Bootcamp Week 4

Oops it seems that the last bootcamp task list I wrote about was actually week 4 and I skipped one by mistake so I'm going to post the real week 3 now!

The list looks like this:

Read this week's Boot Camp article

Fill in the Blank

Six Success Secrets

Check in with your Boot Camp Buddy

 

Get a Head Start on Your Holiday Stock

Post in the Boot Camp forum thread

Ok so.. the article was an interesting one about custom work which I had already kind of figured out for myself. Its easy to forget, as a creative person, that other people may not have a clear vision in their mind about what they want. I certainly found this when I asked my bridesmaids how they wanted their jewelry to look, though this may have also been because they felt it should have been my choice. Once I provided them with some images of the kind of things I could make and also listed the basic options (pearl, glass, silver, blue etc.) they were then much quicker to decide what they wanted.

Whilst I happily accept custom orders (and, indeed, love the new viewpoint and ideas they give me) my Etsy shop is not focused around custom designs. My website, at least the wedding part, is much more focused around custom work and I have a gallery there of previous items to use as inspiration. Possibly I should consider providing an additional framework for options but for the moment I am happy with it as it is, especially with the everyday jewelry being my main focus.

Task 2 is a nice one and I know exactly what I need to do to fill in the blank. As a member of the SFEtsy team I see a lot of posts providing advice on shop policies, usually after a seller has had an issue of some kind with a buyer. I have been meaning to review my shop policies for a long time now, to add details and close down any ambiguity so that will be my 2nd task. Whilst I'm editing the settings I will also update my shop to match the new appearance of my website!

There are several more things that I want to do with my Etsy shop but they need to wait until I have photographed and listed my newest items!

Task 3 had me read another good article, one I feel I generally find it easy to stick to but everyone needs a reminder every now and again that, no matter what it may seem like at the time, its always best to be true to yourself.

Task 5 (we are ignoring the buddy-related tasks, remember?) I haven't done. For 4 reasons. The first being that I ended up creating some new designs rather than making more of my old ones. The second being that, between my supplier being out of my staple silver wire and my new kitten(!) sneaking off and hiding my existing supplies of my most commonly used coloured wires, I have been a little short on the items I need. The third reason is that I have instead been working on a custom wedding order for an ex-colleague who gets married in February and has asked me to make the jewelry for her and all her bridesmaids (future post on this when they're all done)!! The final reason is that... I'm not sure I need to. Maybe I should have more faith in myself but really I can't see how my 1 Etsy sale is suddenly going to become so many that I need to start stocking up now!