*WHEW* That was intense.
I opened my Etsy shop and, based on my experiences the last time I had an Etsy shop, I was prepared for a mosy-along approach to sales. I thought I’d make a costume here, another costume there, slowly build my options and it would be relaxed and fun. Well it was fun, but it was not relaxed! I made the gnome costumes first with no idea how much people love gnomes!!! So cool! Once the gnome costumes and accessories were in the shop there was no time for anything else. I had so much fun, and I learned so much in this crash course to the holidays on Etsy, I just wanted to throw a general THANK YOU out to the universe and my customers.
This year has brought a lot of progress for me in terms of my goals. As a stay at home mother of three preschoolers for the last six years I have slowly felt my edges blurring. I knew I was more than a mom, but I didn’t have time to pursue self-enrichment. And my youngest was born with a mitochondrial disease, pulling the focus of life even farther away from me. I was getting a little depressed. I think a lot of moms can relate to that. So took hold of my bootstraps and decided to get back on Etsy and go back to school. My idea is to get a BA in Business while building a business from the ground up. That way once I’m finished I’ll have more to put on a resume than I’m a SAHM who went to school while taking care of the kids! This holiday season on Etsy has certainly gotten me off to a great start. I fortunately decided to take only one class this semester, which is turning out to be the best ever choice. If I’d had more on my plate I might have taken a turn for the looney bin! As intense as the last two months have been, I am thriving. And I am thankful. There were times I got a little grumpy, but I reminded myself, “Hey! I asked for this!”
Now the question is, what do I ask for next, hmmm? My goals for the rest of this year include:
- Coming up with Christmas gift ideas to sell.
- Coming up with new dress up and costume ideas.
- Running my first ever craft fair booth (at my daughter’s school’s Winter Festival!).
- Establishing administrative polices for myself – don’t want to get behind on the paperwork!
- Learning about taxes and how to itemize!
- Re-organizing my sewing studio so the design is more friendly to what I’m going to call Extreme Sewing vs Home Sewing.
- Build a website.
OH yeah, don’t forget continuing to care for my family, managing my medically needy son, maintain my house, be a substitute teacher for my daughter’s school, and make straight A’s! I’ve accepted I’m not capable of regular blogging activity, but my goals will be the topics I’ll be blogging on. So if you’re a SAHM who wants to get back into “it,” or a budding entrepreneur, or just curious, keep reading. I hope to share some useful information. Or check me out on Facebook! While I can’t blog on a regular basis, me and FB are tight. Its easy, and fun, to post on FB and connect with my friends and customers. https://www.facebook.com/WooWhoEtsy
Thanks again, Universe!
~Melissa
WOO WHO! 