Transcripts
1. Class Introduction: Hello everybody. Welcome back to my classroom. My name is Ben Haws, and today we are going to be talking about my favorite topic which is ETC. And we're going to really be zeroing. You're zeroing in on deciding what to sell on Etsy. There's so many things that you can sell on Etsy and there are so many options out there on how you can build a business on Etsy. But I think there really are some things that I would like to warn you about, some things that I would like to make you aware about so that you make a really good decision as you go into starting your business on Etsy. And if you already have a business on Etsy, you're welcome here too, because it's a really good way to evaluate how good your products are, how marketable your products are, and how much they will sell. Along with that, how much effort you're putting into it, how much time you're spending. And if your products are actually have product market fit and are able to be sold on Etsy. And so that's what this class is going to be about. But before that, I just wanted to talk a little bit about myself to introduce myself. Hi again. My name is Ben. I am your teacher today am I am so passionate and so excited to be here. I am a side hustle coach and consultant and I love talking to people about their side hustles. One of my main pillars inside hustle consulting is at z. And so I help a lot of people with their Etsy shops. I am a successful at the owner myself. I have a store called upskill and swag, which I will show you in a future slide. But I started my Etsy store in the pandemic and have made a bunch of sales and have really had a good time learning tons of different things about how to sell on Etsy. And I also have another side hustle, which is a photo booth rental company in New York City. I rent out my photo booth for weddings and four for a corporate events, and I love helping people get really good pictures. So those are kinda my two main businesses, along with side hustle coaching about myself. I live in New York City. I work in sales in my day job. And so that kind of crosses over to my work in sales on Etsy. Am, I am obsessed with the Internet. So I love Instagram, I love marketing on Instagram. I love tiktok. I love making content on tiktok and I love reading the news. I love Twitter. And so that's just a really fun fact about me. I love the internet and specifically I love Etsy. So if you want to follow me, if you want to get more information about side hustles and, and, and more tips that you can use to expand your business, start grow and find your business. You can follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter at hassle with Ben. That's just a quick plug, but a little bit more about my own Etsy shop, which you can find It's called upskill sweat. I started my shop at the start of the pandemic. And if you remember at the start of the pandemic, a lot of different people were, you know, starting to work from home for the first time. A lot of people were starting to use Zoom for the first time. And there was a lot of jokes and a lot of humor around using Zoom and working from home. So I actually built my Etsy shop around common sayings that people talk about when, when they are joking about working from home and using Zoom. So things like let's circle back later. Please hesitate to reach out. Sorry, I was on mute. These funny, humorous sayings. I put them on mugs. Am I sold over 300 in 2020 and even more in 2021. And so I do note I'm talking about when it comes to FDA sales, I do help clients build their own Etsy companies. And so I really am excited to get started and talk to you about really how to decide what kind of product you want to sell on Etsy. And not only decide what you want to sell, but decide what will sell, what will be marketable, will have good product market fit. And we'll, we'll be worth your time. So I'm really excited to get into that. Let me ask you, are you ready? I'm ready. I'm very excited about this. I've been working on this course. It means a lot to me that you're here. I'm so excited to share this knowledge with you. So without further ado, let us get started. Click into the next module and we'll meet you there.
