Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.
Zig Ziglar
An aspiring Etsypreneur recently asked this question:
What advice do you have for newbies like me who are just starting out? I’m sure you have a ton, so maybe what are your top five?
She may have envisioned an answer that covered a number of topics such as product selection, photography, SEO, pricing, customer service, etc. Indeed all of those are very important and we’re going to touch on each one over the next three weeks .
But they aren’t the top five.
The top five “make-it or break-it” keys for success are all attitudes. Viewpoints. Perspectives. Mindsets. Beliefs. It doesn’t matter what you call them. All that matters is that you have them and that you understand them.
Here they are:
1. Business or Hobby -
The very first thing you have to decide is whether or not you want your Etsy shop to be a business or a hobby. You really can’t have it both ways.
I’ve heard disagreement on this. People love what they make and enjoy making it, so why can’t it be both? It’s fun to create things or go out and find great vintage treasures and sell them for a profit. Profit equals a business, right?
I don’t think it does. I think you can have a “profitable hobby” that’s not a business. The distinction is two-fold:
- How far do you want to go with it?
- How much are you willing to sacrifice for it?
You might be totally satisfied with a hobby that puts $100 a month in your pocket, but a business that only makes $1200 a year isn’t going to be pleasing for long. How much money do you want or need to make from your Etsy shop?
What about sacrifice? A hobby that “requires” you to burn the midnight oil or work for months with very little coin in your pocket to prove your success is quickly going to lose it’s luster. All the sudden it’s no fun and since you’re not committed, you quit.
A business, on the other hand, has an entirely different set of expectations tied to it. You expect it to feel like work. You expect building it to take a little time.
Sure, you can enjoy parts of it, but you know that there will be parts you don’t enjoy, such as shipping, or photo-editing. But since you know these are part of the business plan, you do them.
So the first thing you have to decide is this: Is my Etsy shop a hobby or a business?
The answer to that question is going to help you think through some realistic goals.
2. Goals
Don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest you go grab some paper and a pen. But you can if you want to. Just make sure the pencil has an eraser, because if you’re going to work online, you need “adjustable” goals.
That may go against conventional goal-setting wisdom but I can tell you it’s darn near impossible to have “hard” goals in the online business world. The space is just too unpredictable, especially for those of us learning as we go, with no budget, and no established base of online followers/customers.
So why have goals at all then?
Goals for your online business, even though they must remain flexible, are very important because they help you establish a vision and guidelines for success. A vision, which we’ll talk about in just a second, is absolutely essential to success online.
Here are some good examples of goals for an Etsy seller.
Hobby seller: Fund my craft habit; pay for things like new digital cameras and daily fabric deliveries from the UPS man; all while earning enough money to buy a monthly dinner out so my husband gets some reward for being so sweet about my complete occupation of the home office.
Business seller goals might be more specific; and more expensive:
- Pay for the car payment and insurance
- Cover my tuition and books (or my kid’s tuition and books)
- Establish a platform for my dream of writing
- Provide an online extension of my existing “real world” business
- Allow me to quit my regular job and be a full-time business owner
You get the idea. It’s different for everyone and you can probably tell me in about two seconds what you’d like your business to do for you. If not, you should think about it a little bit.
Because more important than goals, is…
3. Vision
I’m a major believer in the power of the brain to create opportunities as a result of vision. I’m not going to try and explain it, or give any fancy names for the process.
I’m just telling you that if you want to see real success in your life, in any arena, then you can give that success a major jump-start by seeing it first in your mind.
If your goal is to cover your tuition and books then you literally ought to visualize hitting the “pay with PayPal” button on your school’s payment page and paying with your Etsy funds. If your goal is to be able to have the customers who buy from you at a farmer’s market be able to buy again at 2:00am next Thursday from their computer, then you need to spell it out. Talk about it with your spouse or friends. SEE IT HAPPENING.
I’ll let you in on a little trick I use. I have this email list. Chances are that you’re reading this because you received one of those emails.
When I look at my list, I always think of the number of people on the list as ten times the actual number! So if it’s actually 100 people on the list, I think of it as 1000. If it’s 1000, I think of it as 10000, and so on. When I write an email or a post, I tell myself that it’s going out to that many people.
Call me crazy, but I know that this makes me do a better job. It keeps me focused on my goal, which is to help lots of people succeed in becoming successful online entrepreneurs.
When I hit “send”, I see ten times as many people getting the email as actually are. One day, there will actually be that many. Seeing it today is making that day come sooner.
I’m not trying to go all “Law of Attraction” on you here. I’m simply saying that you have three choices. No vision, a bad vision, or a good vision.
