February 25, 2025 • 21 mins
This episode is a good one, I myself have experienced these "slower selling seasons" trust me I think these same doubtful feelings but I have told myself this is a time to get other things done in my business that make me money or could make me money and there are tons of things around here that we are doing to prepare for the busy season ahead of us and you can to!
EPISODE NOTES: https://kaseyclin.com/blogs/podcast/my-sales-have-been-slow-time-to-freak-out
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
My students have been asking this question recently.
Casey, my sales are super slowor my sales have taken a dip.
They were great aroundChristmas, but now they are not
where they used to be and I wantto know why.
I want to know what am I doingwrong?
Because obviously there'ssomething.
(00:20):
If they don't immediately go tothemselves doing something
wrong, then it's almost alwaysanother reason like this is just
inevitable.
It's COVID, the market isoversaturated, or maybe they say
it's the economy or relating tosomething that's big happening
(00:42):
in the world at the time.
Today we're going to go overthe real reason sales dip and
what to do about it and why it'snot as bad as what you think it
is.
Stay tuned.
As natural creatives, we loveour projects, we love our craft
time and we'll never say no to aquick trip to Michael's.
Although running a handmadebusiness is rewarding, it can
(01:03):
also be overwhelming.
Hey, creative mamas Kasey here,and as a mother of two feisty
toddlers and a business ownermyself, I get the nap time
hustle and live it daily.
Managing the house, jugglingthe kids and getting those
orders out on time can train thelife right out of us.
But what if there was a way toconvert that business of yours
(01:24):
into an online passive incomegenerating machine.
Well, I'm here to tell you it'snot only possible, but
completely yours for the taking.
I'm on a mission to give all ofthe naptime hustling crafty
moms out there the right tools,systems and strategies needed to
convert your own businessesinto consistent yet flexible
(01:45):
income online, all while doingwhat you do best creating.
So put those kiddos down fortheir nap, pop in some earbuds
and kick back.
This is where you stop tradingtime for dollars.
This is where you claim yourlife back.
This is the Naptime HustlePodcast.
This is the Naptime HustlePodcast.
(02:07):
Okay, so, this is somethingthat I'm not only seeing like
with my students, but I see thiscommon thing happen across
business owners just in general,even business owners that
aren't relating back to thisonline digital seller space, and
this is something I alsoquestion and even my team.
Sometimes, when our sales dip,they go to oh my gosh, what's
(02:29):
happening in the world?
Like why it's the universe likeganging up on us, and it's this
very like doomed and gloom,like no hope that I see many
people fall back into.
Okay, so, if you haven't noticed, I think business psychology is
very interesting.
That's why I talk about it somuch, because I noticed there's
(02:51):
a correlation and everythingactually not even a correlation,
it's just everything depends on, and comes back to, our minds
and our way of thinking, and so,achieving our goals, having a
successful business it all hasto do with our mental health,
and that is why it's soimportant to owning, growing and
(03:14):
maintaining a successfulbusiness is keeping up on your
mental health and workingthrough these roadblocks that we
have that come up in our mind,these reasons that we're telling
ourselves that we aren'tsucceeding because of X, y or Z.
And so the reason I bring thisup is because, based off my past
(03:38):
experience struggling with thesame thing and from what I
continue to see from others, weautomatically jump to it being
out of our control, somethingthat's out of our control or
something that we are just doingwrong, and this really
fascinates me.
It's almost like we are lookingfor reasons why we can't
(04:00):
succeed and, more so, why it'sout of our control, and I think
that the thought that somethingoutside of our control is easier
to go to actually than I'mdoing something wrong or there's
something wrong with me.
So I think that's where thatcomes from, because our brains
are also, and this is just howwe're wired.
(04:20):
Our brains are constantlywatching for signs of danger,
you know.
