The Success Summit for Entrepreneur Women

 by Hayley Mullin of SockprintsOnEtsy

Recently I found myself in need of recharging my entrepreneur battery and was fortunate to have a friend reach out and invite me to a conference sponsored by Today’s Innovative Woman Magazine. The Success Summit for Entrepreneur Women was exactly what I needed to get refreshed and focused before the holiday sales and shopping season is here.

While at the conference I met another Etsy shop owner and we shared some of our “Aha” moments and how we might be able to take what we heard that day and apply it to our businesses. It was fun to find another Etsy member in the sea of over 200 women who attended the conference to exchange ideas big and small while fantastic speakers and networking opportunities filled the day.

Feeling some information overload when I returned home, I thought it would be helpful to go back through my lengthy notes and compile 5 take-home messages that I could focus on for the next few months. Here they are:

1. Elect yourself an expert. Instead of waiting around for others to tell you that you’re an expert, take a moment to reflect on your art or craft. Jot down your strengths and don’t be afraid to let others know that you are an authority!
2. Done is better than perfect. I have to admit that many times I have postponed adding new listings on Etsy because I wasn’t convinced that my description was perfected or my photos weren’t quite right. This was a good reminder that no one will be able to see or purchase products unless they’re posted - perfect or not!
3. Big Goals need Big Help. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. Even though you may have just proclaimed yourself an expert doesn’t mean that you couldn’t use some assistance now and then. Etsy’s teams are a perfect place for members to find help they might need. I feel extremely fortunate to have found a great team (ETTEAM) where shop owners share ideas, ask questions and help each other. Their experience is invaluable and I can’t imagine success and reaching goals on Etsy without help from teammates.
   
   
   
4. What we measure, we can improve. Be diligent and track information about your business. Etsy’s Dashboard makes it easy to view your shop’s views, orders, and other stats. Another great resource is CraftCult.com where you can view your shop and item hearts and favorites. I’ve also found it helpful to track our social media followers on a simple spreadsheet each week. I record the date and how many followers we have on Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social media sites. If we have an increase in the number of followers on a particular site, I make a note of what promotion or event we may have been running at that time. I also look for which tweets, pins, and listings are favorited to see which items are getting more attention from prospective buyers and what has sold that week.
5. Be Seen. Etsy’s community makes it easy to gain exposure for your products and your shop. Simple things like joining teams, creating and commenting on treasuries, following and favoriting other shops, and posting in the forums are all good ways to get your name out there. Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest are also great avenues to pursue too. You can also create your own blog, or contribute as a guest blogger for other sites (like I’m doing now). Attending the recent women’s entrepreneur conference was also a good reminder for me to get out and away from my computer monitor and sock printing and meet other women business owners face to face to share what I do.

About the author, Hayley Mullin -- SockprintsOnEtsy, was founded by Hayley Mullin and Jann Middo on the sidelines of a Southern California youth soccer field in 2009 bringing a fun and fresh approach to socks. Hayley’s experience in apparel printing and Jann’s work in the hosiery industry provided the foundation to perfect printed images on socks. Never before have socks been available like this and Sockprints is thrilled to bring this new product to the marketplace. At SockprintsOnEtsy, a variety of sock designs are ready to be personalized and sold in sets of 2 or 3 depending on the sock style. Custom orders are also welcome.