Posted by Amy on June 30, 2011
Have you been thinking about tapping into the power of Etsy?
Maybe you just want to play a little on Etsy and see what happens?
Handmade goods are BIG BUSINESS. According to Etsy, $39.7 million worth of goods were sold on its site in March 2011. WOW!
I have several clients taking advantage of the Etsy fun and because I help them list and market their biz, I thought it would be a great idea to put together a quick Ebook that could help you get started selling your fabulous items!
In this Girlfriend’s Biz Guide to Selling on Etsy Ebook you will find out how easy it is to buy and sell your own handmade and vintage products on Etsy.
Included in the book you will get:
- A Step by Step Guide on How to Set-up Your Etsy Store
- A Step by Step Guide on How to List Your Items
- Get an Etsy Selling Checklist to help you become a successful Etsy Seller.
- As a Bonus I have included a list of 50 Handmade Goods you can Create and Sell on Etsy… a great way to get the creative juices flowing.
Grab your copy of the Girlfriend’s Biz Guide to Selling on Etsy today for only $7.99
Amy Robertson is the Founder of the Girlfriend's Alliance, a women's entrepreneur resource. She is also President of the Girlfriend's Biz Assistant. Amy uses her own experiences of being an entrepreneur to help inspire, empower and connect women entrepreneurs. She is someone who talks her walk... and is able to teach what works because she has done it herself.
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Posted by Amy on January 18, 2011
Ever wonder how some women entrepreneurs seem to be able to do it all and have it all? First things first… there is no such thing! The women who appear to have it all, don’t. What they do have is a life that works well for them. And you can too.
Successful women entrepreneurs all have a few key characteristics:
Confidence, or at least a willingness to take a risk. Everyone, even the most seemingly perfect person has insecurities. The difference between successful women entrepreneurs and others is they have the ability to take a risk. This takes both a high level of confidence and the ability to push past any insecurities and move forward to achieve what they want.
Resilience, which means a positive attitude and the ability to adapt (because what are you going to do when your plan gets changed?). Successful women entrepreneurs are great at bouncing back from mistakes and setbacks and they’re able to make changes and adapt on the fly. This is an essential skill for success, because life is full of surprises and being able to adapt quickly makes everything much easier.
Mindset, a positive attitude and the ability to see the silver lining. A positive attitude is essential for being a successful women entrepreneur. It not only helps you stay focused on your goals, it also gets you through the tough times. We just talked about being confident and resilient; in order to be both of those things a positive attitude is a must.
Motivated to achieve, to own, run, and grow your own business. Motivation is hard to come by sometimes. Children, household chores and daily life can all sap our energy and make it tough to be motivated. However, successful women entrepreneurs are excited about life, excited about their goals and manage to hold onto their motivation even on the toughest of days.
Live in the moment – work hard and play hard. Above and beyond it all, in order to be a successful women entrepreneur you need to have a healthy approach to life. That means paying attention to yourself and knowing when you need to take a break. It means making time for fun and being able to be in the moment no matter what you’re doing. A successful woman entrepreneur knows that the road to success is paved with hard work, but a few fun detours make the trip worthwhile.
It’s all about balance, having a vision and being able to plan how you’re going to achieve your vision. Every woman can live the life they desire and be a successful woman entrepreneur. Cultivate that positive attitude, make time for yourself, be ready and willing for some hard work, and persevere.
Amy Robertson is the Founder of the Girlfriend's Alliance, a women's entrepreneur resource. She is also President of the Girlfriend's Biz Assistant. Amy uses her own experiences of being an entrepreneur to help inspire, empower and connect women entrepreneurs. She is someone who talks her walk... and is able to teach what works because she has done it herself.
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Posted by Amy on January 12, 2011
It’s not uncommon when business owners first start out, they tend to emulate those they respect in their industry. I can say that in the beginning years ago… I did this too. This is not a mistake but rather a first step on the path to real business success. You will know that you’re on the path to long-standing success, however, when you’re able to sell YOU rather than to stand in the shadows of your mentor, coach, or business idol.
