Etsy Seller Shares Her Story with Congress
When Etsy sellers speak, policymakers listen. That’s why we were so excited to be there as Etsy seller Afton Stout of MyDinosaurDreams testified before the U.S. House Small Business Committee. Afton educated lawmakers about her unique experiences as a rural, internet enabled microbusiness, and encouraged them to take action on the issues that matter most to our community, including net neutrality and internet sales tax. She described her experiences starting and growing her paper flower business on Etsy as part of a Small Business Committee hearing entitled, “Flipping the Switch on Digital Rural Entrepreneurship.” You can read her full testimony here and watch the video here.
After the hearing, Afton shared further insights with Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez, and had the opportunity to speak with her representative from Iowa, Representative Abby Finkenauer.
Afton was invited to share her story with the House Small Business Committee as part of their hearing on digitally enabled rural entrepreneurship. From her newly constructed home studio in State Center, Iowa, Afton makes beautiful paper and wooden flower arrangements for brides around the country. In the past few years, she’s grown her business to be a successful and rewarding source of full time income for her and her family. As she said in her statement:
I assumed that living in a small town would be a hardship for my creative ventures that I would have to struggle to overcome. However, I’m certainly not alone in this space, as 27% of Etsy sellers are from rural areas like mine… Thanks to the internet, I am one of 2.1 million sellers on Etsy — many of whom, like me, are able to run our creative businesses from home, despite living in a rural area. This has improved my quality of life immensely.
We’re so proud of Afton for sharing her story, and excited to follow up with members of the committee to see what’s next.
If you’re interested in joining our advocacy efforts, sign up to be contacted about a future opportunity here.