The original question is “What are your top five bits of advice for newbies?” A good vision is definitely on that list.
4. Etsy is a venue.
Here is a very important mindset. The Internet is a place more than a thing. The place has inhabitants. The inhabitants are people.
The most common misconception I see is sellers who think of Etsy as a business and them as a salesperson for that business. Or even less realistic they see Etsy as a salesperson for their business.
Neither of these are really true. Etsy is indeed a business, but it’s not a store. They don’t sell anything. They don’t make anything. They rent you space in the marketplace they’ve built over many years.
Etsy is a place to sell your stuff. It’s no different than a craft show, a farmer’s market, or a shopping mall. If you want to sell there, you pay the fee and set-up shop. It’s as simple as that.
What you don’t do is count on the market to do all the work for you. You know that it’s up to you to do the most important work:
- Set-up your booth nicely
- Present your products convincingly
- Price your products competitively
- Understand who else sells what you sell and how they do it
- Understand what motivates your customers to buy
- Be present in your booth and engage in conversations
- Offer free samples or other incentives to try your products
- Be creative about promotions, packaging, and bundle deals
- Consider customer retention – get email addresses, tell them about your website.
The list goes on and on! Anyone who sells at markets knows full well just how much work it really is. It’s also not a one day a week kind of deal. Professional market sellers often sell at four or five markets a week!
Imagine Etsy as a giant building full of sellers and buyers. You can rent a room in this building for super-cheap. The only catch is, the door to your shop is usually closed. Some people will just happen to drop by, and every once in awhile you might get a little display table in the front lobby (akin to being on the front page), but for the most part it is up to you to get people into your shop. (excerpt from Mind Your Item Count on EverythingEtsy.com)
Think of Etsy as “a place” you sell your items. It doesn’t have to be the only place. It might just be the first place of many.
You might stand up one day a few years from now and tell a story that begins with “When we first started, we sold everything on Etsy.”
Etsy is a place. Etsy is a venue. Etsy is a community. You are the business owner who is trying to make it work starting there.
5. Who do you work for?
The fifth attitude I consider essentially important to success online is the understanding that you are a business owner. You work for yourself.
If you’ve never owned a business before, this can be an adjustment. It might even seem overwhelming at times when you think about all the various issues.
Taxes, incorporation, budgets, etc. can be overwhelming and often they are the things new business owners think they should be concerning themselves with.
They may think that because, when working for someone else, that’s what the boss said was important. They may think that because that’s like the unknown “dark continent” of owning your own business.
These aren’t the first things a successful business owner considers. Certainly, they are important, but they are a moot point without customers and profits. No customers, no profit. No profit, no taxes.
As a business owner the first thing you have to think about and look at in depth is your offering. What do you offer? What do you sell? Whom do you serve? What makes them buy? What makes them not buy? Who else do they like? Where do they hang out?
So maybe my top five list should have been more like this:
-
What does the customer want?
-
Why does the customer want that?
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What does the customer need?
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Why does the customer need that?
-
Who is my customer and where is she right now?
Business owners know that the customer is the most important thing. Without a sale there is no business. You must know your customer and how you plan to serve them.
I’ve heard people say things like “If you make/sell something you’re passionate about, the customers will come.” I’m sorry, but that isn’t entirely true. At least not in any real-world predictable kind of way. You have to find the point where what you can make or acquire, what people want, and what you’re passionate about meet. See choosing the right products .
You have to think like a business owner. There has to be some analytical thought and number crunching going on if you want to succeed beyond the hobby level.
————–
Attitude, not aptitude, determines altitude. – Zig Ziglar
The first five steps are all in your head and in your heart. You’ve got to know what you want, and have goals and a vision so you know where you’re going and when you’ve arrived. You have to understand what Etsy is and is not, and you have to think like a business owner.
After that, you can start looking at the practical matters of doing this! And that’s what we’ll be talking about for the next three weeks.
So, let me ask you, what other attitudes, mindsets, or beliefs do you think are important for selling on Etsy? I’m sure your feedback can help us all in the comments.
~ Tim
Adding this to my OneNote Etsy Notebook. Thanks for information. Love that you compile these tips for us!
Cool, thanks! I’d love to hear how you use OneNote for organizing. Maybe a good guest post idea! Thanks for your comment.
Tim
Tim,
I would be happy to share how I use OneNote. Thanks
I am getting up the courage to start a blog (haven’t done that yet). This was something I thought I would share others. It is a great way to keep everything organized and being a guest post just might get me over my blog-fear. : )
Tammy
This is a timely email for me, I’ve been depressed about few sales and not knowing how to change things. You have some great inspirational ideas here. Thanks so much!