Ready to let your personality shine through for better business today and tomorrow? Here are a few tips to get you on your way.
Be yourself . Sound obvious I know, but one of the easiest ways to be yourself and share your true personality is through your communications. This may sound scary at first, but the truth is we connect to those who we know, like and trust and being YOU is part of that. Sharing YOU and your personality can be through your email messages, your blog posts, your social networking interactions and through your content efforts. When you write or speak with anyone in your industry – client, prospects or business associates, let your personality and communication style shine through.
For example, if you have a knack for colorful metaphors, use them. If you have a very animated face when you speak, don’t try to cover it up. These unique characteristics will be just the things that make you memorable and endearing and will set you apart from your competition. When we do business, we do business with people because we like and respect them.
Share your story. Everyone has a story and their own set of experiences. Your experiences and perspective, whatever it may be, will be interesting and helpful to others around you. It is your unique group of experiences that has brought you to where you are today; they’re valuable and can be used to brand you and your business.
Joe Vitale, is a great example, he has written a number of books on the law of attraction and he uses his personal story of homelessness to engage people to demonstrate that he’s just like everyone else and has had his share of troubles and triumphs. This story helps him sell books.
Think about other experts and business people you know who use their personality to create a brand. Share who you are… your interests, skills and experiences. Let people get to know you, relate to you, and let your personality be your brand and what sets you apart.
Participate. When you work online or from home, it’s easy to become separate from the rest of the world. However the best way to share your personality, and make it your brand, is to participate. This means participating online and off. Join networking groups, a mastermind, and participate on social networking sites and get involved.
Be human. One of the tactics used in copywriting is to let people relate to you. The truth is no one is perfect and no one got to be successful overnight… maybe in some cases. J If you spend the entire sales page telling people how great you are, they’re not going to buy it. Tell people about where you came from, what mistakes you’ve made, what lessons you’ve learned and how you got where you are, they’re going to be much more interested in you as a person and as a business.
Finally, think about who you buy from and why you buy from them. Chances are one of the reasons you often buy from people is because you like them. Likeability is a buying trigger. You’re likeable. Use it, share your personality, and sell your products or services.
Amy Robertson is the Founder of the Girlfriend's Alliance, a women's entrepreneur resource. She is also President of the Girlfriend's Biz Assistant. Amy uses her own experiences of being an entrepreneur to help inspire, empower and connect women entrepreneurs. She is someone who talks her walk... and is able to teach what works because she has done it herself.
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Posted by Amy on December 28, 2010
One of the biggest challenges to being self-employed and owning your own business is getting over time management procrastination. It’s just so easy when you’re the boss to let things slide until it’s an emergency and you must absolutely get the task done. Here are a few tips to get out of this habit and start being productive today, not tomorrow.
Challenge yourself to something achievable but challenging. Sometimes we procrastinate because the task seems too large to manage. For example, you have an information product to create and just don’t know where to start. Rather than putting “create information product” on your task list, break the project up into several smaller steps. The first one could be, “Outline information product” or “Choose title for information product.” These smaller, more attainable goals are easier to accomplish and don’t feel as if they’re looming over your head.
Reward yourself (with a day off). Work hard, play hard is the cliché, right? Well take advantage of it. Make a to-do list at the beginning of the week and promise yourself a day off, where you do something fun, when the list is complete.
Identify distractions. Find out what you procrastinate with. Do you watch television? Run errands? Surf the net? Determine what distracts you. Spend a day or two working, or procrastinating, like you usually do and simply take note of what you do other than work.
Eliminate distractions. Once you know what you’re using to procrastinate then it’s time to get tough. Eliminate the distractions. For example, if you find that you often let household chores deter you from being productive, schedule a time for household chores. Give yourself thirty minutes at lunchtime to get a chore list completed and then go back to work.
Use tools to help you. Time-tracking tools, both online and off, are great for helping you stay on task. You can for example use something as simple as an egg timer. Set it for thirty-five minutes. Work for thirty-five minutes and when the timer dings, give yourself ten minutes or so to stretch, walk around the block, put away the clean dishes or something other than work and then go back and set the timer again.