2. So Many Etsy Possibilities: Okay, so I wanted to just start with a mega list of things that you could sell on Etsy. And the reason that I wanted to make this mega list is because I think that's part of the reason why you're here. I think you have some ideas of what you're interested in. I think you have some ideas of what you seem to be successful on Etsy. And I think it's important that we start by just talking about all of the different options that are out there because they're really truly are so many different options out there on what you could sell. So you can sell stickers and t because craft supplies, ornaments, mugs, clothing, leather, jewelry, wedding items, parties applies vintage products. Home decor is just the start of all of the different things that you can sell on Etsy. There is no limit to what you can sell on Etsy. I mean, obviously there are some rules as to what you can sell on Etsy, but I think you kind of get the point that the world is full of ideas of what you yourself could start a business with on Etsy. So this course is not necessarily going to be all about different ideas of things that you can sell Because I think you're smart enough to know the different options of what you could sell on Etsy. And if you want to, you can always freeze this slide. Push, pause, and just write down some of these ideas of what actually interests you. But this course is actually going to go a little bit deeper than that, and that's what I'm really excited about. So what we're gonna be talking about in this course is five ways that you can evaluate your idea to make sure that what you're selling is going to sell on Etsy and it's going to be something that you enjoy selling. And so we're going to take it a step deeper and really give your ideas are run for their money and make sure that they're tried and true by the time you launch your store. And so that's what we're going to be focusing on today. I did want to just put this in here as a way. I didn't want to just put this slide in here to show you what the possibilities are that you could sell on Etsy. And so when exercise that you could do, write these down and put an asterisks or you're a star next to the ones that actually interests you. And then throughout this course, you can start to evaluate the different ideas and evaluate which of them are good, at which of them are bad, which would then we'll take too much time. Which of them will not make enough money? And by the end of this course, maybe you can have a list of two or three ideas of what you would really love to sell on Etsy and how would you would like to start your business? So I didn't want to put this on here, but let's move on to the really meaty part of this course.
3. 1. Passion For Your Idea: Okay, so like I said, in this course, we are going to be talking about five different ways that you can evaluate your side hustle, five different ways that you can evaluate your Etsy shop. Five different ways that you can evaluate your Etsy products. And so I will, you know, each of these sections is going to be fairly brief, but we'll give you an idea of one of the ways that you can evaluate your idea for selling on Etsy. So the first idea here, the first number, the first way that you can evaluate your idea is number one, passion for the product that you're selling. So as you're thinking about different products that you might want to sell, that you've heard of selling. The most important thing I will say this is definitely number one because if you want your business to grow, if you want your business to last, this is very, very important that you have passion for the product that you're selling. So if you don't have passion for what you're selling, what you're going to turn out. What's going to happen is you're going to end up with burnout and you're not going to enjoy what you're doing and you're going to start working really, really hard to make your products sell. And they're not really going to sell because you don't have a natural authentic connection to it. And so it's really important that when you're starting an Etsy store and when you're starting a business, you are actually passionate about whatever it is that you're selling. So I have a list of questions here to ask yourself to help you kind of identify what those things are that you're passionate about. And that might help you narrow down what it is that you would like to sell. So take out a piece of paper and identify for us a couple of things. Number one is, what do you do in your free time? This is such a good indicator of something that you can sell if you are doing certain crafts, if you are spending your time watching certain sports, this can be a really good way for you to identify what it is that you're passionate about and what it is that you should sell on Etsy. Another one is what are your friends go to you for? What do people ask you for your help for? What do people compliment on yuan? So do you have a really cool hairstyle? Do you make wallets that are really, really cool? And you, and you've never thought to sell them, but people are always telling you that it's really cool. What do you actually enjoy about your day job? That could be a really good indicator of what you should sell on Etsy. What websites or Instagram accounts do you follow regularly? This is a good way to show what you're interested in, who you're following, who you look up to. And my last question is my favorite. What did you like to do for fun in school? So when you were five years old, ten years old, 15 years old, what are your hobbies? What did you really love doing? Because that can be a really great indicator of something that you can actually turn it into a business today. So when you're thinking about starting an Etsy store and when you're thinking about what you want to sell on Etsy, please do me a favor and don't just think about the money. Because if you're not passionate about the idea, the money will not follow. Most of the time. Etsy is a place that is very full of passion and you can tell when someone's just doing the idea for the money. And so it's really important that you have an authentic connection to whatever you're selling. So if you're going to spend your time on it, make sure that it's something that you actually enjoy. And that is number one, making sure that you have passion for the product that you're selling. Let's move on to number two.
