My Etsy Decision

I haven't been writing much lately because I've been reevaluating my projects.  They keep adding up, and even though I'm having lots of fun experimenting, I really needed to take a good look at them  and stick to a favorite few.  

I started a couple of years ago trying my hand at internet marketing and failed miserably.  I spent a lot of money and created a bunch of websites that accomplished nothing, helped no one, and led nowhere.  It turns out I'm a terrible businesswoman.

I tried my hand at becoming a coach of some kind, got certified and licensed and chickened out on selling myself as an expert.  I found a Reiki master and was attuned to a level two practitioner with hopes of starting a business working with animals.  I tried and blogged about all sorts of energy healing systems.  I created products and stored them in a box in my basement.  (In case you're curious, they are Law of Attraction magnets.)  I packaged them and have them ready to go, and all I have to do is decide what to do with them.

I wrote some books and self-published a couple, and I'm still working on a couple that I think will make good reads if I ever get around to finishing them. 

After some thought and experimentation and a lot of effort,  I came to a conclusion.  I have to make a decision and focus on something.

So I opened a store on Etsy. 

Ginger and her Bling

I like to make jewelry.  I like my dog.  I know that animals have energy systems like us, and like us benefit from energy healing.  I know that crystals aid in healing.  My dog, Ginger, was having a hard time getting over her fear of people, new situations, strange things in the street, and my bird.  So I started doing Reiki with her and made some jewelry from stones and crystals known for their healing energy and clipped them onto her collar.  This gave me an idea; these would be great for other dogs who need a little healing as well as a great addition to my Reiki practice, so I started making more.  I bought beads and crystals and started making pendants.  I created a label and packaged each pendant with a little explanation of what the stone does.  Now I have something else to store in a box in my basement.

I woke up one morning and realized that I could sell them, I just had to figure out how.  Immediately Etsy.com came to mind.  Open an E-store!  That will solve everything!

Ginger made a beautiful model

In a weird way it did.  Because of that little decision I now have GingerBling for my Pendants, am testing out my magnets with my cousin's coaching clients (yes, I have a cousin who is already a successful coach in the UK.  She was nice enough to carry a bunch back with her after visiting here recently with the promise of asking what her clients thought of them), and dropped Niche Builder, a great SEO system by the way,  with some of the websites that are doing nothing for me.  It's a hundred bucks a month I'm saving there - a loss to the internet world, a win for me.

I made Happy2beEarthbound my parent company and licensed it.  I revamped the site to showcase the things I decided to focus on.  I'm keeping FurryEarthlings to use as a blog site for my Reiki practice.  I'm keeping Happy-Earthling just because it has some good information and a good message.  I'm still on the fence about LemonadeThoughts, though; that was to be my coaching business site, but until I decide if I'd really make a good coach Lemonade Thoughts will have to stay on a back burner -  someday I'll have to do something with the workbook I created for it.  All of this is listed on Happy2beEarthbound.com.

The first thing I showcase on the Happy2beEarthbound.com products page is my Etsy shop, GingerBling, because it's my latest baby.

I've always loved shopping on Etsy.com.  It's a showcase website set up to sell the wares of creative people of all kinds.  The artists make and sell everything from jewelry to clothing to stained glass and furniture, and I even found a psychic who sold readings.  You can find some pretty well-made and beautiful things on Etsy.com and they make it as easy to buy a $2000.00 item as a $6.50 one.  It's visually attractive as well.  I found a perfect venue for my meager wares.

As I worked on my own Etsy site I discovered it was easy to create the pendants, a job to set up the description and sales price, and a pain to take a good picture of each one.  Etsy has an easy to-do process - all you have to do is follow the directions to set up shop and publish.  They charge 20 cents for each item and take a small percentage of the sales.  Easy peezy.

But like any perfectionist I find myself fussing over making it perfect.  I take pictures, try them out and take more.  I edit, reedit and start over.  I can create a pendant in 20 minutes, but it takes me all day to showcase it.  Luckily there are lots of people on line, including the kind people of Etsy, who have lots of suggestions and tips for me to try and become a better photographer.  Who knew I'd be training to be a product photographer?  It'll all be worth it when I start selling.  I hope.

Now my BIG idea is to make more pendants and find some stores who'll be willing to sell them in the real world.  This way I can build my Reiki practice and attract clients.  I'll have more to blog about on FurryEarthlings and can refer my clients to my Etsy shop.  Maybe I'll be able to throw in some coaching on the side.

I'm doing a great job of simplifying my life.

With any luck, the year I'm ready to retire I'll be able to quit my broadcasting job and be paid to be creative full time.  I like to dream.

And it's all possible because of Etsy.