The Business of Being In Business

Gee, I have had 3 sales in 9 days....that is very unusual for me. The funny thing is that once again I have been totally absorbed in preparing for the September craft show, and the only etsy thing I am doing is making sure that I renew things that are about to expire. That's it.

I sold a photo note card and a photo from FourDogDay and little planter from MyOtherShop. I would show you pictures of what I sold, but for some reason blogger won't let me upload any at this time......UGH!

When I think about my etsy sales, I certainly wouldn't mind more, but for someone that works a full time job and does this evenings and weekends, I think I am doing okay. I have sold things to family and friends and the transactions didn't take place through etsy, and I have had sales at the two craft shows I've done...so all things considered...I am pleased with where I am at.

I know I am a much happier person now than I was before I started my business. It has filled a tremendous void for me. I didn't realize how much I missed crafting until I started doing it again. Now, I don't know what I would do without it.

I said before that I have tried so many different things from the cards, and jewelry to decoupage and now to the aprons and totes....and it isn't that I am indecisive...it's that I haven't found my niche yet...although I think I am getting close. I am finding the most satisfaction with the aprons and tote bags and can't wait to make some place mats and napkins. It's the fabric thing....I really have a thing for fabric. :)

I don't worry any more about how much money I am or am not making....it's all about what it brings to me on a personal level....my goal is to have my crafting supplement social security when I retire...so I have plenty of time to grow my business as I find my way.

If you have your own business, how long have you had it? What expectations did you have when you started? Have they changed? What does owning your own business mean to you?

Marketing Your Business

As most of you know, I have two shops on etsy. I opened my first shop, FourDogDay, in July of 2008, and added MyOtherShop soon after. I quickly realized that I no clue what I was doing and closed the second shop after a short time. Once I felt more comfortable with the entire etsy process, I reopened MyOtherShop. I can't believe I've been at this for almost a year already!

The growth of my shops is S-L-O-W, which I've heard is okay. I would definitely like more than one sale a week, but it is what it is. To help get my name out there, I did my first craft show last weekend. Although it wasn't a huge financial success, it was an awesome learning experience and I plan to do many more in the coming months. You can read about my first craft show experience here.

People that follow the craft shows will start to recognize me and my shop names after a while of consistent attendance and that's part of promoting. Eventually I would like to have a sign in my booth that says something like, "You can also find me and my creations at www.fourdogday.com" or something like that.

My daughter, Tresa, sent me a link this morning to a wonderful ABC News/Good Morning America article all about etsy and turning crafts into cash. It highlighted five successful shops. It was a good article. You can read it here.

Between publicizing our own shops through means like blogs, craft shows, flyers and business cards.....and articles like this one.....success is attainable for us all.

Do you have an online business? If so, feel free to share any promotional or marketing successes you have had.