The Reasons Behind Running An Etsy Business
A desire to take control of life and work, adapting to a new life circumstance, following a dream, and whole lot of hard work and dedication. These are the themes Julie Schneider, a writer-editor on the Etsy community team for the Etsy Seller Handbook, says are the reasons behind why Etsy sellers transition from their day job to running their own business.
Schneider has interviewed people who have chosen to run their own business for many unique reasons: parental commitments, illnesses or disabilities, becoming burnt out at a present job, or a hobby that has gained so much momentum and popularity there aren’t enough hours in the day to hold a day job and run an Etsy business. From her interviews, she has heard the challenges these new entrepreneurs have faced, the biggest ones being making the initial decision to run an Etsy business full-time, getting finances in order to make the transition possible, and adjusting to the life of full self-employment which includes time-management skills, successfully finding a support network, and creating long-term sustainability.
LilyEmme Jewelry
Valerie Nethery became involved in jewelry making when she worked at a local bead store while earning a degree in environmental science. After she graduated, she landed a job in the marine insurance industry. She kept her jewelry making hobby on the side, using it as a creative outlet.
In 2009, she started an Etsy shop, LilyEmme Jewelry, primarily to fund her hobby. Whatever money she made she used to buy more materials or take classes to advance her skills. It wasn’t until a client asked her to make weddings bands that she found her niche.
“The response was so positive, that I decided I would shift gears and head in that direction,” Nethery said. When she began working as many hours for her Etsy shop as she did her marine insurance job, she knew it was time to start considering self-employment. She began planning on how to successfully transition from job to job.
“I never planned to go this route but I was very unhappy at my insurance job and the world felt too ‘corporate’ and restrictive for my personal and creative needs,” Nethery said.
Feeling more passionate about her jewelry making business over her marine insurance job, Nethery went full-time for LilyEmme Jewelry in the summer of 2014. Nethery realized how successful her business could be, yet how hard it is to be self-employed.
“Running a business for yourself has its own unique challenges when its growth is solely dependent on the actions and opportunities you choose to pursue,” Nethery said.
Nethery believes that self-employment is not for everyone and one must be driven, ambitious, and self-motivated, but the independence is well worth it. She also emphasizes one must be passionate with what they choose to pursue.
Since 2014, Nethery has been able to rent her own studio and hire assistants. She has been able to cultivate an audience that follow her work and is able to focus on the styles of jewelry making she is really excited about.
“You will never work as hard as when you do for yourself, but the reward could never be better,” Nethery said.
Plain J Body and Home
Jessica O’Leary started her Etsy shop, Plain J Body and Home, in 2011 as a side business. She currently works as a commercial interior designer and has the ability to work from home or any location. She still runs her Etsy business on the side, and would love to take it full-time in the future if she is able to.
“ I’ve wanted my own business for as long as I can remember, and I come from a family of entrepreneurs so I don’t love having a boss and a set work schedule,” O’Leary said.
Though she works in the field she studied in college and does enjoy her job, it can get a bit tedious. She works her Etsy shop on her off hours. Some days, running her own business while working her day job can get tiring and she is conflicted over trying to juggle both, taking the leap and quitting her day job, or shutting down her business.
O’Leary faces the challenge many Etsy workers do when their business has gained popularity yet they still need the financial support of their day job, limiting their time focused on their shop. With sales being unpredictable, O’Leary still relies on her regular income from her day job.
“I don’t want to give up on something that I created from nothing in order to stay working at my job,” O’Leary said.
Jenndalyn
Jennifer Lee was not ready for the 9–5 life after college, nor does she ever want to be. She runs her Etsy shop composed of mixed media art pieces and photography, Jenndalyn, after quitting her job at a medical device distributorship. At her previous job, she felt completely miserable.
“It was just a very thankless job,” Lee said, “I felt like no matter what I did, it wasn’t enough. It got to the point that I would feel physically ill on Sunday nights, thinking about how I would have to walk into that door the next morning, and then four more mornings after that.”
Lee studied Fine Arts in college and became hooked on using mixed media, which she still uses in her work today. She had heard of Etsy, but never considered the possibility of using it to make a living. In the summer of 2011 Lee discovered the “Quit Your Day Job” articles on Etsy and a 1000 light bulbs went off in her head.
“There seems to be this underlying trend nowadays where the real world is supposed to suck and you’re supposed to hate your job and that’s how it is. But I don’t accept that,” Lee said. She put in her notice at work, and remembers looking at her desk for the last time knowing she would never have to sit there hiding behind her computer screen crying because she was so unhappy and felt like she wasn’t doing a good enough job.
Her first item on Etsy sold in minutes. With that momentum, she began showing her previously hidden talent to the world, though it has not been easy. Some people didn’t think she was taking her work seriously. They assumed she was sleeping until noon and flinging some paint around and calling it a day, when some days she would work 12 or more hours making art, marketing, researching, packing, shipping, inventorying, or budgeting. She also experienced the highs and lows of an irregular income.
“I’ve had my power turned of, my cell phone tuned off, my internet, my cable… pretty much anything that is turn-offable, I’ve had it done,” Lee said. Throughout these lows, she still kept hitting milestones with her work: Wholesale orders, having her work published in a book, having her work on HGTV, landing licensing deals, and being asked to work on special projects.
Lee no longer feels physically ill on Sunday nights, but instead wakes up thinking about how every day is a new opportunity to make something new and reach someone new. She also loves the new-found freedom of being able to stay up until the early hours of the morning creating if inspirations strikes or be able to take a walk in the woods on a nice day.
“Etsy has enabled me to live an authentic life, be my own boss, and do things I’ve never thought possible,” Lee said.