WAY different than the one we use today. As you are in business, you will learn the things people ask you about frequently. These things should be listed clearly in the descriptions. This will save you time by not having to answer as many questions (you will thank me later) :-) Change is good, a lot of work, but good!
4. Marketing!!! - The 3 exclamation points are necessary because this is the #1 thing that will get your business attention and allow it to grow bigger than you ever thought possible. We will cover marketing in its own blog post because its that important! Stay tuned for that one (wink, wink)
5. Have fun! - You opened a small business doing a hobby you love. HAVE FUN! This is the most important thing to your shops success! You have to love what you are doing. Embrace the change and evolution of your business (& the platform-it is constantly evolving, so be ready!). This will be scary at times. You will wonder if you can handle any more work load, markets will shift and change, the platform will update and you will have to adjust accordingly, and all of this change is going to happen eventually. Have fun exploring new limits, new strategies, & new technology!
We hope after reading this blog, you have a better understanding of the process and what it takes to successfully open an online craft shop of your own! No matter who you are, where you live, or what you love to do, there is opportunity out there just waiting for you on a global scale! Welcome to the wonderful world of internet sales, where your doors never close and your customers may be a half a world away :-)
Feel free to add questions or comments below. We would love to hear from you & answer any questions that you may have! :-) Stay tuned to The Crafty Blog and don't forget to ➼ subscribe to our newsletter & Like us on Facebook to receive updates on the "Let's get crafty!" series!! Until next time...
| Stay Crafty |
Etsy is a registered trademark of Etsy, Inc.
