As I sit here typing away on my laptop, my five-year-old is quietly coloring at the kitchen table, my “baby”, now three, is napping in her room, and I’m earning passive income online.
My tea is hot, my inbox is full of auto-fulfilled order notifications, and my heart is full of gratitude.
Today, I want to share how I went from struggling “wantrepreneur” to successfully making passive income online and how you can too.
How it Started
Before my maternity leave, I was a full-time administrator at a university, constantly juggling meetings, responsibilities, and deadlines. However, when my firstborn arrived, everything shifted. I found myself in a world of diapers and 2 AM feedings. Despite the joy of motherhood, I felt adrift, longing for something more. I had this persistent, gnawing desire to create something that could give me more flexibility to be a more present mother, especially once my son started attending kindergarten and got out of school around noon.
A Passion for Business
I have always been an entrepreneur at heart. I tried my hand at many ventures over the years, ranging from dog sitting to writing e-books. However, they were all unsuccessful, short-lived experiments that resulted in minimal income, a lot of time, and maximum stress. One thing all of my ventures had in common, however, was that eventually, I gave up on them when things didn’t seem to be progressing as quickly as I wanted.
A Mindset Shift
Eventually, I realized something important – I needed a growth mindset. After studying positive psychology in grad school, I viewed my previous “failures” not as setbacks but as stepping stones. I learned to see each misstep as an opportunity to learn and grow, and that’s when I decided to focus on one experiment I had started previously: my little-known Etsy store.
Looking back, it seems like such a bold move, but really, it was a leap of faith into the world of passive income. And what a game-changer it was! The digital product landscape on Etsy was a revelation. It allowed me to create something once and sell it unlimited times without managing inventory or shipping items.
Initially, I felt overwhelmed. I was cluelessly paddling in a vast ocean of digital selling. I needed a lifebuoy and found it in an online Etsy course. The stepping stone took me from dazed and confused to confident and successful. It also provided a community that inspired me and offered assistance when I got stuck. It opened my eyes to the power of digital products and how to leverage them effectively.
Learn more:
Free Webinar: Earn Money Selling Printables
Etsy was a game changer for me because it allowed me to utilize my skills in a flexible, manageable way that fit around my life as a mom. Its vast, global marketplace and supportive community provided the perfect platform to launch and grow my business without spending hours marketing my products on social media. Now I make hundreds of dollars a day (and sometimes even thousands), whether I’m writing a blog post like this one or at an amusement park with my kids. In short, I’m no longer required to only trade time for money to make money.
The Advice I Wish I Had About Making Passive Income Online
To those of you looking to start a passive income journey, here’s some advice I wish someone had told me when I started:
In any successful business, the customer is always at the heart of it. To create products that sell, you need to step into your customer’s shoes. It’s all about understanding their needs, pain points, and desires and creating a product that fits those needs.
1. Do Your Research
Start by researching your target audience. Who are they? What do they like? What problems are they facing? One way to do this is to read product reviews to identify what customers appreciate or lack in similar products to the ones you plan on creating.
2. Identify Pain Points
Once you understand who your target audience is and what they’re interested in, focus on their pain points. What are they struggling with? Identifying these pain points helps to create products that not only appeal to customers but also offer solutions to their problems.
3. Offer Solutions
Now that you have a list of customer pain points, you can start brainstorming product ideas that provide solutions. Remember, the best products fulfill a need or solve a problem for your customers.
4. Create and Refine
After you’ve developed your product, get feedback and make adjustments as necessary. Encourage your customers to leave reviews or send them a follow-up email asking for their opinions. Feedback will help refine your product and better align with your customers’ needs.
5. Keep an Eye on Trends
Stay informed about the latest trends in your market. What are your customers currently interested in? What’s a hot topic in your niche? Using this information, you can create new products that cater to these trends, keeping your shop relevant and attractive.
6. Sell Where the People Are
One of the golden rules of successful selling is being where your customers are. After all, you could have the most incredible product, but if your customers can’t find you, sales will remain a dream.
For an online business, this translates into choosing platforms where your target audience shops. Etsy, where my journey to passive income began, is a great platform because it caters to millions of users looking for unique, creative products every day. There are other platforms that you can leverage as well, including Teachers Pay Teachers, Amazon, and eBay.
7. Emphasize Value
Wherever you choose to sell your products, it’s important to always highlight the value of your products in your listings. What makes your product special? How does it address the customer’s needs? What will they gain from using your product? Make sure all these are clearly communicated.
Remember, when you think like a customer, you’re not guessing what they might want – you’re creating with a purpose. And when you create with purpose, you craft products that resonate with your audience, leading to more sales and a successful Etsy store.
Additionally, I think it’s important to highlight that consistency and patience are key to any business. Here’s why:
8. Be Consistent
Consistency involves maintaining a steady presence and output. In the context of Etsy, this means regularly updating your store, introducing new products, and engaging with customers. When you’re consistent, you build trust with your audience. They see that you are reliable and committed, which makes them more likely to purchase from you. Additionally, your products have more chances of being discovered. The more products you have and the more frequently you update, the more opportunities there are for potential customers to find your store. Finally, you enhance your skills. Each product you create is a chance to learn and improve. The more you do it, the better you get.
9. Be Patient
Building a successful online store (or any business, for that matter) takes time. It takes time to create products, to get your first sale, and even more to start generating a steady income. Patience is crucial because:
- It allows your business to grow organically. You’ll have time to learn from your mistakes, improve your products, and understand your audience better.
- You don’t get discouraged easily. Not every product will be a hit, and not every month will be as profitable as the last. There will be periods of trial and error, and having patience will see you through these challenging times.
- It provides time for your audience to find you. Remember, Etsy is a global platform with millions of users. It may take time for your ideal customers to discover your store.
To Implement Consistency and Patience:
- Set a schedule to update your store. Maybe you aim to introduce a new product every two weeks. This keeps your store fresh and exciting for returning customers and enticing for new ones.
- Celebrate small victories. Made your first sale? Celebrate it! Got your first positive review? Share it! These moments are milestones on your journey and reminders that you’re on the right track.
- Embrace the journey. Understand that building a successful business is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be highs and lows, but each step, no matter how small, is progress.
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It takes time for things to fall into place, for your business to gain traction, and for sales to start rolling in. With a consistent effort and a healthy dose of patience, you can build a business with significant passive income.
The Bottom Line
Remember, whether you’re a new mom or simply someone longing for passive income online, it’s possible to create your dream life. All it takes is a little faith, some elbow grease, and perhaps an Etsy store.
Until next time, keep dreaming and keep creating!
Want more?
For more comprehensive advice, check out my Ultimate Passive Income Startup Checklist. It’s the consolidated wisdom of my journey and will benefit anyone starting their own passive income venture.
My journey from a confused new mom to a successful Etsy store owner has been transformational. Etsy provided the lifeline I needed when I felt lost. Today, I no longer feel lost. Instead, I’m thrilled to wake up each day knowing that I am earning a significant passive income while still being able to prioritize my family and myself.
My journey proves that you, too, can achieve similar results if you keep pushing and don’t easily give up. It’s not always easy, but it’s definitely worth it.
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