Get Inspired! Four Useful Tips for Etsy Business Owners

I'm sitting at the computer, cup of coffee near the key board, an appointment to go to in twenty minutes, a least an hour's worth of calculus homework left, and...my jewelry business. It's times like these that I wonder how my Etsy shop still survives. When things get busy, I start to lose my inspiration. I want to take a couple minutes to bring myself back to center (and help those who are reading this bring themselve back to center!).

Get inspired...

-Get passionate. Strictly business-speaking, passion breeds sales. If you don't have passion for your work it shows (no matter how much you try to hide it). And believe me, it hurts sales too. Bringing passion into your work might mean taking a break, trying something new, or even getting feedback and encouragement from others.

-Make a change. Try something new with your shop (or in your life in general). My sister and I have decided to focus our work towards hair accessories and (could anyone guess it?) Jane Austen inspired greeting cards. Just the simple prospect of something new gets me excited to start working on the shop. The change doesn't have to drastic. Even developing a new designs bring some life to your shop.

-Promote! Marketing is always a good idea, and it's especially helpful when you are feeling unmotivated. Promoting might seem like the last thing you want to do in a slump ("Aren't I doing enough promoting already?!"), but it's probably one of the most useful things. Monitor the success of your marketing (with Google Analytics, Craftcult.com, Craftopolis.com, etc.). Realizing the success in your hard work is where the inspiration comes from.

-Get off the computer. Yes! Take a step back from Etsy, close out of Twitter, sign off Facebook, turn off your IPhone and go outside (or at least into the other room). Time is precious (and time is money afterall). If you find yourself staring glassy-eyed at the computer, waiting for a new heart to show up on Craftcult (haven't we all been there?), then you're wasting time you could be using creating, exploring, learning and getting inspired. The world is where we find our inspiration.

Happy creating!
Sarah
La SuaVoce Designs