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| Start Your Own Etsy Store - Image by Schugirl08 |
Be honest. How often do you interfere with yourself?
Today or really any day, you know you have tasks you’d like to finish because they’d positively impact your Etsy business, and then there are the tasks you actually do. You trick yourself into thinking that keeping up with Pinterest, following others on Facebook, and reading the latest blog posts is “working on your Etsy shop”. You do know better, but some part of you believes that having an understanding of all things “Etsy” will better position you when the time is right. When that time comes, you’ll be the absolute front-runner of the handmade world, because you’re so well studied… But that day doesn’t come.
Something is holding you back from great success on Etsy, and you can’t quite put your finger on it. So instead of moving past it and taking action, you make an excuse. You justify your reasons for not moving forward.
What follows are 9 of the most common excuses you might tell yourself.
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| Take a risk! |
1.) You can’t afford to take a risk right now.
If not now, then when?
This excuse is fear of the unknown.
The reality is that you can’t afford not to take a risk right now.
Putting on the breaks doesn’t just inhibit your creativity…it prevents people from ever making a purchase from you. Just go for it, take the risk!
2.) You don’t know where to begin.
Just take it step-by-step.
Think about it, every great seller on Etsy probably thought “I don’t know where to begin.”
Before you know it you’ll be a pro and will hardly remember how nerve-wracking these first steps were.
I found this article a big help when I was starting my Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/the-quick-start-guide-to-selling-on-etsy/
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| You don't have to be. |
3.) You’re not that good or creative enough.
Don’t sell yourself short!
Not everyone needs to be über creative.
Yes, there are extremely talented artists on Etsy, but there are also regular folks with very successful shops selling craft supplies, and vintage items. Some of the top sellers in the jewelry category (my category), simply hang a pretty pendant from a single chain; not tremendously creative but exactly what their buyers were looking for.
4.) You don’t know what your passion is; you can’t think of a niche.
Understandable. Not everyone is there, yet.
However if you want to do something, but just can’t figure out what, go to the bookstore and see what section you gravitate towards. Spend some time browsing through the magazine racks; if there wasn’t a market, there wouldn’t be a magazine.
Do some soul searching to determine what you’ll forever be passionate about.
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| There's a buyer for everything! |
5.) Nobody will buy.
If people will buy the “Pet Rock” they will buy what you’re selling.
You just have to figure out how to market yourself.
Good photos of your merchandise and detailed descriptions are a good start, but you also need to work at getting your items noticed. You’re probably already using facebook and pinterest; create your own promotions using the tools available to you.
I found this article on marketing interesting:
6.) You can’t be successful until you have _______.
Money, studio, tools, website, expensive camera, stock pile, or any other number of other factors.
Make every attempt to acquire the bare essentials quickly.
Plot out your steps and create milestones to acquire additional resources.
Missions and objectives do wonders for progress.
7.) It’s too hard keeping all the balls in the air.
Anything worth doing is hard.
When was the last time “easy” had a huge payoff for you?
“You are in the middle of your day today, and you’re caught up in the sandstorm of thoughts, feelings, to-dos, meetings, readings, and communications of this day.
Pause. Breathe. Let all of that fade.
Now focus on doing one thing, right now.”
~Leo Babauta
8.) You can’t commit right now.
Fair enough, we all have a lot on our plates.
But when can you commit?
Don’t use this excuse to push something aside, if you don’t want to invest the time.
If it’s genuinely interesting, look at your calendar and ask “when can I commit?” and put yourself on a productive path.
And if you don’t want to do it, be honest and admit you’re not interested. Close your shop.
People will always respect honesty over being strung along waiting for your new items.
9.) You don’t have time.
Seriously? You just had time to read my blog post. You have time.
In fact, you have all the time, resources, and knowledge required to be a great Etsy seller.
Being great, no, being excellent is a choice.
It’s a choice to never stop. It’s a choice to view yourself as limitless. It’s a choice to stop at nothing until everyone knows your name and shop.
Without a doubt, you’ll encounter many obstacles on your journey. That’s a given.
So what are you waiting for?
Go.
Be great.
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