My $163,000 Etsy Side-Hustle Shop

It’s crazy.  Can you really make money on Etsy?  Yes, in fact, my little Etsy side-hustle shop has now grossed over $163,000.00 (now $206,000.00).  Oh, did I forget to mention the fact that I achieved this success working on my shop in my spare time?  Yes, I built a multiple 6 figure Etsy shop in my spare time starting with;

• 0 Followers
• 0 Email list
• 0 Facebook following
• 0 Instagram, Twitter or anything else for that matter 
• and NO Marmalead

*****Please note all of above are NEEDED to scale a business, I just didn’t use them to start mine******

Let’s take a stroll to my back office…

My $163,000.00 Etsy Side Hustle

So what’s the secret sauce you ask?  HOW did you do it?  Did you advertise?  Promote your page? Groups? SEO? Craft shows?

NOPE 

Well, hold on pretty pants, I’m going to explain to you in a minute a few reasons why I believe I am achieving this amount of success on Etsy while others are flopping around like a fish out of water.

Before I get into the good stuff, let me introduce myself.

Yes lovelies, I’m Stephanie Smith (aka Business Chic Mama).  I’m a wife, mom, business owner and entrepreneur. I am a successful fashion designer with my own label for over 20 years. My daughter (now 9) has been quite a handful (high functioning autism). Needless to say, if anyone didn’t have time to open an Etsy shop-it would have been me.  (Can you see me wiping the sweat off my brow)?

Click the rainbow to watch the FREE masterclass of how to create a passive income Etsy shop.

The fashion business was and still is very good to me, but after the real estate market crash, things really started slowing down AND the whole industry started changing.  I owned several brick and mortar shops at the time with high rent.  It was then that I started to plan my exit strategy to eventually release myself of the burden of the exorbitant rents that drained my bank account every month.  I continued with my career however, knowing in the back of my mind that I had to eventually make a change.

Towards the end of 2015, I was browsing on Etsy and came across my former boss’s shop (a fashion designer with a nicely established line). I immediately looked at her sales and a lightbulb went ON.

According to my calculations, she was making a high 5 figure income yearly.

OH YEAH, I said to myself – I need to do this….(yes, I jump on things quickly).

I decided at that moment, I was going to sell something on Etsy.  I didn’t know if I should sell my clothing or jewelry or something else, but I was going to sell SOMETHING.

The little wheels in my head started turning as I spent hours researching shops on Etsy to try to figure out what to sell.  OH, there went that lightbulb again!

After days of researching what seemed like dozens of shops, I saw a common theme-some of the supply shops were doing fantabulous.  I thought to myself-why not become a supplier?  Every one of those crafters needs supplies to make their craft! 

AND that’s exactly what I did.  I became a supplier.  I started selling jewelry making supplies.

Now of course I started out not knowing a darn thing about the jewelry making supply market, but just like every other business out there, I had to start somewhere.  My idea was to hop on the tassel trend and focus on interesting tassels and beading supplies.  My first few products were some extra beads that were left over from some projects that I had worked on.  I was scrambling to find an identity, but nevertheless, I dove right in and listed about 15 items.  I knew nothing about Esty when I started,  so I impatiently waited for the sales to roll in!!  However, instead of sales,  I heard the proverbial-

Crickets in the background.

So how did I go from crickets and moths to an overflowing inbox of juicy orders? 

Sorry to tell you it wasn’t a big ol’ red magic button.  I believe my success came from a combination of these 10 strategies and 1 big ol’ juicy “D” word.  

10 STRATEGIES that I Implemented for Success;

1. By selling a supply.  Not any supply, one with high demand.
2. By adding products consistently every week. ( Currently, I have approximately 400 items in my shop).
3. By shipping my orders out the next day.
4. By having totally rockin’ packaging. (I handmade a cute little drawstring bag with EVERY order).
5. By listening to my customers and most importantly, giving them what they wanted!
6. By having consistent and clear  product photos (my kitchen counter worked just fine-heck yeah!).
7. By sourcing fresh new suppliers to get cutting edge products. (This evolved over time as I started developing relationships with suppliers).
8. By providing superb customer service.
9. By Niching down.
10. By truly enjoying what I was doing.

Watch the FREE Masterclass to get started selling on Etsy today!

Now here is that BIG OL’ JUICY “D” word again……drum roll….

DEMAND…

Yes, I built this 6 figures Etsy shop solely on Demand (plus all of the above) for this type of product.  FINALLY, I’m getting my butt into gear to maintain my momentum and add my email list, Facebook Etc.

If I can tell you to take away one thing from my experience as a high-powered Etsy seller, it would be this;

DON’T TRY TO REINVENT THE WHEEL.  IF THERE IS HIGH DEMAND FOR A PRODUCT, YOU HAVE AN AUDIENCE.  YOU JUST HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO CAPTURE THAT AUDIENCE.  YOU NEED TO DO YOUR RESEARCH – DO YOUR BUSINESS BETTER THAN YOUR COMPETITOR AND YOU’RE GOLD.

I hope I have given you at least a smidgen of inspiration and direction.  If becoming a high-powered Etsy supply seller makes your heart pitter patter, I take on a few coaching clients every month.  You may contact me at support@businesschicmama.com.  Let’s see if we can work together to build your 6 figure Etsy shop!

Want to Start your own Etsy shop within 7 days even if you don’t have a product to sell?

Click the rainbow to register for this FREE event to learn how.