Get creative with these tools and ideas and use them to help you stay on task and stop procrastinating.
Amy Robertson is the Founder of the Girlfriend's Alliance, a women's entrepreneur resource. She is also President of the Girlfriend's Biz Assistant. Amy uses her own experiences of being an entrepreneur to help inspire, empower and connect women entrepreneurs. She is someone who talks her walk... and is able to teach what works because she has done it herself.
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Posted by Amy on December 22, 2010
Confidence isn’t something that comes easily to everyone. For some it shows up intermittently, for others confidence is evasive at best. However, it’s necessary to get ahead in life. Confidence is required to achieve your hopes, dreams and goals. Here are a handful of proven ways to boost your self-confidence and get ahead.
#1 Know your strengths. What are you good at? Everyone is good at something. Grab onto your strengths, write them down where you can see them, and refer to your list often. Whenever you’re lacking confidence, grab your list of strengths and review them. Whenever you need to make a presentation, sale, or important decision, grab your list of strengths and review them. Knowing and appreciating your strengths is a great way to boost your self-confidence.
#2 Celebrate your successes. People tend to spend a whole lot of time focusing on their failures and mistakes and about thirty seconds celebrating a job well done. That’s backwards. Mistakes happen, and those who are successful spend a few minutes evaluating their mistakes and finding the lesson in them and then they move on.
They don’t spend hours, days and weeks going over the mistake in their mind. What they do, and what we can all learn from, is celebrate their successes. In fact, many successful people are skilled at using their accomplishments to promote their businesses. Press releases, testimonials, awards, and achievements are all publicized to establish their credibility and authority.
#3 Visualize Success. Our brains are amazing. When we visualize ourselves being successful and achieving our goals, it actually makes us feel more confident. Olympic and professional athletes know this and spend hours before a competition or performance visualizing their success. They visualize the entire race from the beginning gunfire to what it feels like to cross the finish line and break the ribbon. They hear the crowd screaming, they feel their feet pounding the pavement and they smell the hamburger stand down the street.
You can use this same power of visualization to boost your confidence. Visualize making your next sale, launching your next product or service or signing that six-figure dollar contract.
#4 Get in the habit of being successful. One of the best ways to boost self-confidence and accomplish your goals at the same time is to create a habit of success. This is accomplished by creating smaller, attainable goals.
For example, if your sales goals for the year are $100,000, this may feel like too large a number to attain. However, if you break your sales goals down into smaller, bit-sized goals, then they feel more manageable. You could instead shoot for a daily sales goal or a weekly sales goal, outline the steps to make it happen and then celebrate your success.
This way you’re taking steps toward your larger goal and at the same time boosting your confidence, giving you more faith in your ability to be successful.
#5 Take Risks. Confident people are able to take risks without fear. If you’re lacking self-confidence, risks feel much more significant and powerful. The result is that the risk is avoided and nothing is accomplished. To boost your self-confidence, take a few risks. Start small, like in the previous tip, and take risks that don’t feel so frightening. As you become accustomed to risks, and success, you’ll be able to dive into bigger risks and opportunities with more confidence.
Of course, you can also take advantage of these for confidence-boosting like smiling, standing up tall, dressing for success and surrounding yourself with supportive people. These are all great ways to boost your self-confidence. However, if you have big dreams and goals, you’re going to want to take bigger steps to boost your self-confidence. Put one or two of these suggestions into practice today and start changing your life.
Amy Robertson is the Founder of the Girlfriend's Alliance, a women's entrepreneur resource. She is also President of the Girlfriend's Biz Assistant. Amy uses her own experiences of being an entrepreneur to help inspire, empower and connect women entrepreneurs. She is someone who talks her walk... and is able to teach what works because she has done it herself.
Website - More Posts
Get Your Etsy On – Selling Your Handmade Products
In this Girlfriend’s Biz Guide to Selling on Etsy Ebook you will find out how easy it is to buy and sell your own handmade and vintage products on Etsy. 
