The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

I've made £610 in 16 days using Etsy in a brand new sector.

Jemmalee

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
244%
Jun 15, 2020
128
312
UK
I thought I had better pop on and give you lot a little update about my current wares.

So our lovely Prime Minister announced that none of Event industry folk are going to have any work until around March 2021.

This left us pretty screwed - with emails asking for refunds on a daily basis.

A whole family unit, no income whatsoever (apart from the lovely government grant for self employed of £2k for 6 months..)


I had been messing around with Cake Toppers for a friend who had started baking in lockdown.

We had a machine and some acrylic. (They are around £130 to buy - acrylic about £18 per sheet).
I had £48 left in my bank account. I used an empty credit card to invest in some acrylic sheets (£70) I am Debt free - so this has already paid itself back.

I designed a brand, launched an Etsy Store, took some photos and went all in via Instagram (note this is temporary until I have time to finish the shopify store).

I went all in - commenting, sharing, engaging, talking, being honest, it took a few hours a day for sure, but made me 87 sales in 16 days.
35070

I have made relationships I would have never before, been thrown into an industry that I find somewhat interesting and managed to gain 1290 followers (I know.. its not about numbers) in 16 days too.


35072


We have not stopped. We have been WOWED with the amazing feedback - mainly about the customer service. I engaged with people, I made them feel good about purchasing, I helped them.
Like @MJ DeMarco said - Find something and do it better - this is a PRIME example of that.

3507335074

I've had so many messages about our order process time and quality of goods and service. Lots have slagged off other brands but I don't engage and reply about something else.

I've made £610 in 16 days. That is profit of £538. The upsell on some bits of plastic is good.(It says 56 orders - 87 sales is every single product purchased).
35071

I have orders every single day and waking up to those 'chi-china' sounds from my Etsy store is such a fantastic feeling.

Our product range can expand ten fold due to the ease of producing and designing products the customer base need.
I timed at people that 'work' with the items not direct public. So the bakers of the industry.

I did a couple of collaborations, f**ked up on a few orders with packaging as we scrambled our way through order sheets BUT responded quickly and replaced breakages same day despatch to retain their custom - all which have purchased again.

I've been contacted by larger brands about wholesale, and I'm just so blown away at this whirlwind of something BRAND new to the industry and the take off.

I've spent 2 weeks designing a logo before and planning without execution and got no nowhere.

I picked a really simple name, purchased the domain, checked copyright and any other legal stuff and ran with it.

Despite being fully booked in my events business from 2021 to end of 2022 onwards, I will deal with that when the government decides we can work again, but for now it can get stuffed.
(If anyone in the UK has heard the news today, that a Lord stated in parliament that event industry workers should go and get a 'better job' - you can understand my angst).

So, there it is.
I now have to launch the shopify store and keep building the product range and brand and my hope is that it will replace my event sector income in the next 3 months.
Our most popular product costs £0.008 to make + time (approx 3 minutes). Its a winner for me.
The next move is bigger and faster machines.
Email capture and marketing and ads.

I am LOVING this journey after such a crap year, I am finally happy to say - I am HAPPY!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,079
169,496
Utah
Excellent!!! Way to bootstrap in a rough time.
 

AnneC

Conscious
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
392%
Jan 3, 2012
225
881
USA
Congratulations on taking action, and now reaping the results!

From one Etsy Seller to another, here are two tools I’d recommend, if you’re not using them already: eRank (or Marmalead) for analyzing your listing strength. If you’re on a budget, there’s a free version of eRank. GetVela (it’s free) for bulk editing of Etsy listings.

You should expect a bump in holiday sales, and I would stock up on supplies NOW... not just the acrylic, but also materials for packaging and mailing, too.

Looking forward to seeing your progress and updates!
 

Walter Hay

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
401%
Sep 13, 2014
3,318
13,305
World citizen
Great initiative @Jemmalee , I admire your intestinal fortitude. (Commonly known as guts.)

Walter
 

df1992

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
238%
May 26, 2020
94
224
London
Amazing! 16 days to achieve what you have done is fantastic. Proof is in the pudding!

I've got a couple of questions:
  1. The amount of visits you have had in a short amount of time for a new shop is crazy impressive... what's driving that traffic? Is it purely your Insta? or are you having any Etsy ads?
  2. Sounds like you're onto a winner, are you looking to scale?
  3. That profit margin is dreamy! Can you use your equipment to make things other than cake toppers?
Great work!
 

Simon Angel

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
290%
Apr 24, 2016
1,190
3,455
Awesome effort! Magic happens when you've got an empty bank account. My first attempt at ecommerce when I had just $40 left in the bank resulted in $17K revenue in my first month. That was dropshipping with low margins and a general store. The brand you're building here is much more stable and very scalable with a Shopify/WooCommerce store and Facebook Ads!

Let me know if you need any help with setting up your store or ads, would be happy to help.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Ing

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
102%
Jun 8, 2019
1,621
1,651
58
Bavaria
Cool! Go on!
 

Jemmalee

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
244%
Jun 15, 2020
128
312
UK
Congratulations on taking action, and now reaping the results!

From one Etsy Seller to another, here are two tools I’d recommend, if you’re not using them already: eRank (or Marmalead) for analyzing your listing strength. If you’re on a budget, there’s a free version of eRank. GetVela (it’s free) for bulk editing of Etsy listings.

You should expect a bump in holiday sales, and I would stock up on supplies NOW... not just the acrylic, but also materials for packaging and mailing, too.

Looking forward to seeing your progress and updates!
This is the best advice ever.

thank so much for this, extremely helpful!!

And will be playing with those this week!!!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Jemmalee

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
244%
Jun 15, 2020
128
312
UK
Amazing! 16 days to achieve what you have done is fantastic. Proof is in the pudding!

I've got a couple of questions:
  1. The amount of visits you have had in a short amount of time for a new shop is crazy impressive... what's driving that traffic? Is it purely your Insta? or are you having any Etsy ads? - It was mainly Instagram and $1 per day on Etsy ads which I ran for a week.
  2. Sounds like you're onto a winner, are you looking to scale? Yes, keeping up with incoming orders is forefront but definitely on the books.
  3. That profit margin is dreamy! Can you use your equipment to make things other than cake toppers? it is but the brand name is in the description so maybe later down the line, however we have expended the range to cover a variety of cake related acrylic items so lots of ways to expand in cake wor
Great work!

thanks!!
 

Jemmalee

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
244%
Jun 15, 2020
128
312
UK
Awesome effort! Magic happens when you've got an empty bank account. My first attempt at ecommerce when I had just $40 left in the bank resulted in $17K revenue in my first month. That was dropshipping with low margins and a general store. The brand you're building here is much more stable and very scalable with a Shopify/WooCommerce store and Facebook Ads!

Let me know if you need any help with setting up your store or ads, would be happy to help.

I may come back to you on Facebook ads, I absolutely detest it, my fb business manager is a right mess !!
 

sparechange

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
161%
Nov 11, 2016
2,804
4,502
Canada (Vancouver)
That's awesome good for you!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

andrea532

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
57%
Mar 14, 2020
37
21
Italy
I thought I had better pop on and give you lot a little update about my current wares.

So our lovely Prime Minister announced that none of Event industry folk are going to have any work until around March 2021.

This left us pretty screwed - with emails asking for refunds on a daily basis.

A whole family unit, no income whatsoever (apart from the lovely government grant for self employed of £2k for 6 months..)


I had been messing around with Cake Toppers for a friend who had started baking in lockdown.

We had a machine and some acrylic. (They are around £130 to buy - acrylic about £18 per sheet).
I had £48 left in my bank account. I used an empty credit card to invest in some acrylic sheets (£70) I am Debt free - so this has already paid itself back.

I designed a brand, launched an Etsy Store, took some photos and went all in via Instagram (note this is temporary until I have time to finish the shopify store).

I went all in - commenting, sharing, engaging, talking, being honest, it took a few hours a day for sure, but made me 87 sales in 16 days.
View attachment 35070

I have made relationships I would have never before, been thrown into an industry that I find somewhat interesting and managed to gain 1290 followers (I know.. its not about numbers) in 16 days too.


View attachment 35072


We have not stopped. We have been WOWED with the amazing feedback - mainly about the customer service. I engaged with people, I made them feel good about purchasing, I helped them.
Like @MJ DeMarco said - Find something and do it better - this is a PRIME example of that.

View attachment 35073View attachment 35074

I've had so many messages about our order process time and quality of goods and service. Lots have slagged off other brands but I don't engage and reply about something else.

I've made £610 in 16 days. That is profit of £538. The upsell on some bits of plastic is good.(It says 56 orders - 87 sales is every single product purchased).
View attachment 35071

I have orders every single day and waking up to those 'chi-china' sounds from my Etsy store is such a fantastic feeling.

Our product range can expand ten fold due to the ease of producing and designing products the customer base need.
I timed at people that 'work' with the items not direct public. So the bakers of the industry.

I did a couple of collaborations, f**ked up on a few orders with packaging as we scrambled our way through order sheets BUT responded quickly and replaced breakages same day despatch to retain their custom - all which have purchased again.

I've been contacted by larger brands about wholesale, and I'm just so blown away at this whirlwind of something BRAND new to the industry and the take off.

I've spent 2 weeks designing a logo before and planning without execution and got no nowhere.

I picked a really simple name, purchased the domain, checked copyright and any other legal stuff and ran with it.

Despite being fully booked in my events business from 2021 to end of 2022 onwards, I will deal with that when the government decides we can work again, but for now it can get stuffed.
(If anyone in the UK has heard the news today, that a Lord stated in parliament that event industry workers should go and get a 'better job' - you can understand my angst).

So, there it is.
I now have to launch the shopify store and keep building the product range and brand and my hope is that it will replace my event sector income in the next 3 months.
Our most popular product costs £0.008 to make + time (approx 3 minutes). Its a winner for me.
The next move is bigger and faster machines.
Email capture and marketing and ads.

I am LOVING this journey after such a crap year, I am finally happy to say - I am HAPPY!
compliments :)
 

ADHDan

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
100%
Jul 1, 2020
4
4
Warwickshire, UK
I thought I had better pop on and give you lot a little update about my current wares.

So our lovely Prime Minister announced that none of Event industry folk are going to have any work until around March 2021.

This left us pretty screwed - with emails asking for refunds on a daily basis.

A whole family unit, no income whatsoever (apart from the lovely government grant for self employed of £2k for 6 months..)


I had been messing around with Cake Toppers for a friend who had started baking in lockdown.

We had a machine and some acrylic. (They are around £130 to buy - acrylic about £18 per sheet).
I had £48 left in my bank account. I used an empty credit card to invest in some acrylic sheets (£70) I am Debt free - so this has already paid itself back.

I designed a brand, launched an Etsy Store, took some photos and went all in via Instagram (note this is temporary until I have time to finish the shopify store).

I went all in - commenting, sharing, engaging, talking, being honest, it took a few hours a day for sure, but made me 87 sales in 16 days.
View attachment 35070

I have made relationships I would have never before, been thrown into an industry that I find somewhat interesting and managed to gain 1290 followers (I know.. its not about numbers) in 16 days too.


View attachment 35072


We have not stopped. We have been WOWED with the amazing feedback - mainly about the customer service. I engaged with people, I made them feel good about purchasing, I helped them.
Like @MJ DeMarco said - Find something and do it better - this is a PRIME example of that.

View attachment 35073View attachment 35074

I've had so many messages about our order process time and quality of goods and service. Lots have slagged off other brands but I don't engage and reply about something else.

I've made £610 in 16 days. That is profit of £538. The upsell on some bits of plastic is good.(It says 56 orders - 87 sales is every single product purchased).
View attachment 35071

I have orders every single day and waking up to those 'chi-china' sounds from my Etsy store is such a fantastic feeling.

Our product range can expand ten fold due to the ease of producing and designing products the customer base need.
I timed at people that 'work' with the items not direct public. So the bakers of the industry.

I did a couple of collaborations, f**ked up on a few orders with packaging as we scrambled our way through order sheets BUT responded quickly and replaced breakages same day despatch to retain their custom - all which have purchased again.

I've been contacted by larger brands about wholesale, and I'm just so blown away at this whirlwind of something BRAND new to the industry and the take off.

I've spent 2 weeks designing a logo before and planning without execution and got no nowhere.

I picked a really simple name, purchased the domain, checked copyright and any other legal stuff and ran with it.

Despite being fully booked in my events business from 2021 to end of 2022 onwards, I will deal with that when the government decides we can work again, but for now it can get stuffed.
(If anyone in the UK has heard the news today, that a Lord stated in parliament that event industry workers should go and get a 'better job' - you can understand my angst).

So, there it is.
I now have to launch the shopify store and keep building the product range and brand and my hope is that it will replace my event sector income in the next 3 months.
Our most popular product costs £0.008 to make + time (approx 3 minutes). Its a winner for me.
The next move is bigger and faster machines.
Email capture and marketing and ads.

I am LOVING this journey after such a crap year, I am finally happy to say - I am HAPPY!

Well done Jemma, amazing effort!!
 

Jemmalee

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
244%
Jun 15, 2020
128
312
UK
Thanks all.

Ive attached the most current stats.

Ive took part on 2 giveaways and have posted everyday to Instagram plus shared the Etsy store listings directly to Pinterest for more store visits and engagement.

Really happy with progress.
Instagram stats too.

Screen Shot 2020-10-08 at 13.52.36.pngScreen Shot 2020-10-08 at 13.57.15.png
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

ADHDan

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
100%
Jul 1, 2020
4
4
Warwickshire, UK
Thanks all.

Ive attached the most current stats.

Ive took part on 2 giveaways and have posted everyday to Instagram plus shared the Etsy store listings directly to Pinterest for more store visits and engagement.

Really happy with progress.
Instagram stats too.

View attachment 35208View attachment 35209

That's good going! Glad you've found something to keep you busy too. The last few months have been crap, especially for startups and freelancers. I'll try to get the other half to make some Halloween cakes so I can order some toppers.
 

BellaPippin

B is for Beast
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
275%
Jul 16, 2015
1,430
3,928
34
Chicago, IL
Wow @Jemmalee that is truly inspiring, you knocked it out of the park. Bravo!!!
 

marvic

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
50%
Mar 8, 2020
2
1
Philippines
I thought I had better pop on and give you lot a little update about my current wares.

So our lovely Prime Minister announced that none of Event industry folk are going to have any work until around March 2021.

This left us pretty screwed - with emails asking for refunds on a daily basis.

A whole family unit, no income whatsoever (apart from the lovely government grant for self employed of £2k for 6 months..)


I had been messing around with Cake Toppers for a friend who had started baking in lockdown.

We had a machine and some acrylic. (They are around £130 to buy - acrylic about £18 per sheet).
I had £48 left in my bank account. I used an empty credit card to invest in some acrylic sheets (£70) I am Debt free - so this has already paid itself back.

I designed a brand, launched an Etsy Store, took some photos and went all in via Instagram (note this is temporary until I have time to finish the shopify store).

I went all in - commenting, sharing, engaging, talking, being honest, it took a few hours a day for sure, but made me 87 sales in 16 days.
View attachment 35070

I have made relationships I would have never before, been thrown into an industry that I find somewhat interesting and managed to gain 1290 followers (I know.. its not about numbers) in 16 days too.


View attachment 35072


We have not stopped. We have been WOWED with the amazing feedback - mainly about the customer service. I engaged with people, I made them feel good about purchasing, I helped them.
Like @MJ DeMarco said - Find something and do it better - this is a PRIME example of that.

View attachment 35073View attachment 35074

I've had so many messages about our order process time and quality of goods and service. Lots have slagged off other brands but I don't engage and reply about something else.

I've made £610 in 16 days. That is profit of £538. The upsell on some bits of plastic is good.(It says 56 orders - 87 sales is every single product purchased).
View attachment 35071

I have orders every single day and waking up to those 'chi-china' sounds from my Etsy store is such a fantastic feeling.

Our product range can expand ten fold due to the ease of producing and designing products the customer base need.
I timed at people that 'work' with the items not direct public. So the bakers of the industry.

I did a couple of collaborations, f**ked up on a few orders with packaging as we scrambled our way through order sheets BUT responded quickly and replaced breakages same day despatch to retain their custom - all which have purchased again.

I've been contacted by larger brands about wholesale, and I'm just so blown away at this whirlwind of something BRAND new to the industry and the take off.

I've spent 2 weeks designing a logo before and planning without execution and got no nowhere.

I picked a really simple name, purchased the domain, checked copyright and any other legal stuff and ran with it.

Despite being fully booked in my events business from 2021 to end of 2022 onwards, I will deal with that when the government decides we can work again, but for now it can get stuffed.
(If anyone in the UK has heard the news today, that a Lord stated in parliament that event industry workers should go and get a 'better job' - you can understand my angst).

So, there it is.
I now have to launch the shopify store and keep building the product range and brand and my hope is that it will replace my event sector income in the next 3 months.
Our most popular product costs £0.008 to make + time (approx 3 minutes). Its a winner for me.
The next move is bigger and faster machines.
Email capture and marketing and ads.

I am LOVING this journey after such a crap year, I am finally happy to say - I am HAPPY!
Inspiring story. May I know your Instagram?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Simon Angel

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
290%
Apr 24, 2016
1,190
3,455
Thanks all.

Ive attached the most current stats.

Ive took part on 2 giveaways and have posted everyday to Instagram plus shared the Etsy store listings directly to Pinterest for more store visits and engagement.

Really happy with progress.
Instagram stats too.

View attachment 35208View attachment 35209

Imagine the potential your products and design have if you had 94 orders, made 1k and profited about 85-90% of it in your first month, on an Etsy store and no ads. Exciting stuff.
 

Jemmalee

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
244%
Jun 15, 2020
128
312
UK
I know right. I’m buzzing BUT feeding the reality of online retail world.

The government here are trying to imply an ‘online retailers’ tax which currently has about 822772 petitions against it so let’s hope.
 

Jemmalee

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
244%
Jun 15, 2020
128
312
UK

Jemmalee

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
244%
Jun 15, 2020
128
312
UK
Updated stats.
I moved over to shopify and launched at 8pm with a 10% discount on the whole store until midnight,
Heres the results from that and also below are updated etsy store results,

Screen Shot 2020-10-19 at 23.59.20.pngScreen Shot 2020-10-19 at 23.59.55.png

Also my Instagram stats.
Following is growing but my interaction is a little less due to being so busy producing orders!

Screen Shot 2020-10-20 at 00.02.49.png
 

Simon Angel

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
290%
Apr 24, 2016
1,190
3,455
Updated stats.
I moved over to shopify and launched at 8pm with a 10% discount on the whole store until midnight,
Heres the results from that and also below are updated etsy store results,

View attachment 35355View attachment 35356

Also my Instagram stats.
Following is growing but my interaction is a little less due to being so busy producing orders!

View attachment 35357

Nice work and solid growth so far, Jemma!

In case you don't have it set up yet I recommend adding a Facebook pixel to your store as you're going to want to use that conversion data with your paid ads. I think what you're doing has the potential to be huge and you may want to start thinking about hiring people and buying more machines soon. For now work on setting up $5-10 ads to just test the waters in your niche or you might end up with too many sales to handle! It won't be long before that $150 becomes $1500.
 

Jemmalee

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
244%
Jun 15, 2020
128
312
UK
Thanks for the advice.
I’m struggling.
I can’t link the store to Facebook.
All my fb business manager is screwed and it says I cannot create a new one as I have 2 business manager accounts and I don’t.
I’ve been through them and deleted everything inactive.

it still won’t link.

Contacted Shopify support - unhelpful.

Not worked on it due to being so busy so will definitely be someone to help me with that soon because I cannot work it out.
I know how to create a pixel, can do that.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Simon Angel

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
290%
Apr 24, 2016
1,190
3,455
Thanks for the advice.
I’m struggling.
I can’t link the store to Facebook.
All my fb business manager is screwed and it says I cannot create a new one as I have 2 business manager accounts and I don’t.
I’ve been through them and deleted everything inactive.

it still won’t link.

Contacted Shopify support - unhelpful.

Not worked on it due to being so busy so will definitely be someone to help me with that soon because I cannot work it out.
I know how to create a pixel, can do that.

I can take a look for you and see if we can get that resolved, but did you try contacting Facebook support as the ad manager is their product, not Shopify's?
 

Jemmalee

Bronze Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
244%
Jun 15, 2020
128
312
UK
I can take a look for you and see if we can get that resolved, but did you try contacting Facebook support as the ad manager is their product, not Shopify's?
That would be really amazing.
I contacted Facebook support as per your suggestion, after a long drawn out conversation, I ended up with 'how to' guides.
Not exactly the result I was after.

Let me know what services you offer and I will gladly look, I can't promise I can invest though, as you've read my story, money is sparse atm.

Thanks!
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top