I have noticed that many of the sellers on Etsy have very full lives on top of their Etsy stores. Etsy on it’s own can take up so much time (promoting, blogging, creating, photographing, listing, packing, and shipping sound like enough for a full-time job to me!). I’ve noticed that many sellers are parents, hold down full-time “regular” jobs, and have lives, too. I have the same problem. I started selling on Etsy this past summer, but I’m still a full-time graduate student with some work I need to get finished. Etsy provided a nice, substantial change of pace from the type of work I do at school, which made for a wonderful break. And sometimes, I’d rather be doing Etsy than homework. And I have.
I’ve been doing some thinking, though, and if I really want to devote a fair amount of time to creating and Etsy, I need to get some other things, those things I had on my plate before I got into all this sewing stuff, finished. It’s difficult to do, but I’ve committed my true priorities to paper, and I am going to do my best to allocate my time in a way that reflects what I really need to do most. So, my shop may be a little sparse for awhile as I finish the school work that’s been hanging over my head (and poor SciFi Man’s head) and the sewing projects I’ve already committed to (like the fabulous bridesmaid’s bags I’m making for a friend’s May wedding). Once I’ve cleared the deck, I can give Etsy the attention it deserves.
Etsy does take So Much Time!
It’s difficult, but essential, to set your priorities and let go of Etsy for a while. (I’ve had to do the same from time to time).
Best of luck to you!
It sounds like you are being smart about this. Sometimes you have to take things one at a time. I’ve tried to combine things – a bit of Etsy a bit of gardening a bit of this and that – but it doesn’t work for me. I’ll spend a full evening doing some designing and the next afternoon taking pictures. Then I can list through out the week and run off to do other things.
Thank you for your supportive comments! Erin, I may have to try doing a bunch of creating one day a week. I’m not sure how well I can just pull away. 🙂