Tim, great thought provoking article. Very good points and helpful. Thanks for being available.
Very helpful
Just on time! I work so hard to make a business, but I’m still on the hobby category. Thanks for your time.
Hi Margarita!
There’s nothing wrong with a hobby that makes you a little money. That’s a great thing and something you can be happy with for a long time.
If you want it to be a business one day, though, you should start thinking of it as a business now. Just a business with long-term goals.
Thanks for your comment today!
Tim
I love these insights. The first item on the list (business or hobby) really struck home. I started up thinking it was going to be more of a hobby, but there is so much time and effort that you have to put into it. Thinking of it more of a business and planning likewise makes much more sense.
Thanks, y’all!
Blessings, Grace
Just as I said to Margarita above, thinking “business with long term goals” is more productive than thinking “hobby that might turn into a business”.
A hobby is totally voluntary. You can quit too easy for it to survive the tough times. If you really want to make a business out of it, you’ve got to have a stronger commitment.
That said, there is nothing wrong with a hobby. Just don’t be mad that it doesn’t pay much! It’s not supposed to, it’s a hobby!
Have a great day!
Tim
Great post!, so very true. A couple other things I have learned over the years as well. 1) Believe in yourself or no one else will either, and 2) Be decisive, make your decisions, don’t wait too long or be wishy washy. You loose steam and second guess yourself.
I really like what you added here. So very true.
Good points Pam! Absolutely true on both counts. I’ve personally struggled with item #2 that you mention. When we first got into online business we knew next to nothing about it, but it seemed like a good opportunity. I made it take much longer by being indecisive for the first couple of years.
I still look out the window sometimes and wonder if I need to hang my building contractor’s license back on the wall! It’s hard to be decisive when you have a family to support and a slow growth business in front of you! But it is a major key to success and I’m glad we’ve stuck with it.
Andy Andrews mentions in his book, The Traveler’s Gift, that “Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly.”
Good advice and thanks for adding your thoughts!
Like that quote. Adding it to my list!
Wow, this is great!!! I am going to work on my vision, and revamp. I want to take it from being a hobby to a business. I have good sells and then get discouraged on the off weeks and start doubting myself. So now I will just have a totally different outlook!!!
Glad to hear the point about vision hit home with you. If you can get that vision in your mind and keep it there, you’ll start finding all sorts of creative ways to get closer to it.
Thanks for your comment!
GREAT advice and info for not only newbies, but those who have been around awhile and want to take the next step!! Been trying to get to the next step and this will definitely help lead me in that direction!!
Cool! Don’t they say that a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step? One step at a time and you’ll get there if you keep moving forward.
I couldn’t agree more with everyone — this is definitely timely considering my slow sales and progression I’ve made with the start up.
Tim –
How would you answer the questions you posed regarding your business? ie
1. What does the customer want?
2. Why does the customer want that?
3. What does the customer need?
4. Why does the customer need that?
5. Who is my customer and where is she right now?
Would love to hear your thoughts on this as I’m having trouble answering these questions myself.
Hi Shayda,
The best way I know of to do this at the very beginning is to try and simply “imagine” a few of your customers. Similar to what you would do if you were writing a novel. Who are they, where do they live, how old are they, what are there hobbies, how much money do they have to spend, etc.
Then you do your best to answer those questions for the imaginary customer.
Once you get some real customers, you can usually start to learn more about them if you listen and talk to them. Just like I’m doing here right now.
That’s why I think a good blog related to your business is so very essential. You can establish relationships with some customers and then figure out what the rest want from those relationships.
You can also start to figure out the answers by watching what they LOVE. You can see what’s hot on Facebook, Pinterest, on your own sites, on Etsy, etc. From that you can often figure out quite a bit about people and get relatively decent answers to those questions.
I hope that makes sense and helps!
Thanks for the question!
If you feel like telling me more, I’d love to hear you (or anyone) answer those questions directly for me!
Considering yourself as a “customer” of this blog and daily email, what would your answers be?
Thanks,
Tim
What a wonderful article! Thanks for writing it. Some of the things I try to keep in mind are “Keep calm and carry on” (love that–I have it on my desk), be patient (there’s a great little book called The Power of Patience that I read when my patience seems to have disappeared), and keep improving (your product, your marketing, your photography–whatever). Now, if I could just practice what I preach!
Thanks Jane,
Kim printed out a Yoda version of the Keep Calm and Carry On thing for me.
It says “Calm you shall keep. And Carry On, you must.!”