And so when we are going intothis new space, and it's kind of
intimidating and we feel not soconfident, even just like going
out on a limb and launching ourshop, like that's normal, right
, like all of us has this senseof like insecurity in the first
(04:42):
place, and so our brains if youwatch, like our brains are
watching, for reasons why, or ifsomething is going to go wrong.
Now, don't get me wrong, thereare things that impact our sales
and I'm about to get to that.
You know there's, there'sthings that happen in the world
that will impact our sales.
But what I'm focusing on todayis the most consistent thing
(05:05):
that I see across the board, andthat is our minds.
Our minds playing tricks on usand telling us that it is
because of this reason over here, and it makes us feel like we
either can't succeed or thatwe're just a failure.
So the good news is that thisis normal.
It's just our brains doing whatour brains are meant to do and
(05:27):
trying to protect us, trying tostay away from the unknown and
trying to fix whatever is goingwrong, right?
So, in addition to this, I thinkwe go to social media and the
people that we follow online andthe people who we're listening
to, who are mainly influencers,so successful people, and so we
(05:48):
see their success.
We're watching them and youknow they give us the motivation
, but they also make it lookreally easy and that's what
we're surrounded with.
So you don't hear, it's funny,because, like, there aren't any
failure influences online, right, there's no failure of an
influencer who got to where heis or she is because they failed
(06:11):
, right?
Like they don't have thousandsof followers because they have
done nothing.
It makes sense.
So when we finally take theplunge and go all in, it's
almost a setback at that timebecause we find out, hey, this
is, this is a lot harder thanwhat I thought it was, and they
make it look so easy.
So we're kind of let down andwe tell ourselves that we are a
(06:34):
failure, when really our salesare slow.
It's just something thathappens.
But I want to show up here todayto tell you that if your sales
have been slow these past couplemonths you know we're in
February now it's, one, probablynot your fault, and two,
there's a reason for this.
(06:55):
And three, there's alsosomething that you can do about
it.
So this time each year, withoutfail, I have lots of questions
surrounding slow sales come in,so much to the extent that I
started keeping track and againmy clockwork every January and
(07:16):
February.
For the past several years now,you guys have come to me saying
stuff like I don't know what'swrong with my shop.
Obviously I'm doing somethingwrong.
Do you think that the market'sjust oversaturated?
You know?
Are there too many SVG sellersLike?
These are the common questionsthat I hear from you all during
these two months.
And the sales are just slow fordigital creators these few
(07:41):
months, from like January intoMarch, okay, and that I should
say not digital creators, butmore so SVG sellers.
So us SVG sellers, like, ifyou're experiencing slow sales
right now not everybody does,but if you are, I am seeing this
consistency across several ofus through the years during the
(08:04):
same months.
Okay, and that is actually thefirst thing that I encourage you
guys to do is look at the timeof year, look at your niche.
Could it be the same reason?
Keep track year after year, thefirst year, even write this
down.
Just whatever you're noticingand experiencing, write it down.
You've already chosen your, whyyou've launched your business,
(08:26):
you're focusing on your, whyyou've already been making sales
and then, all of a sudden, yoursales tank.
Get on that Google calendar.
Make a calendar just for yourEtsy shop for notes like these,
and have them repeat each year,okay.
And you can put a note in therelike Little event 2023, slow
sales this month until mid-March, or whatever, and put your
(08:49):
notes in there so that next year, when this happens, you can
start to see patterns in yourown business, in your own shop,
and not be on freak out modewhen it happens next year.
Right.
So if you stay and this is likeif you stay in the same area,
right, selling the same productyou will see a pattern.
(09:09):
I promise you you will see anebb and flow to your sales.
I mean, that's like mostbusinesses, but you will see an
ebb and flow to your business.
It's normal for sales to dip attimes, and so, instead of next
time blaming yourself, gettingdown, or blaming something
that's out of your control,throwing the towel and being
(09:31):
like I give up, see, I knew thiswouldn't work out, don't go
there.
