The inspiration to start a craft business can literally come from anyone, anything, or any experience you have throughout your life, and this is just the beginning of the journey of, Mary Glover, owner of the Etsy shop and Founding Director of Awakening Seeds. Mary has always had a passion for arts and crafts, and since she was a little girl she has created and crafted a wide array of designs and art projects. Mary says she has always viewed her artwork as a way to fulfill her crafty nature. Until 2015, she never thought about selling her work or building a business around her passion. That is, until the inspiration of her family and friends helped motivate her decision to begin selling her first handmade item - the "Don’t Worry Doll” which was inspired by her young granddaughter. Since then Mary has gone on to open her Etsy shop and expanded her product line beyond the Don’t Worry Doll. She currently also sells handcrafted cards, gift tags, and mixed media prints and collages. In this week's episode, Mary shares her journey into the Etsy world right from her very first sale. She discusses what techniques she uses to help grow her e-commerce business and explains why she believes sharing your story with your customers and the online community can help grow your business, all while incorporating authenticity and building trust. We also discuss Angela Holden and how Mary's experience with her building her beautiful online websites. Mary is also the Founder of the Awakening Seeds school and we talk about the motivation and driving force behind the school as well as the vision and educational curriculum of the school. Additionally, we discuss how she manages her time building an Etsy business while working full-time at Awakening Seeds plus writing for and maintaining two different - but equally important blogs, both of which she is very passionate about. [bctt tweet="Focusing on the visual presentation of your work is really valuable to your Etsy business" username="ConvoMePodcast"] MaryG Loves Art - Topics Discussed The genesis of the “Don’t Worry Doll” How Mary used art and an art journal as part of her healing process after being diagnosed with early stage breast cancer What inspired her to finally start selling her artwork How she determines how to price her products on Etsy Mary's Etsy shop promotion strategies Why she chose not to include an e-commerce component on her personal website The mechanics of running two different blogs and how Mary comes up with blog post topics for each Why she doesn’t focus much on SEO techniques while writing her blog posts Lessons learned about using SEO and quality photographs in her Etsy shop How a  photography course has helped her business Why Mary believes “getting her story out” through social media and blog post writing has helped her business grow MaryG Loves Art - Resources Mentioned Offline tools: iPhone | Thrift Stores Courses: Photo Editing: Social Media: Podcasts:   MaryG Loves Art - Etsy Shop Shout Outs - run by Mary's sister Jane. Jane sells handcrafted, whimsical, ornaments, and art. - run by Mary's friend Robyn Hood Black. Robyn sells handcrafted literary gifts with a vintage touch.  - web designer extraordinaire... :) Best Ways to Reach Mary Glover: Etsy shop convo:  Website:  Email: MaryKGlover [at] me [dot] com Please take a minute to subscribe and leave an honest review of the podcast in and . That really helps to get the word out about the show. Connect With Me: Twitter: Follow Facebook Group: - This is where I'm connecting with you after the podcast. Lots of fun convos here too! Facebook: Like the Pinterest: Instagram: Google+: Email: Use the OR interview [at] convome [dot] com For more help growing your Etsy-based business, check out these resources: