π€© Starting a new Etsy shop or handmade business? π This is your to-do list. ποΈ
Jun 25, 2024π§ Listen to this blog post as a Podcast instead 'Starting a new Etsy shop or Handmade business? This is your to-do list'
Get ready to kickstart your handmade business journey with our ultimate to-do list with essential tips and tasks to set up your shop for success from day one.
I’m going to be giving you a bit of a checklist to starting your own Etsy shop and handmade business website. I want you to start your own business on the right foot and avoid any mistake I made.
It’s not a full A-Z list … that would take days to create. But, the areas I’m covering today are the key elements you’ll need to cover when starting your handmade business… some might surprise you !!
Preparing your shop
1. Get a dedicated workspace, even if it’s a corner of your bedroom, or a section of your dining room.
From a productivity point of view having your own work area will help you stay focused, be creative and get your ‘work head’ on. Remember, this is a real handmade business so, make space in your life for it.
2. Identify your target market and niche. Get this nailed early on…and do it right.
Invest your time, energy and effort to get to know who they are. You need to have a target market and niche to serve before we start thinking about making your products.
Lots of handmade businesses don’t know who their customers are or who they’re making their products for. And it makes running your business so much harder.
Think about the people you’d love to serve … they’re often similar to us or a previous version of who we are. Who can you imagine using your products into their life?
This could have been you a year ago when you were looking for baby products that grew with your child. Or, when you were looking for jewellery that fits in with your personality.
Think of age, gender, job, hobbies, interests, family, likes and dislikes, where do they live, do they have kids, what car do they drive, are they in a relationship, where do they shop, what do they do in their spare time?... Paint a picture of their everyday life.
A niche goes hand in hand with your target market in your handmade business. A niche is, looking at your target market and targeting a subsect of these people with a particular product.
Targeting more people does NOT result in more sales on Etsy or your handmade business… In fact it’s the opposite. If you try to please everyone you’ll end up pleasing noone.
For example, if your pride and joy was a beautiful, classic car. You’re not going to take it to a standard mechanic. You’re going to hunt down the person who knows classic cars, has a specialist knowledge and will cater to the needs of you and your car.
It’s the same with niching, when you connect with a certain type of person you’re connecting with them on a much deeper level. If you are trying to connect with everyone, you’ll attract no one… you’re spreading yourself too thin and be an expert of nothing.
Go deep… not wide.
If you want to learn more about your target market and niche I go deep in my free training ‘How to get more sales in 7 days’ π Click here.
3. Unique selling point or USP for short. This is what makes you special and different from everyone else out there. Having products is not enough to succeed.
It could be the way you make your products, how you present them, your work space, the materials you use. It’s a good idea to look at what other handmade businesses do to see where you are within the competitive landscape. Etsy is a great platform to do some competitor analysis.
4. Choosing your shop name. It needs to be short, snappy and give some guidance about what you sell.
Double check your shop name is available across platforms such as Etsy, on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest) and that your domain name is available. And grab them before anyone else does.
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FREE 90 minute masterclass - How to make more sales in your handmade business in 7 days or less
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5. Branding goes hand in hand with all of the above and by this stage you will know what your branding needs, to attract the perfect people, your target market.
It’s so much more than colours, fonts and a logo. It's your vibe, how you make your customers feel and how they remember you. If you are going to spend any money on your handmade business this would be the time to get expert help.
Look at things like designing your logo, fonts, graphics and colours - anything that’s a visual representation of your handmade business. You can also include things like your Etsy shop banner, your photos and social media templates.
6. The legal bits. What’s required is different depending upon where you are based and what you are selling within your handmade business. But, do your research … and check everything. If you’re in the UK the government website is great. An account is great too, this was the first thing I outsourced in my handmade business.
7. Products are next and this is where you draft out and plan your products. Ten is a really good starting point, take your time and create quality products. Stay clear of trends… they don’t last and for handmade business owners it isn’t sustainable. I’d rather focus on evergreen products that are always going to sell.
Start researching with your target market and your USP in mind. Have a look on Etsy for inspiration and do some keyword research. ERank is great for keyword research but so is looking on Etsy to see what words other businesses within your niche are using.
8. Open a business bank account, I personally use Startling Bank because it’s free and so easy to set up. There's a handy app and you can create other accounts and saving spaces too… perfect if you want to save money for supplies, wages, taxes, etc.
9. A place to track inventory is vital for your handmade business. This can be something as simple as a Google sheet or you can invest in software, don’t over complicate it…keep things simple and effective. Track what you have, how much you have, reorder level and costs.
10. Order some sample supplies. Exciting times.
Try to avoid places like Hobby Craft … they’re expensive! Instead to begin with places like Etsy, Amazon and eBay. Don’t get carried away and order too many. Buy enough to make 2 of each product.
And get making…
11. Price up your products and make sure there is enough profit.
A business has two layers…the first layer is where you start your handmade business and begin making sales. The second layer is when you start to make a profit… two very different things.
Remember, this is a real handmade business, price for a profit, to make a living and to charge your worth.
There is no real formula to create your prices. A general rule of thumb is to look at what other handmade businesses in your niche are charging and aim for the higher end.
Perceived value plays really heavy into this. Your price determines your products worth and value, look at the need, want and desire and price accordingly.
12. Shop policies such as returns, exchanges and complaints. It’s better to set your handmade business policies up now before there are any issues. You and your customers will know where they stand and the expectations.
Think of all scenarios that you may need a policy for. Etsy is great as they already have legally binding policies. But, if you have your own website you’ll need to create them yourself - Rocket Lawyer is great for this.
