The New Way Crafters Are Working From Home
The New Way Crafters Are Working From Home
Etsy.com is called a “marketplace as unique as the goods themselves.” Crafters of all kinds now have access to the world through this virtual marketplace. Etsy.com is just over a year old and already has somewhere in the range of 75,000 registered members. This doesn’t include the thousands that come to Etsy.com to browse through items listed by over 16,000 sellers.
Etsy.com is not an auction-based site. Instead, each seller sets the price that they feel is fair for their homemade items. The fees on Etsy.com are incredibly affordable compared to other similar virtual shopping sites. Sellers pay a $0.10 listing fee per item and a 3% commission per sale. Each listing can be left posted for as long as six months. Each seller also receives a complimentary “shop” where they can list all of their items.
The creators of Etsy.com have also built in many unique and fun ways to browse through all of the items listed on the site. Shoppers can sort by color, by most recently listed and, of course, using the standard categories as well. This unique way of browsing the items is a great way to hook shoppers and keep them on the site.
There is a great sense of community between the sellers on Etsy.com. The founders have created a mentoring program that pairs up new sellers with an experienced user. This allows those who are new to the site to have a way to interact with sellers who are experiencing success on Etsy.com and to have a simple way to have their questions answered. This not only creates a camaraderie between merchants, but also alleviates that sense of “virtual insecurity” that one feels when using a new website. Instead of leaving new users to fend for themselves they have established a fabulous way to plug them in and make them feel connected to the community.
During an interview on the Inside the Net podcast (twit.tv), the creators of Etsy.com stated that they even though they have only been in business slightly over a year, they already have people making a living using Etsy.com. They stated that they knew of a number of people that had been able to quit their day jobs and stay home and sell on Etsy full-time. They mentioned the story of one woman who had quit her job and was now living out her dream of living in Europe. She makes her living selling her homemade items on Etsy.com and no longer has to live each day in the rat race of corporate America. Dreams do come true.
Etsy.com is a valuable tool for handmade craft sellers because you’re not in competition with cheap mass-produced items. What is considered “handmade?” From the Etsy.com FAQ, “You can sell anything that is handmade or, a bit more loosely put, hand-assembled or hand-altered. For example, screen-printed shirts are OK. A custom-built computer is OK, as long as you're making the case and not buying prefab. Furniture is OK as long as it's nothing mass-produced (yes, you can use power tools to build it). If human hands put some love into the object, odds are you can sell it on Etsy. Please note: we do allow some non-handmade items in the Supplies & Vintage categories.” (http://www.etsy.com/faq.php)
What may be the most unique part of Etsy.com is that they seem to truly care about the success of their craft sellers. They have gone out of their way to help their merchants to achieve success in making sales. They have incorporated numerous unique ways of browsing the shopping categories and they keep fees minimal and offer complimentary virtual stores to each seller. Crafters now have a better chance than ever before of making a living making and selling their homemade goods from the comfort of their own home.
Stop by Etsy.com today and shop, set up a shop, or both. With the holidays rapidly approaching, this can be a great start to the season.
The New Way Crafters Are Working From Home - To learn more about this author, visit Jill Hart's Website.
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One of the oldest and most traditional ways to work from home is to make and sell handmade crafts. In the past, crafters would sell their wares at craft fairs, flea markets, consignment stores and more recently, on eBay or their own websites. Unfortunately after the fees and travel expenses involved in these markets crafters would end up with minimal profits. Fortunately, there is now a new virtual venue, Etsy.com, where crafters can sell their homemade goods.
Etsy.com is called a “marketplace as unique as the goods themselves.” Crafters of all kinds now have access to the world through this virtual marketplace. Etsy.com is just over a year old and already has somewhere in the range of 75,000 registered members. This doesn’t include the thousands that come to Etsy.com to browse through items listed by over 16,000 sellers.
Etsy.com is not an auction-based site. Instead, each seller sets the price that they feel is fair for their homemade items. The fees on Etsy.com are incredibly affordable compared to other similar virtual shopping sites. Sellers pay a $0.10 listing fee per item and a 3% commission per sale. Each listing can be left posted for as long as six months. Each seller also receives a complimentary “shop” where they can list all of their items.
The creators of Etsy.com have also built in many unique and fun ways to browse through all of the items listed on the site. Shoppers can sort by color, by most recently listed and, of course, using the standard categories as well. This unique way of browsing the items is a great way to hook shoppers and keep them on the site.
There is a great sense of community between the sellers on Etsy.com. The founders have created a mentoring program that pairs up new sellers with an experienced user. This allows those who are new to the site to have a way to interact with sellers who are experiencing success on Etsy.com and to have a simple way to have their questions answered. This not only creates a camaraderie between merchants, but also alleviates that sense of “virtual insecurity” that one feels when using a new website. Instead of leaving new users to fend for themselves they have established a fabulous way to plug them in and make them feel connected to the community.
During an interview on the Inside the Net podcast (twit.tv), the creators of Etsy.com stated that they even though they have only been in business slightly over a year, they already have people making a living using Etsy.com. They stated that they knew of a number of people that had been able to quit their day jobs and stay home and sell on Etsy full-time. They mentioned the story of one woman who had quit her job and was now living out her dream of living in Europe. She makes her living selling her homemade items on Etsy.com and no longer has to live each day in the rat race of corporate America. Dreams do come true.
Etsy.com is a valuable tool for handmade craft sellers because you’re not in competition with cheap mass-produced items. What is considered “handmade?” From the Etsy.com FAQ, “You can sell anything that is handmade or, a bit more loosely put, hand-assembled or hand-altered. For example, screen-printed shirts are OK. A custom-built computer is OK, as long as you're making the case and not buying prefab. Furniture is OK as long as it's nothing mass-produced (yes, you can use power tools to build it). If human hands put some love into the object, odds are you can sell it on Etsy. Please note: we do allow some non-handmade items in the Supplies & Vintage categories.” (http://www.etsy.com/faq.php)
What may be the most unique part of Etsy.com is that they seem to truly care about the success of their craft sellers. They have gone out of their way to help their merchants to achieve success in making sales. They have incorporated numerous unique ways of browsing the shopping categories and they keep fees minimal and offer complimentary virtual stores to each seller. Crafters now have a better chance than ever before of making a living making and selling their homemade goods from the comfort of their own home.
Stop by Etsy.com today and shop, set up a shop, or both. With the holidays rapidly approaching, this can be a great start to the season.
The New Way Crafters Are Working From Home - To learn more about this author, visit Jill Hart's Website.
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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