Tim
Thanks for this! I’m really looking forward to your course over the next few weeks. This post has been really useful in helping me to start to focus. For me, this is definitely a business and I want it to work! I’ve been selling on Etsy for a year but it’s taken a long time for me to get to grips with so many new things – listing, using facebook, twitter, etc…. There’s always so much to do and sometimes I get bogged down in all the tiny details… looking forward to giving my business a big boost with your help!!! Thanks for offering this.
Tim,
Thank you, thank you! Sometimes I just need to hear the same thing over and over to make sure I am still on the right track. We have only been in business for a year and will soon be debuting our online shop. It is easy to get frustrated, but I constantly remind myself that building an empire takes time and that patience can bring about great things. This week is Operation Home Office. I am doing a complete sweep. Starting over to build a space where creativity and smart business decisions come together – your post is motivating and may just find a home on my inspiration board!
Melissa @ http://itsthelittlethingsllc.blogspot.com
Glad I signed up!
One thing I learned about myself when I started out on Etsy, was I had to come up with a concise statement of what it was I did. People would ask…….and at first, I was more apologetic, giving all sorts of bits of info.
Now, I’m clear about what I do. (came right after I switched from hobby to business in my head)
I let people know I’m an artist, working with both fabric & fiber……..and I have a local studio as well as an online presence on Etsy.com.
I also switched my choice of words from ‘I work in the basement of my home’ to……..I have a local studio.
These simple switches helped me form a new sense of what it was I loved……AND, what it was I was truly doing.
I agree with you………what we think about, is where we will end up!
Wow..you hit it out of the park on Day 1 Tim!! I was reading this and wondering how you are going to top this one! The article hit me right between the eyes and made me ask the question “is this a hobby that brings in some extra money or is it a business?” Truthfully I am not ready to answer that question yet but I now know it is essential to make up my mind and follow the appropriate path.
Lately I have been looking at my stats and comparing it to times when I walk into a store, do a quick walk through and thank the person behind the counter as I walk out the door. I seem to have alot of walk throughs in my etsy shop so I am contemplating ideas to help keep my customers engaged longer to help drive up sales.
I can’t wait for the next topic!
deb
linens lace and lattes
This was the best thing I could have gotten in my inbox today! We had a huge increas this year and I have felt a little perplexed as to what to do. I am going to have a focus meeting with my partner (husband) and see what our vision is for our business and what we want to do to see that vision a reality : )
Thanks so much for the tips!
Michelle
It is so good and so refreshing for me to go back over these very important things. It’s always good after so long to go back and reevaluate these five very important things.
Thank you for the refresher!
It’s great to be reminded of these important things! Great article and look forward to reading the next.
Thank you for taking the time to provide us these!
Roseann @ httpp://www.miabellaoriginal.etsy.com
That was so good to read, it shows I have to shift my thinking!
Your first point, Hobby or Business, really hit home with me! I have no trouble AT ALL staying motivated when I’ve got my beads and findings spread out in front of me and I get to do what I love, which is make jewelry. But it’s a little harder to stay on task when I’m doing something I’m not so crazy about…like editing photos! But I know that a great photo can make a sale, so I have to stay on it if I want my business to BE a business. And I do. And it is. And I need to go finish those photos! Thanks for a great article. Keep ‘em coming!!
Thanks for the great tips! It’s time for me to set some good goals for my etsy shop.
Excellent advice. how we see ourselves is so important as to how we will make others see us. If we want to be taken seriously as business owners, it’s important that we take ourselves seriously first and foremost!
Very nice, and just in time, I just started my ETSY SHOP (Feb/12) and feeling overwhelm on where to start and how to manage all this social media, and how to get traffic, etc, etc.
Your article really helps me putting in perspective my ideas of want I want of my studio/shop!!
Mil GRACIAS
Yes! I totally agree that the thoughts and feelings about what you sell, why you sell it and who you are selling it to come first. Our thoughts about things help to define our focus and our feelings provide the ooomph!
If I, as a seller, can continually refine my vision about my business and become aware of and understand how my choices (of feeling as well as action) affect it, I expect to be very successful.
It is very easy to feel overwhelmed. I have found that when I do what Louise Hay calls ‘answer the telephone, open the mail’ then I surprise myself with my progress. That is, do what is in front of you, one small step at a time and stay focussed in the present.
This feels like I’ve done the theory, now I’m doing the practical exam!
Thanks for a clear and inspiring post,
Sally-Ann
Your post is so true! Thank you for sharing, Tim.
I should add something….to think like a business owner really need PRACTISE.
Like learning to bike sometimes you will fall down, but it’s ok. just stand up, learn from your fault and fix it.
That’s the important thing of learning.
never give up
You can follow your heart, your passion, but don’t forget to take your brain with you.
Thanks again for your inspiring post!