Side Hustles That Work: Make It, Sell It!
If you’re looking for great side hustles, you don’t need to look far! Make things you love, sell them online, make money. What’s not to love about that?! That’s the world of Etsy shops. Etsy is an online marketplace where you can buy and sell handmade products that you can’t get at big chain stores. Personally, I’ve bought everything from rings and necklaces to personalized vinyl decals, to custom works of art off of Etsy.
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But it doesn’t have to stop there.
Do you love crocheting? Do you have precious wall prints? Are you a quilting queen? Do you love to paint? Do you know how to cross stitch? Do you make your own jewelry? Do you love calligraphy? Do you design websites?
These are all ideas of things that can be sold (and usually do pretty well) on Etsy! There’s a whole world out there that want whatever it is that you’re making! And that can be extremely profitable for you!
Etsy is like owning your own personal boutique without all of the overhead that getting a storefront requires. And, courtesy of the internet, you can advertise anywhere you want and get seen by thousands more people than you would if you were limited to a physical location. How big you want to make your shop is entirely up to you, but there are some full-time Etsy sellers who do very well!
But who would want to buy something that I make?
Have you had people tell you “you should sell this”? Then chances are good that they are right! There is such a demand for hand-made items, and it’s not going away. People will always want that personalized and special feel that come with buying a hand-made product. Plus, supporting small businesses means that you’re supporting a person and a family rather than a corporation!
Although I’ve never sold anything on Etsy, I know quite a few people who have had great success with Etsy. One in particular is in the process of going from a side hustle to a full-time income all on Etsy!
Meet Rachel, founder of LittleSlick. I love Rachel’s absolutely adorable notecards and prints! She designs every piece and prints it on high-quality paper that it perfect for framing as a statement piece or using as a signature thank you card. I got a chance to talk to Rachel about her Etsy shop, and she just continues to amaze me.
Rachel has an amazing story. She was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic condition that mostly affects the lungs, and was sick for many years. In 2011, she received a double lung transplant that completely changed her life.
I especially love her story because she is using her Etsy shop to fund something even more amazing than just making some extra cash. She and her husband are using the money that she makes from her Etsy shop to fund the adoption of their first child!
If that isn’t a goal worth striving for, I don’t know what is!
Rachel started designing note cards in college, and when life settled down after graduating and getting married, she decided to start her shop on Etsy. She wanted to start earning income while doing something that she was passionate about. She also wanted to have a source of income that could be flexible and work around her health.Â
I asked Rachel what it took her to get her shop started:
“Lots of creativity and motivation! I started my shop with very little monetary investment. It was mostly putting in time, passion, and being willing to ask questions and learn!”
Rachel’s focus shifted from just spending 3 hours a week and getting occasional orders, to growing her brand. She now spends 5-6 hours a day filling orders, working on social media, and learning strategies for growth on Etsy.
“It is a lot to keep up with, but I love it!”
She is incredibly driven! Rachel doesn’t just spend all day sitting around waiting for orders to come in. Each week she fills, packages, and ship orders, communicates with customers, posts on LittleSlick’s Facebook and Instagram, creates her weekly email for my email list, watches webinars training, runs to the post office and printer, plans future product lines, plans her marketing, and researches what her competitors are up to.Â
Rachel is working hard to grow her Etsy business so that she can make this side hustle into her only job in the next coming year. “My dream is to have a successful Etsy shop so I can control when and how much I work, so I can focus on our baby.”
Are you going to be an overnight millionaire? Probably not. But will you be able to do what you love, share it with people, and make some money? Absolutely!
Things you’ll absolutely need before you start selling on Etsy:
- A great product
- High-quality pictures
- A willingness to work
- A readiness to be ready to be professional from the beginning
So what are you waiting for?! If you need it, consider this permission to get started with your Etsy shop! You are literally getting paid to do something that you love. What’s not to love about that?!
Here are some tips on how to increase your Etsy income from a pro!
Check out more side hustles that work HERE!
Have you ever sold something that you made?
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