4. 2. Startup Costs: Okay, so number 2 is a really, really important lesson that I learned in my time as a business owner over the last 15 years. Number 2 is to make sure that your start-up costs are appropriate for your business. And so if you're not sure what start-up costs are, or you're new to Etsy or you're new to business. Start-up costs are basically the number of dollars that you are going to spend to actually start your business. So for example, if you were going to start a jewelry store on Etsy, all of the products that you're going to buy, like earring backs and clay and beads, all of those things that you're buying in order to start your business called startup costs. And so what's really important is that you have an appropriate amount of startup costs for your business. So let's get into it. Okay, So the thing about startup costs is that the higher the startup costs, the kind of higher the barrier to entry to start your business. So a lot of times people get really excited about starting their business and they go and spend $200.5, $100. And they don't realize that that's actually going to be a waste of money. And they get really excited about it, but they don't think mathematically about it. So make sure that the barrier to entry is low enough for your comfort level and do the math. So this is honestly, as a side hustle a coach, this is something that I have to tell people all the time. So you're getting this for me, you're getting this on straight for me, but you have to do the math on your startup costs. So for example, if you went out and you wanted to start a, maybe a sticker shock, and you spend $200 to start your sticker shock, and then you sell your items for $10. What that means is that you will need to sell 20 items or 20 stickers in order to break even. So you have to decide if you think you're going to be able to sell those 20 stickers to break even. Or if you would rather have smaller startup costs so that, that, so that it takes less time to break even on your business. A lot of times when people are starting an Etsy shop, it's because they want to make more money. And a lot of times people who wanna make more money are people who don't necessarily just have a bunch of cash to burn. And so if that's you and you don't have a bunch of cash to burn, I definitely recommend keeping your startup costs low. And so when you're thinking about what you want to sell on Etsy, making sure that whatever it is is not going to be expensive to buy it. So for example, if you wanted to sell jewelry, what is a way that you can start making jewelry at a lower cost? Maybe at first you don't use as extensive of products and ideas or products. And maybe at first you don't use such expensive products to make your earrings or your necklaces. Maybe at first you start with cheaper items to be able to kinda put together your jewelry. And then as you sell more and more, you can start to increase the cost of your items and start to increase the value of them. But starting small could be a really, really good idea. Another example is if you were going to sell antiques, maybe don't start by buying $100 item. Maybe start by buying $530 items. And then when you start to flip those, you can start to grow your business. Start to grow how much you're spending on things and grow how much you're charging. But at first, I beg of you, please don't spend too much money and dig yourself into a hole where you are not going to be able to get out of it. Because again, the whole reason of starting that the store is to make money and to get ahead financially, not to go the other direction. So think about that and do the math and make sure that the math lines up. And just don't spend too much money to start your business. So as you're thinking of products you can sell, maybe it's t-shirts, maybe it's jewelry, maybe it's stickers. Any of those items? Think about ways that you can reduce the costs if that makes sense. So I don't want you to go and buy a 100 t-shirts. If you're selling T-shirts, I want you to go find a way to get your t-shirts source so that you only have to buy a few at a time if that makes sense. So keeping the startup costs low, we'll get you very far in your Etsy store and choosing an item that doesn't cost so much to eat by n2 is going to get you a lot farther in your Etsy journey. All right, Let's go to number three.
