-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.
My name is Martha and I live in upstate New York in a lovely college town. I have many part-time jobs, which add up to a couple of full-time jobs! I work at the local college, I am a member of an artisans cooperative, I am a Girl Scout leader, I have my Etsy business and I teach various arts and crafts in after-school programs and summer camps. Oh, and I am a wife and mom.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
There is no average day. One day I might be making handmade paper all day for a custom order; the next day I am taking my troop horseback riding or baking brownies for a bake sale, but almost every day I am constantly looking to see what the light is like on my kitchen table so I can quickly take some pictures for my Etsy shop while the light is good!
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
I was a tomboy growing up, just trying to keep up with my two older brothers. I was climbing trees, riding dirt bikes, having rotten tomato fights...
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I can’t even remember where or when I first heard about Etsy but I knew immediately that I loved it. It was easy and intuitive to use and I signed up and listed something within days of first finding it.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
It took a while to get my first sale. I was primarily selling handmade cards with sales few and far between. I got into a convo with another seller who recommended I sell supplies. I switched over and my sales immediately changed and were frequent, Instead of selling a handmade card, I sold handmade paper so customers could make their own cards. Then I added my line of plantable papers. Now my bread and butter is custom orders. But I still always have a few cards listed, just in case.....
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
Food: Shrimp scampi, my mom’s Thanksgiving side dishes, my dad’s Peking duck, mint chocolate chip ice cream and grass-fed steak on the grill.
TV: Do I really have to admit on the internet that I LOVE reality TV? Survivor and the Amazing Race are my favorites, closely followed by The Apprentice and Clean House.
Bands: Rickie Lee Jones, Lyle Lovett, Fleetwood Mac, Josh Rouse
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
I have tried stained glass, jewelry making, candle making, weaving, screen printing, sewing, knitting, book binding, carving rubber stamps .... but what I would really like to learn how to do is surfing!
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
List as often as possible so your shop is at the top of the search engines.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
jellybeans, heartfeltbaby and toastmania
-One year from now, I hope my number of sold items is ______.
one thousand!
"Creatives lack business skills."
How many times have you heard that? Or a variation on it? Maybe you're creative, an artist, a craftsman, and you heard that and become discouraged. Well, I have good news: it's wrong.
Artists can be business savvy, and can absolutely win in that world. But it's understandable that many artists find the typical business advice, usually geared towards entrepreneurs, bosses, leaders and nine-to-fivers, not applicable or confusing. Maybe you're having trouble figuring out how you work in that world.
To build up your business as an artist, you need to shift your daily output and reconfigure your week. Sound like a lot? It's actually pretty simple.
However, before we get deep into it, we need to determine what "one day's output" is for you. I can't speak to one artist individually, because when you work in that world, your daily output is very different from anyone else's. Whether you're a painter or photographer, the time it takes to create one piece changes so much between artists. So to explore this issue I am writing about, you first need to decide for yourself what one day of work looks like.
Ask yourself: What is the bare minimum amount I need to create every day to keep myself going? Then, stick to that amount. Only make that many pieces, and dedicate the rest of the time, the time you might have spent pushing yourself to make four or five extra things, to developing your business and personal brand.
For example: maybe you decide to make seven pieces in a year instead of thirteen. If you can live off of that (because that is the most important thing) the time you would have spent making the last six could be focused on sharpening your business skills, or really anything else you want to have time for. Maybe you can only afford to make one less piece a year. That doesn't seem like a lot of time, but all those small chunks of time will absolutely add up. By the end of the year, you will be grateful for having allocated even twenty minutes a day.
Building a brand as an artist is tremendously important. While some may disagree, you cannot ignore the power that social media holds for artists, especially with it being such a visual industry. Where do I recommend you put your energy? Pinterest. Instagram. These are the platforms that truly value creativity and put the art first. Twitter is important too, and you know I'm all about Facebook. Write a Medium post. Create content. You should work through all of these things eventually, but Pinterest and Instagram are a great start. Be smart and know the world we are in.
Bonus tip: it may even be helpful to hit up some podcasts or YouTube shows you know and admire. If you don't know any, take the time to look and learn. Networking digitally is just as important (and way more scalable) than networking in-person. Getting a short interview or even a spot on one of them could mean a sale. And hey, I said sale. There is no guarantee that one interview is going to lead you to that huge buyer who wants twenty of your pieces. But guess what? The more you put yourself out there, the more opportunities you create for that to happen. It's simple probabilities.
The more noise you create on social media, the more demand you create for yourself. The more demand, the higher your prices can be. We all know that. Use social media to your advantage. Carve out that time. Listen: as you move along, it may even become more cost effective for you to bring someone in to run all that for you. Maybe you're already there now. Evaluate.
The bottom line is this: if you're not building up your equity, you're going to be stuck making hundred dollar pieces when you could be making million dollar pieces.
https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/artist-business-tips-model-1019780168.html
