During 2020, in the pandemic I started my own small business where I sell hand painted items. I started by having a website and then changed to Etsy in 2021. Since I started I have reached over 550 sales which is just so crazy to think that there is so many of my items in homes over the U.K.
Why did I start my small business?
I have always had a passion for art since a young age and I wanted to expand on it and therefore created my own small business. I started painting on different items and thought why don’t I try and start a business with this. I tried many times on different platforms and after many failed attempts I decided not to give up and carry on and now I’ve sold over 550 items since summer 2020. When I decided to start my business it allowed me to have more time to create art and to create multiple of products that are now in many homes around the U.K.
My business and products
My business is called Agift4theseasons, as it says in the name it is a gift for every season as I create items for different seasons and occasions of the year. I create a large variety of hand painted items, including canvas & vinyl paintings, framed art, bookmarks, wooden hearts, wooden 3D letters, and a variety of room decorations. At Christmas I always have many different types of tree decorations which I always love creating. My current best seller is a mystery book and bookmark, it is like a blind date with a book. I include a book to read and one of my hand painted bookmarks and wrap them up individually and attach them together with string and a quote.
Challenges
One of my biggest struggles when I started my business was trying not to give up straight away. I thought it would be a lot easier and I would get sales as soon as I launched which is a difficult and a unrealistic goal to set. It can be disheartening if you prepare so much and put yourself out there and you get nothing in return but most businesses start off the same way. I also found it difficult to find ways to market my products for people to see my business and buy my products as well coming up with new content ideas on a regular basis.
I got over the challenges by carrying on, no matter how hard it was to do this I knew if I carried on working hard it would pay off and it worked. I started to create more content on social media by researching ideas and trying to find new ways to advertise my products which drove people to my Etsy page and sometimes this ended up in sales.
Advice for anyone who is starting or wants to start their own business
For anyone just getting started in starting their own business, firstly well done for taking the big step to start your business, that’s amazing by itself! Secondly, do not give up on it, if it’s slow at first carry on, try and build an audience on social media and share your business as much as you can. All of the time you put in will pay off, it may just take some time! You have got this!
To see all my products my instagram and Etsy is Agift4theseasons!
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