Instead, just be watching forthese consistencies and plan for
them, okay.
So, number one record them,record them as they happen and
ask yourself is there a reasonfor this?
Is there an obvious reason forthe sales to be tanking?
For instance, one of mylaunches didn't go so well and
(09:56):
my team started freaking out anddoing the exact same thing that
we all do, you know, makingaccusations like it's because of
that, it's because of this, andI used to do the same.
But when I look at it now, Iknow that there's a reason.
I mean, since I've been doingthis Now, after the sales have
(10:20):
been consistently coming in andI've grown my business, and now
I'm to the point where I knowthat there's an answer, I just
haven't found it yet.
Okay, and so if you're still inthe startup phase, like maybe
you aren't to that point, butregardless, we don't need to
blame ourselves.
You know, and looking at it,recording it and watching for
these patterns that I feel takeit, takes off that pressure.
(10:40):
It makes it mean that that wearen't a failure, it's just
normal, instead of blamingourselves.
So none of these things aretrue, none of them serve us
either, you know, is it betterto show up?
You know, thinking that it'ssomething that you know it's
inevitable and it's just goingto happen, whether we'd like it
or not, and just throw in thetowel Like there's no point,
like that feels very heavy,right.
(11:01):
So instead viewing it andexpecting it to happen, now,
that can serve us and that wecan work with.
So, planning on it.
Number two, planning on itexpecting it to happen.
And when I view it like thisand when I'm prepared for it, I
can either change things up,maybe I try something new, maybe
(11:23):
there's a different line ofproducts that I can create that
I didn't create last year and bemaking those assumptions based
off your research, but also thetime of year, and so it might
just be time you know, when thishappens again next year,
something that you can beplanning for doing a little bit
differently.
I also created a list of thingsfor you to do that you could be
(11:47):
doing during, like these slowseasons, the seasons that, after
you've recorded it and see thispattern and have identified it,
and it's just a slow time ofyear, that is what this list is
for, okay.
And then, if you are looking tolike, give your shop a little
boost, I have a suggestion foryou here at the end, okay.
(12:09):
So, first off, if your shop isgoing through this slow season.
Number one I like to learnsomething new, like take a new
class where I learn a new skillor something that I've been
wanting to learn for a while butjust haven't had the time for.
So one thing, not reallybusiness related, but I've had
(12:31):
things just like they've beenstockpiling in my house.
My house has been gettingreally cluttered.
You know there was the sixmonths that we didn't have our
furniture or our possessions andI know like sad sob story, or
(12:51):
our possessions, and I know likesad sob story, but we had
people donate and give usfurniture and appliances and
household items and that's whatwe use for six months and then,
once we got our furniture andthings back, we then had like
two or three of everything.
So my ADHD brain went intooverdrive.
I really have struggled, justlike last year, like organizing,
downsizing, getting rid ofthings and getting back to that
(13:15):
minimalist lifestyle that Ireally enjoy living.
So for those of you who don'thave ADHD, starting a big task
like this, it's hard for us thathave it because it feels just
so heavy.
It's like you're.
It's like you're working on ahuge, big puzzle and trying to
(13:36):
assemble all the pieces, butthey aren't like assembling very
easily, like that's the bestway that I can describe how it
feels so taking on a hugeproject with all these different
things.
It's been difficult for me.
So I decided to retake adecluttering, minimizing type of
course, and I decided to dothis during the slow season in
(13:59):
January, right after we all ofthe Christmas toys, right after
we have like just that Christmas, like hustle.
Then in January, like this ismy slow season.
So this is when I have, and Itake usually my classes for the
year, or maybe read a book.
You can also, you know, take anin-person class.
(14:19):
You can take a online class.
For some of you, this could beEtsy, digital Success, like we
rolled that out in January.
Or learning illustrator in thedesigners course.
Or we have a sublim, a brandnew sublimation course coming up
here this coming month.
We're going to have an all newtraining there.
So another thing that you canbe doing.
(14:41):
So, yes, learning a new area orrefining a skill, and I would
even say like, make sure that ifyou're in the startup phase of
your business, I would tie itback to your business.
Focus on learning an area orrefining that skill in an area
that you need in your business.
That'll help you.
So so much, okay.
Another thing you can do is bebrainstorming and researching
(15:06):
product ideas and building upyour product idea list for the
entire year.
Okay, so, as designers, weconstantly need a list of
product ideas.
Why not map out the rest of theyear, these two months, or this
month, so that each month, hereafter you, have a list of ideas
that you can continually bepulling from?
(15:27):
That takes away the decision.
Exhaustion, like in the moment,makes it so much easier.
That's one thing that I highlyrecommend.
Another thing that you can bedoing is working on a big
project, you know, kind of likethe one that I talked about, but
this one for your business and,as it relates back to your
business, one that has beenneeding done, like we all have
(15:51):
them right A project in ourbusiness that we've put on a
back burner, that takes a lot oftime, that we need to set aside
a lot of time to work on.
It's not urgent, it's not likecritical to our business.
It's just one of those projectsyou know.
You know the ones I'm talkingabout.
Yes, you do, because we eachhave them.
(16:12):
One example that I have isupdating one of our courses.
I decided to do this also inJanuary and February because it
takes a lot of time and it's alot of work and, honestly, I
don't really enjoy doing it, butit's got to be done.
So I set a time for it, tostart on it and to do it, and
(16:33):
then it's out of the way, don'thave to worry about it again for
the rest of the year.
Especially, like creatingcourses, you have to update them
every so often, so sortingthrough feedback from students,
finding those things inside thecourse, grabbing that part of
the video, editing it out orrerecording it, getting those
changes back from the editor andthen getting those changes also
(16:53):
up on the website and into ourcourse platform and inserted
back in there.
It takes several weeks, severaldays, and so what better time
to do something like that thanthe slowest months of the year?
Okay, I joke with friendsbecause, like, these two months
are like my hibernation.
My hibernation months becausepeople don't see me very much.
(17:13):
Well, that's because, like I'm,I hate the cold, I do not like
going outside unless Iabsolutely have to.
And two, I am a busy bee thesemonths because to me, again,
it's a perfect time.
It's right after thoseChristmas sales.
It's slow, there's nothinggoing on and I can set time
aside, because we already hadChristmas, with those high sales
(17:37):
, that big fourth quarter season.
We usually make more sales.
So I set part of my incomeaside, knowing that these are
going to be my slow months, andthen I just ride those passive
sales a bit and focus on thatproject.
And so this is key, becausewhat we are doing is we're
working on a project that willhelp us later on, and that's
(18:02):
what I want you to view thisperiod as.
Yes, it's slow, yes, your brainwants to freak out, but when
it's predicted and planned for,then we can enter into the
season with a very calm and incontrol, ready to take on and
tackle this project, this partof our businesses that will help
(18:22):
us later on and set us up forsuccess later on in the year.
Okay, and so what are someproject ideas?
Let's let's just like gothrough some that will get your
brain juices going.
So rebranding your Etsy shop isone.
Building your brand off Etsy isanother one.
(18:43):
You know you could be buildingup your website, or maybe you're
building up your social mediaplatform, or maybe you're
building an email list and anopt-in that you know, that could
also involve some updates backon your Etsy shop and promoting
it on your Etsy shop, maybe evenbranching out to a completely
(19:04):
new area, something new thatyou've been wanting to try.
That's another idea, okay.
So another idea, one for peoplewho are okay, I really need the
sales to be coming in.
Yes, this is a slow season, butI really need sales to be
coming in too.
So here is one thing that Iwill also redirect you Episode
(19:29):
15, five tricks to boost saleson Etsy when you're in a slump.
