With the internet, hobbies are no longer JUST hobbies. They can be side-hustles and little mini-businesses. Now, you can do what you love AND make a little money doing it. So if you’re a creative and you love to make stuff, today we’re going to talk about why you need to start an Etsy Store.
As a matter of fact, I can give you 5 reasons why you need to start an Etsy Store.
5 Reasons Why You Need To Start An Etsy Store
Since I don’t own an Etsy Store, I talked to three business owners who do. Today, I’m sharing their advice and experience with starting an Etsy Store and selling their art online. To write this article, I spoke with three Etsy Store owners.
1. Make money doing what you love
This is a no-brainer. Everyone dreams of starting a business doing something (anything) they love and making money. Etsy created a platform to allow artists, creatives, and DIY pros to create and finance their passion. When you start an Etsy Store, you open yourself up to the possibility of monetizing your passion. And who doesn’t want that?
Of the three Etsy owners I surveyed, all of them were making money from their Etsy Store. Now, it may not be a full-time income, but it’s something.
2. Multiply Your Audience
One of the first challenges to launching a business is finding clients. Generally, as new entrepreneurs, we harass (to be blunt) our friends and loved ones to either buy our stuff, tell their friends about our new business, or refer us to the friends of our friends. As someone who’s been on both sides of this equation, this business model does not make for healthy friendships or family relations.
You need new eyes on your products and when you start an Etsy Store, you have this amazing online platform to share your products and services with anyone looking to buy what you have to offer. Etsy literally makes you searchable to anyone looking for something cool for a Christmas or birthday gift, to decorate a wedding, a party, or table for Thanksgiving.
This platform has the possibility of exponentially increasing the number of eyes that see your products.
3. It’s Free (well, almost free)
Ok, so I know there’s no such thing as a free lunch (Learn about Etsy fees before you get started) but if you’re creating something awesome and no one is seeing it because you’re selling (or just hiding) your beautiful creations in your basement, attic, or underneath a bunch junk on your kitchen table, then stop right now and learn how to start an Etsy Store.
Sure, there are other platforms that will allow you to sell your art, but when you start an Etsy Store, you don’t have to set up the platform. It’s already there. You just need to sign up. Set your prices. Take and post a few pictures and promote the heck out of your new little storefront.
Etsy gives you guidance on how to set your pricing to allow for domestic and international shipping rates.
4. Look Like A Pro
I don’t care how beautiful your jewelry, handmade glass work, greeting cards, organic dog biscuits, or custom Christmas ornaments are, if you’re selling them from the trunk of your car or from your house, you look like an amateur.
Amateurs make amateur money. Amateurs have day jobs. You could be (and probably are) amazingly talented, but unless you start acting like a pro, you will always be an amateur.
When you start an Etsy store, you establish yourself with an online platform. You can take orders and start establishing an inventory. You can even start taking more professional pictures of your work or hire a professional to photograph your products.
By setting up a free Etsy Store and investing a little money in either learning how to take professional pictures or hiring a photographer, you give yourself and your product value. Basically, you’re saying to the world, “hey world, I take my art seriously and I think you should too.”
Clementine Patterns sells Hand Embroidery Patterns & Kits. The Etsy Store gives this handmade embroidery business a professional look and feel. Don’t you want to buy one of these amazing pieces?
5. Charge What You’re Worth
Once you start looking like a pro, you can start charging like a professional. When people value what they do and who they are, they charge what they want to get paid.
Sure, there are some people who will look at you like you’ve lost your mind. But think about this. Why would you want someone to buy your work who didn’t value it enough to pay for what it’s worth??
Start your Etsy Store and start looking (and feeling) like a pro. From there, you can start charging more for your work and (the right) people will pay for and LOVE what you have to offer, because they’ll see you as the talented professional you are.
Final Thoughts
The things you make are uniquely yours. They were born in your heart and mind and created with your two hands and the talent you were given by God or whatever higher power you credit with your existence. Do yourself a service and take that gift seriously.
When you start an Etsy Shop or commit to selling your art online, you say to the world that you’re proud of your work and you think its valuable: aesthetically, psychologically, and financially. What better way to honor your gift? If you’re interested in getting started, here are the 7 Steps To A Successful Start On Etsy.
Do you make a product that you sell from home? Why not start an Etsy Store? What’s holding you back?