If you come from the world of business, maybe you can confidently say there were zero surprises when you decided to start your own business and dive headfirst into entrepreneurship. But what I've noticed, specifically with the crochet and knitting community, is that most of us aren't exactly business professionals well-equipped with marketing strategies and financial teams or any knowledge of how to play a thousand different roles as an entrepreneur. I'm a sixteen-year-old who's never even had a part-time job. And the rest of us are stay-at-home moms, hobbyists, people who are addicted to yarn and are looking for an extra buck or two to help pay rent. Not the picture-perfect idea of what an entrepreneur should look like. But we have personality, determination, and passion which also seem to be pretty staple characteristics of a good entrepreneur. So, if you're diving into this mysterious business world, let me give you my 5 biggest things that shocked me about entrepreneurship and no one seemed to mention.
1. Waiting for doors to open is a huge waste of your time.
This one was one of the first things I learned, before even starting my Etsy shop. When I imagined what my business would be, I imagined companies pining after me to send me free products. I imagined pattern testers rolling in the second I needed them. I just imagined this beautiful success just falling into my lap because I had gotten over the biggest obstacle--starting a business!
Well, sorry to burst your bubble, past Charlotte, but that's not exactly how it works. I get free yarn sent to me because I contacted 30 yarn shops and a singular one of them was interested. I found pattern testers by commenting on their Instagram posts and only two or three out of twelve reached out to me first. So if you keep waiting for a door to open, it's going to take a while with a lot of disappointments and not much growth along the way. Don't be afraid to be bold. Stop waiting for shit to fall into your lap and make it happen.
2. If you're not resilient, you won't make it in this business.
Before I opened my Etsy shop, this was something that I logically understood. But you don't really understand until you're in the middle of it. One night I was lying awake in bed convincing myself to quit my Etsy because I was stupid for thinking I could start a business. I hadn't made a sale in a month. I was hardly getting any views. Nothing else was ever going to sell so let's just shut down the entire shop so that I can't be disappointed later.
Days passed and I kept losing more hope and motivation. I was ready to give up and to just stop trying altogether. Then, I made a sale! And someone ordered a custom order! And I made another sale! All in the same week. If you're getting into a startup, you can't hope for anything to be predictable. And that makes it hard to hold onto anything, because what is there? The hypothetical sale that may or may not happen one day? And honestly, yeah. That's all there is to hold onto. The hypothetical sale that may or may not happen one day. And before you decide to start a business you should keep that in mind. Because even having my Etsy shop open for two months, I'm still mostly holding onto theoretical sales. I've just learned to have that be enough. I've learned to be excited about every ten-dollar sale because it's the sale I'd been waiting for, despite its minimal extravagance.
I was selling crocheted corsages and boutonnieres for homecoming at my school this year and every day I would go home and my dad would ask me if I sold anything--the answer was always no. Then, I had one singular person order a boutonniere and corsage set for her and her boyfriend. Two weeks later, I saw them at the dance and they showed off their flowers to me. I saw the smiles on their faces, the happiness in their eyes. And now, my little yarn flowers are forever going to be a part of the joy they felt that night. It wasn't an extravagant sale by any means, but it was magical nonetheless. I made one sale after advertising to everyone I spoke to for 3 weeks straight. But that one sale was worth the effort. That one, hypothetical sale was a beautiful reality.
3. The confidence it gives you in yourself.
I remember my first sale vividly. Now, it was only two months ago but either way, it'll stand out in my memory forever. I remember seeing the notification. I remember lighting up. I remember smiling uncontrollably the rest of the night. I remember interrupting anyone who tried to talk because I was just so excited about my first Etsy sale that I never ran out of things to say about it (although I admit that after the first shriek of excitement, the rest of them were probably a tad repetitive).
When I made my first Etsy sale, my shop had only been open a week. And from everything I had read, I was prepared to be patient and wait up to a month for my first sale. I had come to terms with it. And then in one week, I made a sale. And that was the first time I started to believe in myself because I thought, "holy shit. I might be able to do this." And honestly, part of me never thought I could.
It's given me confidence. And pride in myself. And something that makes me feel joy when I look in the mirror. And admittedly, I've not always had that perspective when staring at my reflection. And god does it feel good to for once, feel so fucking proud of myself.
4. The amount of damn research.
Okay, maybe this point isn't nearly as deep or philosophical as the others, but it's genuinely been the biggest thing that I've been bombarded with so far. There is so much googling involved in starting a business. You google marketing strategies, financial strategies, how to price your work, where to sell it, and the list goes on and on and on. And as soon as you think you have a grasp on how to run your business, a message pops up on Etsy where one of your customers is ready for you to invoice them! But instead of being excited, you break out in a sweat, pull out your computer and desperately google what the hell an invoice is.
You're never really done with your research. Even once you get over the initial hump of hours upon hours of relentless research and youtube videos and entrepreneurship tips, you'll still face predicaments every day that you don't know what to do with and resort to your old friend Google to tell you. Because at the end of the day, I'm still a high school student who hasn't taken so much as a financial class in my entire life. But I'll tell you this much: if I can figure out the correct way to start a business without so much as a high school diploma, it's anyone's game out there. Don't let your qualifications, or lack thereof, hold you back.
5. The happy dances.
I'm not even exaggerating when I say that I do a happy dance every time I make a sale. Say I'm walking through the kitchen, check my phone, and oh my gosh I made a sale! A grin breaks out on my face and I drop my phone on the counter and literally dance a little cha-cha around my kitchen.
Or today, I found out that I had hit 10 sales on Etsy! Ten strangers now have my time and effort as a permanent part of their life, whether it be a backpack for school, a hat and bootie set for their new baby, or a set of coasters that'll be a staple at every party they host from now on.
And the other thing is that those happy dances make all your effort worth it. Even if it's a ten-dollar sale. Even if you get fifty cents of that back because each listing you post is charged. One sale makes it worth all the times you almost gave up on yourself and all the hours upon hours you put into every other item that hasn't sold yet. The euphoria you feel is indescribable. It keeps you motivated. It reminds you that your effort is turning into something real. And I'm not talking about the money in your bank account, I'm talking about the smile on your customer's face when they receive your item. That's why I do this, and that's what makes this all worth it.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this blog post and that it gave you a little insight to what entrepreneurship is like! I'm releasing my next hat pattern a week and a half from now on October 26th so stay tuned. As always, there will be some blog post that goes along with it and gets you thinking. It's a hat pattern inspired by Rosie the Riveter, I'm in love with how my pattern testers are doing!
Don't forget to check out my Etsy with my last pattern and various crocheted items on it. Thanks for your support!
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