13. After you’ve created your sample products you want to give one to someone in your target market to test and try out. It can be a friend, family member, neighbour…someone who will give you honest feedback.
Get them to use it as it’s intended purpose and gather feedback to make any changes needed or home in on what they love about it. Pick up any words and phrases they use so you can add this to your marketing, SEO and keywords.
Test the product yourself too.
14. Images and videos of your products, in the HBSA we have a photography expert come in and teach you how to take photos of your handmade products without having to buy fancy equipment.
Gather feedback about your images from your product testers…do they reflect what you’re selling?
15. Now you know what you need and how much it’s time to bulk order supplies and hopefully save some money in the process.
16. Set up your home hub to nurture your audience. It’s the one place you nurture your audience.
You don’t need to be on every social media platform. Find the one your target market is on, you like to use and go with that one. Otherwise you’re spreading yourself too thin and this will lead to overwhelm and burnout.
For me it’s Instagram because I know that’s where my target market is. I love going live, creating posts, adding stories and engaging in other people's content on the platform.
Set up your account, add your logo and bio and add a ‘launching soon’ post. You can also add your Etsy shop to your bio..
17. Decide your delivery methods. I’d choose two to three, just in case one is on strike or there is something that causes delays. For me, in the UK, I use Royal Mail, Parcel Force and at a push Evri.
Size up and weigh your parcels, go on the delivery companies website to get estimated prices, find out the delivery terms and how long delivery takes.
Having a standard and upgraded (charge more) option is ideal for customers who want to receive things in a hurry…especially if they’re buying a gift.
18. At this stage it’s also a good idea to start ordering your packaging materials and test them out. Pinterest is fab to find ideas.
19. Document your journey on social media - people love to see the behind the scenes of small handmade businesses. Video and photograph everything from you designing, creating, making, shopping and testing.
Launching…eeeekkkkkkk
1. When is your launch date? Give yourself enough time to plan and build hype.
2. What is your opening offer to entice people in? It could be a discount, a free product, upgraded delivery or gift wrapping. Something that will really entice your target market.
3. Schedule the social media for your home hub in advance. You can use the photos and videos from your journey, I use Canva to create all of mine.
4. List your ten products on Etsy (or your own website) and keep them in drafts until launch day. This will help them get dropped with a BOOM making the best impact within the Etsy algorithm and create hype and FOMO with your customers.
5. For each of your ten products create another two listings per listing. It will take your total listings to 30, and save them as drafts until launch day. Do this for your Etsy shop and your own website.
You can then go into each copy and alter the titles, tag and description to suit different uses or occasions your products may have. Keyword them specifically for the different uses or occasions.
For example, you have a candle that you’ve listed as a fathers day gift. You can also list this as a housewarming gift or a ‘dark honey and tobacco candle’.
This is called the ‘Listing Hat Technique’ and something you can learn more about in the HBSA.
Handmade Business Tools
1. Time, don’t underestimate the power. Set about 30 hours to one side to go through all of the above.
2. Somewhere to create graphics and images. I use Canva and love it.
3. A SEO research tool… for me it's ERank.
4. A place to work out your product pricing - I use Google sheets.
5. Something to take photos with. I use my smartphone, a tripod, a A3 white sheet or card and some props in your brand colours.
6. Somewhere to store your videos and photos that you can access them anywhere. I love Google Drive for this.
7. Social media scheduler - I use Meta Business Suite and Later for this. I’m a big fan of batching content and this helps me loads.
8. Business bank account, I use Starling Bank.
9. A wholesale supplier you can trust and receive supplies at lower costs than the likes of Hobby Craft.
10. Your policies, use Rocket Lawyer if you have your own website alternatively Etsy have their own shop policies for you to use.
11. Two - three parcel delivery companies.
I hope this has helped you know where to start in your handmade business journey. Thanks so much for reading.
Love Steph xox
π₯³ Do you want to learn more? π₯³
We’ve got loads of resources to help you scale your handmade business:
1οΈβ£ β¨Are you starting a new business? Here's my best resources:π Start here π
2οΈβ£ β¨Want to be visible and get more traffic? Here's my recommendations: πGet seenπ
3οΈβ£ β¨Ready to grow your business? Here's your to-do list: π Grow here π
ππ»ππ» Choose your own adventure with these resources ππ»ππ»
β¨ My book “how to be a handmade boss” is like a super intensive course on getting your first sales (plus, it’s a book/workbook hybrid!) π Find out more here
β¨ The Shop Doctor - Shop not doing so great? Getting views but no sales? No views at all? Overwhelmed with it all? Check out the shop doctor: π Join here
β¨ My FREE masterclass on how to increase your Etsy conversion rate. It's the KEY thing most Etsy sellers miss when trying to make more money and get more sales in 7 days. π Join here
β¨ Chart-topping podcast it's an unfiltered and honest view about what it takes to grow a handmade business π§ Whether you’re a complete beginner on Etsy, or want to scale your handmade business to multi-6 figures, the “How To Be A Handmade Boss” podcast gives you actionable advice and workshop style episodes to grow your handmade business on Etsy, your own website and beyond π Listen here
β¨ Our Monday Momentum Lives You'' find me in my Facebook group most Mondays for coffee chats & mini workshops to help you make more money from your handmade business! You can see our upcoming events here: π See future events here
β¨Our YouTube channel is full of hundreds of super informative videos, with help and advice you can put into action straight away .πΊ
β¨ More Blog Posts - Don't forget to check out more blog posts from Handmade Bosses π₯οΈ
β¨ Instagram is where you need to be for top tips, and behind the scenes sneak peeks into how I run my 6 figure business π Be sure to follow us for announcements of new videos, workshops, content and more.
