Over these past eighteen months, one thing that has become clearer is that diversity in income is a must as there’s no guarantee for a steady stream when things turn upwards on themselves – it has led to an increasing number of people seeking out alternative streams of income away from their daily working obligations and make a little extra on the side. The good news is that options have only increased, from opportunities to making money from gaming sites as you can find some here for the biggest options around the world, to freelancing options too as individuals offer their professional services and more through online platforms – but how can you develop your crafts into a side hustle?
Platforms like Etsy have been invaluable here, and there are a growing number of stories of those individuals who have managed to turn their Etsy store into a fully fledged business by taking advantage of all the platform has to offer.
However, sellers should know the costs and fees associated with their Etsy store before starting one. The type of fees their business is subject to varies, so they should know which ones apply to them. Likewise, it is important to keep in mind that sellers do not have to pay for an Etsy account, but they do have to pay for some of the services provided by Etsy. There are different fees for selling on Etsy, depending on the type of transaction sellers make. Several types of transactions exist –sale, refund, deposits, fees & taxes, and discounts. That said, the Etsy transaction fees calculator can be used to estimate sellers’ Etsy fees based on the number of items they sell. By learning more about these fees, they can determine whether or not their fees are reasonable for the revenue you generate.
Anyway, with that world event being such a huge part of our lives over the past eighteen months and the big push to support local and small businesses, it’s no surprise those who were selling their own crafts and good on these platforms found increasing success, but it does go beyond this a bit too as other tools have been just as impactful – all of the analytics on offer show just what is working with the store and what isn’t and allows even an inexperienced individual make the changes needed to succeed.
The biggest advantage to using these platforms is simply within exposure – if you’re not too experienced with self-employed work or running your own business, getting your name out there is often the most difficult part and can sometimes come with growing expense too if you’re looking for paid advertising, platforms like Etsy take much of this cost away and your products, pricing, and imagery do all the talking for you. Given the increase in popularity, it may become more difficult over time to be able to carve out your own niche amongst all of the stores, but if you have something great to offer then it’s certainly worth checking out, and you could even turn your passion based crafty hobby into your dream business if enough traction builds.
There’s certainly no better time for it either, with the shift to remote working and the flexibility it brings, free time is much less of a premium than it used to be as the work commute has been cut out and flexibility allows to fit your work life around your home life, instead of the other way around, and provides the time that would be needed to ensure your fledgling crafty business gets itself off the ground.