by Jess | Etsy, Podcasts
To celebrate the 4th anniversary of the start of The Create & Thrive Podcast, I’m answering YOUR handmade business questions in this episode.
I got a ton of great, meaty questions – and I answered a number of them in this episode. If I didn’t answer yours, never fear! I do plan on doing a follow-up episode answering more questions in a future episode.
I answer questions like:
“Should I have a business, or just a self-sustaining hobby?”;
“What do I do when I feel I’m at the crossroads of continuing my business of getting a ‘real’ job”;
“How can I get my motivation back?”
“How do I overcome the fear of not being good enough?”
“I’ve only got a small number of products – should I open my shop now or wait until I have more?”
Huge thanks to everyone who sent in a question – I loved this opportunity to help you out directly.
by Jess | Etsy, Organisation, Other, Podcasts
A lot of potential issues with your handmade business customers can be side-stepped through the judicious use of policies.
A well-planned policy preempts a lot of issues, and makes sure everything is spelled out clearly to your customer prior to purchase.
It also keeps everything fair and transparent, and makes sure you can’t be accused of making up one set of rules for one customer, and another for others.
It’s as much about your protection and peace of mind as it is about informing and protecting your customers.
In this episode, I discuss the ins and outs of policies – what you NEED to have in there (no matter what platform you use), and give you some Etsy-specific guidance, as well.
by Jess | Etsy, Other, Podcasts, Set Up Shop
Selling your craft online via etsy, another venue, or your own website has so many benefits.
Having an online presence is one of the most important things you can do for your handmade business.
If you are yet to launch your online shop; are on the fence as to whether it’s worth it; have been thinking about it for a while and don’t know where to start; or you have one but you aren’t sure about how improve it – this episode is for you!
I outline the main benefits of having an online shop – even if selling online is not your primary venue of choice.
I also share the 5 things you need to get a handle on before you can start successfully selling your work online.
by Jess | Etsy, Other, Podcasts, Set Up Shop
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...
by Jess | Etsy, Other, Set Up Shop, Shop Design
What, exactly, should you have in your handmade shop policies? It doesn’t matter if you’re selling on Etsy, Shopify, or anywhere else online – you need to have a comprehensive policy section on your site. I know, I know – writing policies is...
by Jess | Etsy, Podcasts
I see it over and over again in facebook groups – people posting, asking ‘should I put my etsy shop in holiday mode?’
They’re asking because they’ve heard horror stories – where people have put their shops in holiday mode, then re-opened to crickets. It drives me nuts to see so much misinformation and scare mongering, so I wanted to address this always-contentious topic.
Today, I’m going to share my own experience of putting my Etsy shop in holiday mode (for up to 3 months at a time!) many, many times over the last 10 years.
And, you guessed it – my business is still going strong!
That said – putting your Etsy shop in vacation mode DOES have an impact on your SEO (Etsy search rankings) – and I discuss exactly how and why this happens – as well as giving you concrete strategies to overcome the lag when you re-open.
