Yep … You Read that Right … It’s Time to Get Off the Couch

Now before you think I’m being mean … there’s a point to this lesson, I promise.  The point is this, in order to “Build Your Brand” and experience Etsy success you must remember that your Etsy store IS a business.  Most people don’t treat their Etsy store like a business and this is why they don’t experience success … they don’t take it seriously.  So today, we’re going to talk about how YOU can begin to achieve Etsy success and prayerfully even quit your day job!

Treat Your Etsy Business Like a REAL Job

In order to succeed on Etsy, you must begin to have the mentality that this store of yours is a REAL job.  Did you know that 90% of Etsy sellers don’t treat their business like a real job … they treat their Etsy business like a second or third job, but they don’t give their Etsy store and job the respect that it deserves.  First thing’s first: Your Etsy store is not just a store … you need to think like a businessman or businesswoman … your Etsy store is actually a full blown Etsy business.  There’s a few things that I mean by this that we are going to briefly discuss.  These 5 things are literally the hardest aspects of running a business from home:

1. Get off the couch
2. Put clothes on
3. Have business goals
4. Get OFF social media
5. Learn to manage your time

GET OFF THE COUCH

This is the single most important thing in turning your Etsy shop from a hobby to a business.  Let’s face it, you NEED a place to work.  It could be the kitchen table, your husbands desk, your own studio.  It doesn’t matter where it is, but you need to be sitting in a chair at a table.  Why?  Because by sitting on the couch you are promoting your own relaxation and will have a bigger tendency to surf the net, work slowly, etc.  By moving to a “real working surface” you are telling yourself and your body that you have work to do!  Do this and this only for yourself and watch your work get done faster and be better quality work.

PUT CLOTHES ON

Okay, you can stop laughing now … if you are going to transform your business, then you need to literally “go to work” every day.  I’m not saying that you need a skirt or pant suit to work.  However, don’t spend all day in your pajamas … yes, I do know how comfy they are.  I also know that for many sellers you are work-at-home-moms.  It’s a ton of work to get your kids ready every morning … but you tend to forget about yourself.

You will find that the more you “dress” for work the better your productivity is.  There are a few things you should NEVER be without in your day … the first is to put on shoes, real shoes.  Not slip ons, sandals, or flip flops … real shoes that tie.  Why is this important?  Because this will not only help you to be active, but they are hard to take off, which means you are more likely to “work” and to be productive.

You don’t have to do your hair perfectly or put on makeup.  But you do need to do something.  Why?  Because for some reason we value ourselves based on our appearances.  Every day, regardless of what is going on in my day I take at least 5 minutes to do my hair, add some Carmex, & one coat of mascara.  I look in the mirror and think: not bad for five minutes … but it makes me feel good about myself.  For guys … well … this is easier for you … but please gentleman, put jeans on, don’t live in sweatpants.  Do something to energize yourself.  If you went to an office to work, would you show up in sweats, unbrushed teeth, a ponytail and no makeup? Most likely not.  So why aren’t you treating your Etsy job the same way?

HAVE BUSINESS GOALS

This is the one key factor that will set you apart from the hobby-ist Etsy store.  I have written several articles on goals, but the most important one is here.  Please take a moment to read it so you too can develop your goals.

GET OFF SOCIAL MEDIA

Say what?! Yep … get OFF social media.  Hear me out, over half of you spend WAY too long on your social media networks a day.  You need to set yourself time limits.  Spending all day on FaceBook is NOT going to increase sales, it is going to waste valuable time that you could be putting into other and more valuable things: making new items, your blog, listing / relisting items, even writing that eBook you’ve been putting off (or is that just me?).  You need to set limits for yourself and your social media efforts.  Spending too long on Twitter? Use Hootsuite to help you automate your Twitter feed.  Do your posting for FaceBook & Pinterest from your smart phone to help minimize the time spent on those social networks.  If you must, set a 10 minute limit for each network.  Any more than this and you will end up wasting time instead of being productive.

LEARN TO MANAGE YOUR TIME

The bottom line is this: you and your business will suffer if you don’t learn how to manage time now.  You need to be a proficient time manager.  If you have to use alarms to keep you on task, great.  If you need to use your calendar to set appointments with yourself, that’s great too.  Whatever works for you, do it.  I have written several articles on managing time, make sure that you read more detailed information there … and here too.

Thanks for joining me today. Join me next week to Build Your Brand on Etsy & experience success.

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