my little big dream.

Let me tell you a little story…

Once upon a time there was a young girl who had big dreams. She dreamed of being a singer and a song writer. Many people thought she was crazy and had delusions of grandeur. Although she was supported by many and laughed at by most, she pressed on. Eventually her dreams faded. Life takes its toll, and that was okay, dreams do change. The now young woman decided to discover a new dream. That is when she discovered Etsy. It was a whole new world of art and creativity that she had never seen before. It gave her wild ideas and let her imagination sore to new heights! Yet she was afraid to let her dreams go too far in fear of letting herself down once again. The young woman’s dreams grew even further into the atmosphere when she discover shops in her hometown like Wild Card, a shop that sells and support local and handmade artists. This was too much excitement for one person to bear! Thoughts and ideas of opening her own store came rushing into her mind like a tsunami wave. Then as her family moved across that country she discovered new inspirations like the fabulous Butter Toast Boutique and the up and coming GROWop. People actually do this AND make it work! That’s amazing! The young woman was truly inspired by all the lovely and talented women she was discovering every day.

Okay, so, if you didn’t guess it this story is about me, duh. I’ve had dreams of owning my own business for a while. Before it was a coffee shop while I was working at Starbucks but once I discovered Etsy, my whole world changed! So, why am I telling you this? The other day I discovered the cutest little corner shop in this beautiful strip mall near my house! I would just die to open up a handmade boutique there! I, mind you, am not in the least bit business savvy. I have worked in the retail industry all my life really. I understand the ups and downs off business and have been researching every detail for years now. Someday I really do hope I can open a shop to support the artists I truly love. I want to share with everything the wonderful things I have discovered as much as I possibly can. I feel like so many people are missing out because they don’t have their eyes open to find it. That’s why I want to open a store. I, myself, am not an avid online shopper. I like to see, touch, feel, and even smell what I’m going to buy before I spend my hard earned money on it. I think a lot of people feel that way even in today’s cyber world. Sometimes I feel like I sound crazy when I think about all this, but I know other people must feel similar to the way I do or there wouldn’t be any other handmade shops out there.

First, I think it would be very important for me to start my own Etsy shop to get a good feel of business. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while, but I think I’ve read to many horror stories about it and chickened out. I want to make sure I have everything in order before I start up shop. So, this is my call for help to all the Etsy shop owners out there: I would like to create a series called “Journey to Etsy.” I want to document the steps I take to opening an Etsy shop for anyone out there, like me, who might be a little intimidated to start. If there is just one, or a few things that you’ve learned from having an Etsy shop what is it? Any lessons you learned? Things you thought you needed but didn’t? Happy success stories? I know there are a million stories on the Etsy blog about success but I want to know from everyone else out there! So what do you say? Help me out! You’ll get full credit AND a feature post for any advice you give while I’m doing this blog series. You can leave a comment or contact me at withachanceof{at}gmail.com. I’m very excited about this whole process, was it exciting for you?

Thanks a million! Happy Thursday!