Danielle is a maker and craft business consultant who loves iced lattes and pop music.
Through her work at The Merriweather Council, Danielle teaches creative people how to turn their crafty tendencies into profits.
On her blog and podcast, Danielle aims to inspire and support makers in business and share insights from her eight years of experience selling handmade work online.
Danielle believes in celebrating the reality of gainful self-employment through craft and wants to help more artists, crafters and designers share their work with more confidence.
Business Building InsightsFor most, you don’t wake up one day and have this great big business plan. More likely, you make something and want to figure out how to sell it.
To start your business, find someone who can be a resource and you trust to guide you.
Etsy is a strong platform for the handmade seller and comes with a solid audience of buyers.
If you want a business that’s sustainable and viable into the future, you’ll also want your own website in addition to your Etsy site. It’s important to have that autonomy.
Etsy can bring you traffic initially and then you can capture prospects information and keep up the relationship on your own site.
When there are website issues, Etsy can be a back up to your primary site.
Etsy is a place where you can cultivate media attention and get features in their space.
Put your products in a light that aligns with trends that Etsy is currently featuring or promoting.
Start an Etsy shop with at least 30 products. Give people a reason to look around.
Stock your Shop. It’s a numbers game. The more listings you have, the more opportunity you have to be discovered and make a sale.
Do not overwhelm yourself with to dos. Don’t rush into your new business. Take your time. Be intentional. Be patient with yourself.

Resources Mentionedhttps://trello.com/ (Trello) – app to have one centralized location for organization
Danielle’s Gift to Ushttp://www.merriweathercouncilblog.com/giftbiz (Etsy Lessons) – a free series to help you unlock the power of Etsy
Contact Linkshttps://www.merriweathercouncil.com/ (Website)
https://www.facebook.com/MerriweatherCouncil/ (Facebook)
https://www.instagram.com/merriweatherc/ (Instagram)
Gift Biz ResourcesJoin our https://www.facebook.com/groups/GiftBizBreeze/ (FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community)Take the https://quiz.leadquizzes.com/q/Ky85Vd (Gift Biz Quiz)Where are you in your business building journey? You may be further along than you think. Take https://quiz.leadquizzes.com/q/Ky85Vd (this quiz) to find out. At the end, you’ll have access to a free download to help you along. P.S. This is not a quiz where your result gets published to social media. It’s for your eyes only :o)
The http://giftbizunwrapped.com/makersmba (Makers MBA) ProgramFeel the pride and satisfaction of turning your passion into a profitable business. Become a member of the http://giftbizunwrapped.com/makersmba (Makers MBA) program and access valuable videos, worksheets, and guides and connect with a community of gift biz builders just like you. It’s time to get moving on your dream. Get started today!
If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in http://www.giftbizunwrapped.com/ApplePodcasts (Apple Podcasts) or http://www.giftbizunwrapped.com/GooglePodcasts (Google Podcasts). That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue