Vampire Rabbit; one of Felicia’s cute and quirky soft toys (they really make me grin!) .

Check out Felicia’s other cute critters in her Etsy shop Fluffy Flowers.

Read her lovely blog here.

Felicia says: “The first step in setting up an online shop is often the one that folks tend to skip. But it really is the most important thing that you can do to avoid painful times down the road.

Maintaining a shop is work. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. The first step to setting up shop is to define your goals. You get to decide what you want your shop to be like. Do you want a fun place to share your crafty goodness? Or do you want a place where you can sell lots of items to make some real money? Or do you want something in between? Deciding early how you want your shop to fit into your life will help you to keep it in check and prevent it from sucking up more of your time than you’re willing to give. Deciding will also prevent guilt from settling in if you haven’t updated your shop in a while or sold anything.

It’s easy for family and friends to say “you should sell your stuff”. What these kind folks don’t realize is that it really is a tremendous amount of work to set up shop. There are endless new skills to learn from photography to technology. Then you’ve got to fit in time to promote your shop and of course make your craft. Deciding just how much time you want to invest will keep things in check. And when things become overwhelming it’s time to step back and evaluate, bringing your goals back out for a scrutinizing review. From there you can make adjustments, scaling back or working harder, depending on your goals. Keeping your goal in mind will ensure that other parts of your life stay in balance. Your family, friends, and other responsibilities are just as important to a whole and happy life.

How you decide to run your shop is entirely up to you. Make it a part of your life that makes you happy.”

Thanks for that Felicia! I have to agree running a site is a labour of love, and setting goals and planning is essential. Best of luck with your fun shop.

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