Wow, cannot believe thatepisode is that far back, but
there's a lot of good, usefulstuff in there and that's what I
suggest, like things that youcan do to boost your sales.
One thing that I tell mystudents during these slow
months is do not slack, do notlay back like most other shop
(19:51):
owners are doing.
You know they kind of getdiscouraged, right, we've
already gone over that part.
Like each of us, it's normal toget discouraged.
But instead of gettingdiscouraged, create like a mad
woman during these slow months,because Etsy will love this and
then, when you come out of thisslow season, you're going to be
ahead of your competition.
(20:12):
Okay, so those shop owners overthere.
They're riding that slump,they're getting discouraged,
they aren't working as muchbecause of it, and so the less
customers they have, the lessthey're producing in their shop.
But you, you aren't going tolet that happen.
It's going to help you becauseduring that time when they're
falling lower in the searchresults, since you are hustling,
(20:34):
since you are producing, sinceyou are creating new products,
this is going to help you gainrank and you're going to
leverage the slow season andproduce, produce, produce, so
that Etsy will take note of youand you will gain recognition in
their algorithm and in theirsystem.
And when the sales do peakagain, you're going to make more
(20:56):
sales than others because youhave that leg up.
All right, that is it.
You guys, be sure to go andgrab that sublimation trends of
2023.
And there's also design trendsin there as well.
So we have that sublimationtraining coming up.
I go through all of thedifferent types of sublimation
(21:19):
trends that I have seen thispast year and this coming year
and I go over each and every oneof those and, specifically,
what we're going to be teachingin the sublimation training.
So go and grab thatpinandposhcom forward, slash
sublimation and I'll see younext week.
Bye.
My students have been asking this question recently.
Casey, my sales are super slowor my sales have taken a dip.
They were great aroundChristmas, but now they are not
where they used to be and I wantto know why.
I want to know what am I doingwrong?
Because obviously there'ssomething.
(00:20):
If they don't immediately go tothemselves doing something
wrong, then it's almost alwaysanother reason like this is just
inevitable.
It's COVID, the market isoversaturated, or maybe they say
it's the economy or relating tosomething that's big happening
(00:42):
in the world at the time.
Today we're going to go overthe real reason sales dip and
what to do about it and why it'snot as bad as what you think it
is.
Stay tuned.
As natural creatives, we loveour projects, we love our craft
time and we'll never say no to aquick trip to Michael's.
Although running a handmadebusiness is rewarding, it can
(01:03):
also be overwhelming.
Hey, creative mamas Kasey here,and as a mother of two feisty
toddlers and a business ownermyself, I get the nap time
hustle and live it daily.
Managing the house, jugglingthe kids and getting those
orders out on time can train thelife right out of us.
But what if there was a way toconvert that business of yours
(01:24):
into an online passive incomegenerating machine.
Well, I'm here to tell you it'snot only possible, but
completely yours for the taking.
I'm on a mission to give all ofthe naptime hustling crafty
moms out there the right tools,systems and strategies needed to
convert your own businessesinto consistent yet flexible
(01:45):
income online, all while doingwhat you do best creating.
So put those kiddos down fortheir nap, pop in some earbuds
and kick back.
This is where you stop tradingtime for dollars.
This is where you claim yourlife back.
This is the Naptime HustlePodcast.
This is the Naptime HustlePodcast.
(02:07):
Okay, so, this is somethingthat I'm not only seeing like
with my students, but I see thiscommon thing happen across
business owners just in general,even business owners that
aren't relating back to thisonline digital seller space, and
this is something I alsoquestion and even my team.
Sometimes, when our sales dip,they go to oh my gosh, what's
(02:29):
happening in the world?
Like why it's the universe likeganging up on us, and it's this
very like doomed and gloom,like no hope that I see many
people fall back into.
Okay, so, if you haven't noticed, I think business psychology is
very interesting.
