Well hello there blog buddy. I know it's been quite awhile since I've written. 2013 was a bit of a roller coaster year. And it ended with a nasty sickness that I couldn't quite seem to shake for about three weeks. So I am hereby stating that today is the official start of my new year. Here we go 2014, I am now ready for you to begin. So to recap, here's what I've learned from last year...
If you don't like doing it - don't do it.
I think as an Etsy shop owner, it's really important to try and think about what your customer is looking for and what they might buy. However, in the long run if you really don't enjoy making it, then you should steer clear of that path. So many times this past year I have pursued ideas that didn't interest me what-so-ever, just because I thought it might make a buck or two. But ya know what? If you're not into it, the product never really turns out quite right. You really do have to follow your passion when it comes to this. It's kind of what I've learned from teaching - if you're not excited about it, everyone knows.
Step away from it
Ok, so I obsess. I'm a perfectionist. At times I really can't help it. But sometimes it does get a little bit in the way of being, shall I say, productive? I can honestly sit in front of the computer for hours comparing one shade of blue to another shade of blue in one of my shop listings. I guess it gives me a false sense of control. When really I should be getting dirty and doing the sometimes scary job of bringing objects into creation. So when I get carried away, I just step away from it. And by step away from it, I mean have my husband tear the laptop from my clutching fingertips.
Find a shop name that's unique and then don't EVER change it
So I'm sure you probably figured out that I have a new shop name. This was, by far, the biggest challenge of last year. And not so much the changing of the shop name, but obsessing over the choice of whether or not TO change my shop name. In the end, it seemed like the right thing to do. My old shop name perpetrated the three no-no's of naming a small business.
1. Never have weird, quirky mis-spellings of words. (Instead of the word "Willow," I used "Wilo")
2. Have a name that is original that sets you apart from the crowd. (My name was "Wilo Tree" which I had no idea was a HUGELY well-known line of wooden figurines)
3. Don't have a name that binds you into selling one product or only one process (At the end of my name was the word "Press" which really didn't pertain to my shop and tied me into one form of process).
Now, I really should have done my homework before social networking with the other shop name. Because in switching to the new name I lost a lot of Twitter followers. Granted, I never made a sale from a Twitter feed but losing 50 followers hurt a bit.
All in all, I'm really happy with where my shop began and where it is at the moment. We've come a long way, blog buddy. Can't wait to see what this year brings!
Where I was and where I am now...(pretty cool, yeah?)
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