5. 3. Product Market Fit: All right, so number three is the hardest truth that I have to tell people about their side hustles in general, but specifically about Etsy. And I don't love talking about it because sometimes it can be a little bit of a dream pressure. But I think it's important to be very real about the idea of product market fit. And so product market fit is essentially making sure that what you're selling is something that people are actually wanting to buy or something that people are actually searching for. So there's a lot of ways to make sure that you actually have product market fit. And let's get into it. A lot of times when people are starting a business, they want to just, they just have an idea, they think it'll work, and then they post 20 items and they never make a sale. And the reason is because they never checked in with their friends. They never checked in with their family or their potential customers on if the idea is actually good. And I say good because I just mean a good product market fit. It doesn't mean that there's any less value in your creativity or you as a person. But in terms of your products, it's really important that whatever you choose to sell is something that people are actually looking to buy. It sounds really complicated and simple at the same time. So let me explain a little bit further. Essentially. If you want to say you wanted to sell like each shell necklaces. Okay. That's something that maybe it would be something that I loved doing. Maybe it's something that I did as a kid and now I want to sell them. I really think it's important that rather than just having the idea and then posting it on Etsy, that you go around to 5, 10, 15 different people and get their feedback. Because if you don't have inputs, if you don't have feedback, if you don't have data proving that what you're selling is something that people are actually going to want to buy. You have no proof that this business will work. And so it's really important as you're choosing what you want to sell. Back to the list of things at the beginning of this course. If you look through that list, identifying, Do people actually want what I'm selling can be a really powerful tool to make sure that you're actually selling items on Etsy. So, you know, just do that research and figure out what is, what is it that people are looking for? What idea that I have, you know, is always going in. If you have an idea, say you want to sell t-shirts with horses on that. And that's just an idea that I came up with. One thing that you can do is go on at x0 and see what competition is already out there and see how many sales those and sellers are making. If it's no, if there's nothing on NC already, that looks like what you're selling, then that could mean that you're the first person to think of it and you know that you're a total trailblazer. It could also mean that nobody's searching for what you're selling. Because if people are searching for more people would sell it because a lot of people on Etsy are experts. And so it's really important to kind of do that research and understand that, that, that age-old question is what I'm selling something that somebody is actually looking for. So it's really important that you understand that, that you have a firm grasp on, On that topic and on that question. And before you even launch your store, I think it's a really good idea to do that research. So when you have your idea, go out, do the research, get the feedback, get the data, get the inputs, and make sure you kind of have enough information proving your hypothesis that your items will sell before you actually go and sell them. With that, let's go to another one of my favorites. Number four.
6. 4. Pricing Potential: All right, so number 4 is I think one of the biggest mistakes that I see people make when they're starting an Etsy store. And it's something that as you're choosing your items that you're going to sell on Etsy, this can be one of the most important questions that you ask yourself. How much money can I actually make on these items? So whether you're selling jewelry, whether you're selling t-shirts, whether you're selling antiques. It's really important that whatever you're selling, you can actually charge and appropriate amount of money for. So let's get into that and talk about that a little bit more. Because I think it can be something that people get caught in because maybe they enjoy making their necklace is so much, but they don't actually sell for very much money. So then in terms of finances and in terms of money, it doesn't necessarily work out where you are making enough profit on your necklace is to have it be a real business. And one of the things here that I always like to talk to people about is really distinguishing for yourself. Is this a business or is this a hobby? Because if it's a hobby, then the money doesn't matter. If it's a hobby, then you don't necessarily need to make a profit. But if it's a business, you should be thinking about the money. You should be thinking about the numbers and you should be thinking about the profit. So it's really important that you've asked yourself, whenever you're selling, ask yourself, how much can I actually sell these items for? So in college, my first Etsy store, I sold handmade wallets, made out of playing cards and candy wrappers and comic books. And it was a really interesting thing because I really enjoyed making wallets and they were really cool and I enjoyed the process of selling them. I enjoyed getting reviews, but I could only really sell them for $6. And it costs me about $2 to make and about $0.50 to ship. And so my profit on the wallets was really honestly very low. And so in terms of a business, I only ever really made like a 100 or $200 on the business. So if you are, if you are building it for to be a business and you really want to make money on what you're selling. It's important that you do this exercise here and understand how much you're selling, how much you're able to sell your items, or compared to how much you are spending to make the items. Ask yourself, Is this enough money for me? So if you're going to spend an hour making a product and you're going to sell it for say, $20 and it costs $5 to make, you're going to make $15 on that hour that you spent. Is that enough money for you as not an hourly rate that you're comfortable with. So one thing that I always recommend doing, identifying what that hourly rate is that you're comfortable working for because you are working it is a job, you know, as much as it's your own business. You don't want to get caught in the trap of spending way too much time building your products when you're not making that much money because then it falls into the category of a hobby. And it's I want to save this with my whole heart. It is. So okay to have an Etsy store as a hobby. So if this is something that you're interested in, if you just want to get your art out there or get your work out there, this is totally fine. You do not need to make sure that you're making a profit. However, if it's a business and you're in it for the money, you know, alongside our creativity, it is important that you understand the equation of how you get to profit. So if you're unfamiliar, profit equals your revenue, which means any money that you're bringing in minus your costs, which means any money that is coming out. So basically, if just to put this into perspective, for me, my mugs that I sell, I sell them for $22. And so my revenue is $22, that my costs are actually $14 because it cost me $7 to make and buy the mug. And it cost me $7 to ship them mug. So my profit is $7 per month. And it's really important that I identified for myself that $7 compared to the amount of time that I'm spending. Is it worth it? You know, does that make sense to you? I think it's really important to make sure that you're understanding how much, how much you can possibly charge for your item and deciding if it's worth it to you. And that's exactly what we're going to talk about in step number 5. And so I think it's really going to be really wrapped up in number 5 because number five is something that I'm also very passionate about and I also think is very important.
7. 5. Time & Effort: Okay. So number 5 is required time and effort. And this is exactly what I was just talking about in the previous module. So it's really important that you keep track of how much time you're spending and how much effort you're spending on building your products. And so I recently have a list of questions here that I really want you to be perfectly familiar with as you decide what do you want to sell on Etsy. Because a lot of times get into a trap where we are a creative person and we have an idea to make jewelry, or we have an idea to make wallets, or we have an idea to make custom paintings, are We have made dia to make custom mugs, and we're very passionate about the idea. We really feel comfortable with the product market fit. We really feel comfortable with the pricing potential, but what we're not comfortable with is how much time and effort it takes to produce one product. So if that makes sense, Let's continue to these questions. The first two questions I want you to ask yourself and maybe this is something that you can check him on once a month for yourself as you build your products. Are you going to be spending too much time for your own liking, for your own comfort level. The next one is, are you going to be spending too much energy on your products? So a lot of times we kind of get into this cycle where we make something physically with our hands and we sell it for a certain amount of money. But then if we kind of become successful and you start to get a lot of sales, we are sitting in our bedrooms kind of acting like a one-person factory. And I think that's really important to call out. Do you want to be sitting in your bedroom making this item over and over and over again for the amount of money that you're making. So it's back to that hourly rate thing. Make sure it's worth it. Makes sure that the time and effort that you're spending on your products and on your business is actually worth the amount of money that you're making. So number 4 and number 5 kind of go in go hand in hand. Are you making enough money and are you spending the appropriate amount of time and effort? How demanding is it to make your products? Are you having to go outside and physically be doing woodworking or are you have a do you have a supplier who just sends your items off whenever you make a sale. So understanding that level of how much effort you're spending and how difficult it is to actually make your products can be really an important thing. And then the other thing that I think is a good measure is understanding how much time and effort between making the products and running the business. How much time and effort does it take to make one sale? That can be an extremely good metric to keep track of as you build out your business. And then like I said before, are you interested in running a factory from your home? You know, if you're making greeting cards, do you want to be a one-person assembly line putting together your greeting cards. If for some reason one day you make ten sales in one day. If you're making baby onesies, you know, how much time do you actually have to make those baby onesies? So I think it's just something that's really important to identify for yourself. How much time are you willing to spend on each item and how much time and effort and difficulty do you actually, are you actually comfortable with for starting your Etsy business? Because what I don't want to happen for you is for you to start a business. Tell all of your friends, Tel Aviv, all of your, all of your family. Put it out on Instagram, put it out on YouTube wherever you're selling. And then to get too caught up in orders where you don't enjoy it anymore. So back to that passion idea, which was number one, making sure that you're actually passionate about it. Because if you're passionate about it, you won't mind making, making the items every day. And if you're making enough money, you won't mind making the products every day. So it's kind of like really important that all of these different five tips that I've given you so far in this class. But they all come together and work together as one, as one great business that you'll actually love running. So that is, you know, that is number 5, required time and effort. It's a really important tip. So I definitely recommend as you build out your business and as you start to think about what kind of products we want to sell, really, really, really thinking about how difficult it is to make each product. I think it's an incredibly important tip. And I've made the mistake myself. When I made my wallet business of having to keep up with demand and staying up late nights and making wallets in my apartment. I think it's really important that you decide if you want to actually do that. Just something that I, that I really highly advice. So without further ado, let's go to the conclusion. I have a reveal for you and a house, some next steps for you. So make sure you watch the conclusion. I think, I think I've, I've really enjoyed this class so far, and I want to close it out with a bang. So join me in the quick review.
8. Review & Next Steps: Okay, so quick review. We have talked about a lot in this class. And if it makes sense for you, I definitely recommend going back, watching it again, taking some notes and understanding what kind of products you really want to put into you, the ETC. Universe. And you have something that is so unique, I promise you there is something unique that you can make, that you have been making your whole life, that you have been interested in your whole life, and that you can make a business out of it. I have total confidence in you. If you are if you're curious about what kind of products you want to sell or if you want to get feedback, you can leave it down in the class project section. I'll talk about the class project in a second. But I definitely think I want you to know you do have a successful Etsy seller with a new, So it's a matter of deciding what it is you want to sell and kind of evaluating those ideas, these 55 ways that you can evaluate. So as a quick review, as a quick review before you decide what to sell, run your ideas through these five steps. So number one is passion for the idea. Number two is making sure you have the appropriate amount of start-up costs. Number 3 is product market fit. You really gotta make sure you have that product market fit. Number four is pricing potential, and number five is that required time and effort, which is what we just talked about. And so just really making sure that all five of these are true. All five of these, you know, kinda pass the test. And you will have a really, really great Etsy business going for you in no time. And next steps before you leave this course, I would love if you do a class project for me. So the class project is going to be to write down your three best ideas for what you want to sell on Etsy, if you are protective of your ideas and you don't want to share them before you start your Etsy shop. I totally respect that. I totally think that's fine. If you, if that's true, I definitely recommend putting your three favorite ideas that you've seen other people do in on Etsy. And so there's two kind of ways that you can do it. Either way, let us know if it's your ideas or your favorite ideas, and we will give you feedback. So once you finish this course, go back into the class project section and check out what other people are thinking about selling, if you like what they're seeing, leave a comment. If you have questions about what you're seeing, also leave a comment. I think that'll be a really fun way to start a little community here. On my Skillshare page. The next thing is enroll in my other courses. I have a few other FC courses that are a little bit more advanced, a little bit more further down the line within your ESI journey. My favorite one is how to make more sales. So I have a class called if I had 0 sales on Etsy, this is what I would do and I think it's a really important, um, class to take if you're starting to make sales, if you're starting to learn about SEO, if you're starting to learn about how to really, once you have that idea, make more sales. So definitely subscribe to me here on Skillshare. And I also want to just plug again. You can follow me on Instagram, tiktok in Twitter at hustle with Ben. I post about side hustles all the time. I post about my own side hustles as well as at the tip, social media tips. So definitely follow me over on social media. I would love to stay connected. If you have a question about this course or any other course, you can always DM me on Instagram method, that that's the best place to find me. It's hustle with them. Just want to tell me you took the course and you enjoyed it or you have an idea after you took the course. Definitely DM me, I would love to chat with you and hear more about your Etsy store. So without further ado, I do want to thank you for taking this course. I had so much fun building yet. I really hope that you got something out of it. If you did, make sure you leave a comment or DM me on Instagram. And as a reminder, the assignment is to leave your three best ideas in the comments here. Well, we will give you feedback on those ideas and I would love to follow through and learn more about your business. So I hope you have a great day and even better week and good luck. I will see you next time.
Ben Hawes, Creative Project Consultant & Podcaster
