📥 Free Download: The Mad Hatter’s Guide: The Proven Strategy to Drive More Visitors to Your Etsy Shop or Website with Blogging
Click here to grab the free guide! 🚀
🎓 Free Workshop: Discover How Blogging Can Drive More Traffic to Your Handmade Business
Sign up for the free class here!
Topic: Taking Risks in Business—How a $30,000 Bet Changed My Life
Welcome back to The Marketing and Heart Podcast! Today, we’re diving into risk-taking—the kind of leap that makes you wonder if you’re on the edge of a breakthrough or a total misstep. I’m sharing one of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken in my jewelry business, The Wicked Griffin, and the lessons that came with it. If you’re feeling stuck or are on the fence about a big decision, this one’s for you.
Let’s go back to when my business was thriving but wearing me down. Orders were nonstop, and every piece was hand-made from morning to night. Even when I was pregnant, I kept up this cycle, pushing myself past exhaustion.
I’ll never forget one particular night: eight months pregnant, hunched over my workbench at 8 p.m., trying to saw through a thick piece of silver with hours of work still ahead. I was grateful my business was doing well, but I was also breaking under the pressure. That night, I told myself that something had to give.
That’s when I decided to invest in a laser engraver—a $30,000 purchase, straight from my profits. I didn’t take out a loan or have a backup plan. It was just me, my business, and a huge leap of faith. I was terrified, but I knew this change was necessary if I wanted to keep my business and sanity intact.
When the engraver finally arrived, it felt like a weight had been lifted. I wasn’t spending endless hours on each piece anymore, and I finally had time to breathe. That single decision allowed me to rearrange my workflow and made my business sustainable.
Looking back, it was a life-changing decision. But that risk, scary as it was, taught me something crucial: to grow, you have to be willing to take a leap.
Of course, not every risk pans out. I’ve had my share of misses, too. I once bought a $4,000 Glowforge that now just gathers dust in a spare room—a great idea that never took off. But that’s the reality of taking risks.
Each decision, whether it works out or not, teaches something valuable. The key is to learn from each one and keep moving forward.
So, here’s where I want to turn this back to you. Think about the risks you’re holding back from right now. Is there a decision you’ve been hesitating over because you’re unsure how it’ll turn out?
Maybe it’s an investment in a new tool or exploring a new marketing strategy. Whatever it is, ask yourself: What’s the best that could happen if this pays off? Then think about what you would need in place to take that step with confidence.
📥 Free Download: The Mad Hatter’s Guide: The Proven Strategy to Drive More Visitors to Your Etsy Shop or Website with Blogging
Click here to grab the free guide! 🚀
🎓 Free Workshop: Discover How Blogging Can Drive More Traffic to Your Handmade Business
Sign up for the free class here!
Topic: Taking Risks in Business—How a $30,000 Bet Changed My Life
Welcome back to The Marketing and Heart Podcast! Today, we’re diving into risk-taking—the kind of leap that makes you wonder if you’re on the edge of a breakthrough or a total misstep. I’m sharing one of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken in my jewelry business, The Wicked Griffin, and the lessons that came with it. If you’re feeling stuck or are on the fence about a big decision, this one’s for you.
Let’s go back to when my business was thriving but wearing me down. Orders were nonstop, and every piece was hand-made from morning to night. Even when I was pregnant, I kept up this cycle, pushing myself past exhaustion.
I’ll never forget one particular night: eight months pregnant, hunched over my workbench at 8 p.m., trying to saw through a thick piece of silver with hours of work still ahead. I was grateful my business was doing well, but I was also breaking under the pressure. That night, I told myself that something had to give.
That’s when I decided to invest in a laser engraver—a $30,000 purchase, straight from my profits. I didn’t take out a loan or have a backup plan. It was just me, my business, and a huge leap of faith. I was terrified, but I knew this change was necessary if I wanted to keep my business and sanity intact.
When the engraver finally arrived, it felt like a weight had been lifted. I wasn’t spending endless hours on each piece anymore, and I finally had time to breathe. That single decision allowed me to rearrange my workflow and made my business sustainable.
Looking back, it was a life-changing decision. But that risk, scary as it was, taught me something crucial: to grow, you have to be willing to take a leap.
Of course, not every risk pans out. I’ve had my share of misses, too. I once bought a $4,000 Glowforge that now just gathers dust in a spare room—a great idea that never took off. But that’s the reality of taking risks.
Each decision, whether it works out or not, teaches something valuable. The key is to learn from each one and keep moving forward.
So, here’s where I want to turn this back to you. Think about the risks you’re holding back from right now. Is there a decision you’ve been hesitating over because you’re unsure how it’ll turn out?
Maybe it’s an investment in a new tool or exploring a new marketing strategy. Whatever it is, ask yourself: What’s the best that could happen if this pays off? Then think about what you would need in place to take that step with confidence.
📥 Free Download: The Mad Hatter’s Guide: The Proven Strategy to Drive More Visitors to Your Etsy Shop or Website with Blogging
Click here to grab the free guide! 🚀
🎓 Free Workshop: Discover How to Ethically Use BuzzFeed’s Traffic Strategy for Your Handmade Business
Sign up for the free workshop here!
Topic: Why Etsy Sales Might Be Better Than You Think—and How Your Email List Is the Real Game-Changer
Hey, everyone! Welcome back to The Marketing and Heart Podcast. Today, I’m here to tackle a topic I think we all come across now and then, whether it's from customers or from fellow Etsy sellers. There’s this idea floating around that every sale is somehow “better” if it happens on your own website rather than on Etsy. You’ve probably heard customers say, “I’d rather buy from your site so you keep more of the sale,” or even Etsy sellers who believe selling on their own sites means saving money on fees. But… does it actually work that way? Let’s dig into why Etsy sales aren’t just good for your wallet—they’re actually crucial for your visibility.
Now, I totally get it. Having a website feels amazing because it’s your own space, your brand, and everything is under your control. But Etsy brings something valuable to the table that your website may not, and that’s visibility. Think of it like this: every single sale on Etsy doesn’t just bring in cash—it actually helps you get discovered by more people. Every sale tells Etsy’s algorithm that people are interested in your shop, which can improve your search rankings, showing your products to even more potential customers.
Plus, Etsy is already a trusted marketplace with an established audience. People go there specifically to buy handmade, unique products, and Etsy handles the payment processes, buyer protection, and so on. That’s a level of trust you don’t automatically get on a personal website, and it can make a huge difference when someone’s on the fence about hitting that “Buy” button.
It’s easy to think that skipping Etsy fees means more money in your pocket, but let’s look at it practically. Running a website is not free. There’s hosting, maintenance, security updates, and then there’s the marketing effort to drive traffic. With Etsy, those fees you’re paying are effectively buying you exposure to a huge audience, saving you time and resources that you’d otherwise need to spend on getting traffic to your own site.
Now, if you’re wondering how to get the best of both worlds—a site you control and the visibility of a marketplace—let’s talk about what I believe is the number one place for traffic: your email list. Here’s why: your email list is your direct line to people who want to hear from you, and that’s where the real control lies. Whether you’re promoting your Etsy shop, your own site, or anything else, your email list lets you send customers exactly where you want them to go, and you can do it any time.
One of the best ways to build that list? A blog. A blog on your website not only allows you to connect with your audience by offering helpful or inspiring content, but it also helps you funnel people onto your email list. Every post is an opportunity to encourage