Why and How I Started My Etsy Shop
When I first picked up a needle and thread in 2020, I never imagined it would lead to me making and selling my own patterns! The journey of learning new stitches and finding patterns, led me to a community and hobby I wanted to share with the world. Selling my own patterns was such an easy decision because I knew there were other people out there looking for the patterns I was creating. In this post, I’ll share why I started my shop, what I learned along the way, and important things to think about before starting your own!
One of the first pattern’s I designed! I still have it listed on my Etsy!
My Journey in to Embroidery
My journey with embroidery starts in 2020, as I’m sure a lot of people’s hobbies did! Being in lockdown with nothing to do, what else were we supposed to do besides find new hobbies?
My Tik Tok was full of “grandma” hobbies like crochet, knitting, embroidery, and cross stitch. As someone who already knits and find crocheting to be a different language I’ll never understand, I was really intrigued by embroidery and cross stitch. I actually started my journey doing cross stitch and while I think people make some amazing cross stitch’s, I don’t necessarily love the pixilated vibe a lot of patterns have (and don’t get me started on counting and gridding your work!). So, I bought my first embroidery kit and the rest is history, as they say.
While I think purchasing a kit is a great way to start (I love that they come with everything you need, so you aren’t purchasing a bunch of supplies for something you aren’t sure you’re going to love), I love being able to purchase digital patterns. Then, you can make your own little changes to make the pattern your own. Through this process, I began to think of patterns that I wasn’t finding online that I thought would be cute (and those first patterns were very questionable, as I was still kind of learning, haha). Now, 5 years later, figuring out what colors and stitches go together to make the vision in my head is almost as fun as actually doing the embroidery itself.
One of my favorite listings!
II. Why I Decided to Start My Shop
As I mentioned, I fell in love with creating my own patterns and I thought that if I loved them so much, maybe others would as well! So, why did I choose Etsy? To be honest, it’s quite simple: that was where I was buying my patterns!
What I like about Etsy is that it brings the customers to you in a way. If I were to create my own store on my own website, I would need to drive those customers to that page or hope that they might find it through a browser search. With Etsy, I can create a listing and people are already on Etsy searching for what I’m creating. it seemed to create a smaller barrier to entry than creating my own online shop would.
The most difficult thing for me in this whole process was creating the PDF pattern that I’m selling. I really sat down and thought about what I like and don’t like in patterns that I buy and tried to create a guide that would help even a first timer!
III. Things I Wish I Knew Starting My Etsy
Time commitment: I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen quite a few videos on social media about making passive income that include selling digital items on Etsy on their list. And let me tell you Etsy is not a passive income stream! There is so much to do! I mean, sure once you have your Etsy made and your listings posted, it can be a passive income as there isn’t anything to ship out when sold! That being said, there is so much prep work that goes in to creating a listing, that I never thought of until I started my Etsy. Just starting your Etsy account, you have to make sure your profile is filled out and all the sections of your shop are updated (and keep them up to date) and update your shop announcements. Then, you have your listings! I think mine might take more time than other digital shops since I have to complete an embroidery, photograph it, make my guide for it, and then create my listing, but there is still work that goes in to creating that listing before you list it!
Fees: I did know about Etsy fees before I started, but knowing about them and seeing them are 2 different things! One could argue that Etsy fees are too high, but to me it’s worth it to pay the fees since they already have customers coming to their site searching, rather than trying to drive my own traffic to my own site. For me, the pattern guides are “free” (other than my time) to make, so essentially any price outside of the fees is a profit for me. If you are going to sell a physical item, you’ll want to take fees in to account when pricing your items (make sure you price high enough to make a profit after all your materials, time, and Etsy fees)!
SEO: SEO is my mortal enemy in the online space and social media. It’s an enigma I don’t think I will fully understand, but I do my best and am always learning! SEO is Search Engine Optimization and is how buyers find you through their search (you want to use key words buyers will search to find your product!). This was and continues to be, what I struggle with most on Etsy. There are lots of free resources you can find online to help you get it figured out!
My best selling listing!
IV. Should You Start an Etsy?
Starting an Etsy, you’ll essentially be starting your own business. I think before you do, you should ask yourself 3 questions:
Do you enjoy whatever you’ll be selling enough to keep up with it and be consistent? If you want to sell knitting patterns or finished embroidery pieces, do you enjoy that enough to turn it from a hobby to a business or is it a hobby that will end up in the hobby graveyard with all the other ones you’ve started and never kept up with?
Do you have the time and energy to commit to running a business? You’ll have added time commitments for photography, editing photos, customer service, and general upkeep. Don’t overextend yourself!
Lastly, does your item fit Etsy’s handmade/vintage model?
V. Do You Need to Be a Business to Sell on Etsy?
The short answer is no! You don’t have to be an official business to sell on Etsy. In fact, most people selling on Etsy start out as a hobbyist or sell without being incorporated and Etsy makes it easy to set up a shop without being a registered business entity (which is also another draw of selling on Etsy!). As with most things, whether you start as a business or not is going to fully depend on you! I am not a registered business as I don’t think I have a big enough shop for that and it makes the most sense for me!
You’ll want to think about what your goals are for your shop! If you want to grow it in to a full income, registering as a business can give you benefits such as separating personal & business finances and protecting personal assets. It can also give your Etsy a more “professional” image if you are a licensed business (though this isn’t a huge draw for me, as I don’t think most people are paying attention to that when buying on Etsy).
My favorite Christmas pattern I’ve designed!
VI. Tax Considerations for Etsy
Last thing to think about for your Etsy is understanding taxes! I know, not exciting or glamorous, but unfortunately an important part of selling! I’ll start off by saying that any sales tax, Etsy will collect and remit for you, so need to worry about that (and as someone who has a business where I have to do this, I think it’s such a benefit of selling on Etsy that they will do this for you!).
Now, personal taxes. The money you earn on Etsy counts as income and will need to be reported when you file your taxes. Once you reach a certain threshold for sales/income, Etsy will send you a 1099 form, but you’ll have to make sure you report your income each year! If you want to deduct business expenses (any items you need to purchase for your shop), make sure you keep records of all sales and expenses from the very beginning, this will make tax season less stressful. Obviously I am not a financial professional and taxes are a personal thing, so if you have the means, you’ll want to talk to a financial advisor about how it will impact your taxes and what’s best for you.
VII. Conclusion
Starting my shop has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done! It’s not easy and there are definitely behind the scenes details that aren’t glamorous, but I love it nonetheless. If you’re passionate about what you create, Etsy can be a wonderful place to share that passion! Whether you want to start your shop as a business venture or a hobby shop, the most important thing is to start!