Hey Thriver,
When I learnt that my Set Up Shop student & Thriver Circle member Chereen had made almost 60 sales on Etsy in the first 2 months of her shop being live, I immediately emailed her and asked her to share her story with me – and you – because I wanted to know how she’d done it, and how Set Up Shop and the Thriver Circle had helped her.
This is what she sent me back (with permission to share with you, of course)…
“It all started with one Instagram post.
It was late October of 2017 and I posted a photo of a few hats I had knitted up. At this point, I’d been knitting for about 6 years and my friends and family were fully stocked on knit accessories from me.
The post got so much engagement with people asking if I was selling my beanies that I thought, “Wow! People actually want to buy my stuff?”.
I decided to start a separate Instagram account to document my knitting and the wheels in my head began to spin.
I don’t even remember how, but I stumbled upon the Create and Thrive Podcast and became obsessed!
I listened to every single episode starting at the beginning and fell in love with the idea of having a handmade business. I loved Jess’s advice and even though I didn’t have a shop yet, I absorbed every.single.episode.
By the time March rolled around, Set Up Shop was opening again and I’d had an entire winter thinking about opening a shop 🙂
I decided that joining Set Up Shop would be the kick in the pants I needed to really do this thing, and I am so glad I joined!
Jess’s teaching style is so effective and I looked forward to every new lesson. It was so helpful being able to have discussions with other members of the course and mutually support one another!
I became obsessed with the branding and marketing aspects of the class and it has been invaluable in helping me start my business.
At the end of the course, I had my shop, but due to several big changes happening in my life, kept it on vacation mode.
During this time, I continued to grow my Instagram following and made some sales here and there.
In the fall, I was able to get my items into a local shop on consignment, and what I thought would be a few hat sales became a steady demand for my items!
I constantly referenced my notes from Set Up Shop and kept honing in on my brand identity.
I still wanted to get my Etsy shop open, and finally launched it on January 21st, 2019.
So far, I’ve only used Instagram to market my brand, and in a little under two months, have already made almost 60 sales!
I have been completely amazed that my little business is happening.
I know that the tools from Set Up Shop, Jess’s podcast, and the Thriver’s Circle workshops have been a huge part of my shop’s early success.
The support from Jess is unreal, and I can’t wait to see where my business goes as I implement more of her teachings along this maker journey.
Thank you, Jess! You are truly the greatest!”
*****
Thank YOU, Chereen for sharing your story, and I’m so proud of all the hard work you’ve put into making your biz a success. Thriver, check out Chereen’s gorgeous knits in her shop Smeeny Beanie Knits.
Chereen took Set Up Shop with me.
Now it’s your chance.
Registration closes October 13th at 5pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.
Class starts October 14th, 2019.