That's why I talk about it somuch, because I noticed there's
(02:51):
a correlation and everythingactually not even a correlation,
it's just everything depends on, and comes back to, our minds
and our way of thinking, and so,achieving our goals, having a
successful business it all hasto do with our mental health,
and that is why it's soimportant to owning, growing and
(03:14):
maintaining a successfulbusiness is keeping up on your
mental health and workingthrough these roadblocks that we
have that come up in our mind,these reasons that we're telling
ourselves that we aren'tsucceeding because of X, y or Z.
And so the reason I bring thisup is because, based off my past
(03:38):
experience struggling with thesame thing and from what I
continue to see from others, weautomatically jump to it being
out of our control, somethingthat's out of our control or
something that we are just doingwrong, and this really
fascinates me.
It's almost like we are lookingfor reasons why we can't
(04:00):
succeed and, more so, why it'sout of our control, and I think
that the thought that somethingoutside of our control is easier
to go to actually than I'mdoing something wrong or there's
something wrong with me.
So I think that's where thatcomes from, because our brains
are also, and this is just howwe're wired.
(04:20):
Our brains are constantlywatching for signs of danger,
you know.
And so when we are going intothis new space, and it's kind of
intimidating and we feel not soconfident, even just like going
out on a limb and launching ourshop, like that's normal, right
, like all of us has this senseof like insecurity in the first
(04:42):
place, and so our brains if youwatch, like our brains are
watching, for reasons why, or ifsomething is going to go wrong.
Now, don't get me wrong, thereare things that impact our sales
and I'm about to get to that.
You know there's, there'sthings that happen in the world
that will impact our sales.
But what I'm focusing on todayis the most consistent thing
(05:05):
that I see across the board, andthat is our minds.
Our minds playing tricks on usand telling us that it is
because of this reason over here, and it makes us feel like we
either can't succeed or thatwe're just a failure.
So the good news is that thisis normal.
It's just our brains doing whatour brains are meant to do and
(05:27):
trying to protect us, trying tostay away from the unknown and
trying to fix whatever is goingwrong, right?
So, in addition to this, I thinkwe go to social media and the
people that we follow online andthe people who we're listening
to, who are mainly influencers,so successful people, and so we
(05:48):
see their success.
We're watching them and youknow they give us the motivation
, but they also make it lookreally easy and that's what
we're surrounded with.
So you don't hear, it's funny,because, like, there aren't any
failure influences online, right, there's no failure of an
influencer who got to where heis or she is because they failed
(06:11):
, right?
Like they don't have thousandsof followers because they have
done nothing.
It makes sense.
So when we finally take theplunge and go all in, it's
almost a setback at that timebecause we find out, hey, this
is, this is a lot harder thanwhat I thought it was, and they
make it look so easy.
So we're kind of let down andwe tell ourselves that we are a
(06:34):
failure, when really our salesare slow.
It's just something thathappens.
But I want to show up here todayto tell you that if your sales
have been slow these past couplemonths you know we're in
February now it's, one, probablynot your fault, and two,
there's a reason for this.
(06:55):
And three, there's alsosomething that you can do about
it.
So this time each year, withoutfail, I have lots of questions
surrounding slow sales come in,so much to the extent that I
started keeping track and againmy clockwork every January and
(07:16):
February.
For the past several years now,you guys have come to me saying
stuff like I don't know what'swrong with my shop.
Obviously I'm doing somethingwrong.
Do you think that the market'sjust oversaturated?
You know?
Are there too many SVG sellersLike?
These are the common questionsthat I hear from you all during
these two months.
And the sales are just slow fordigital creators these few
(07:41):
months, from like January intoMarch, okay, and that I should
say not digital creators, butmore so SVG sellers.
So us SVG sellers, like, ifyou're experiencing slow sales
right now not everybody does,but if you are, I am seeing this
consistency across several ofus through the years during the
(08:04):
same months.
Okay, and that is actually thefirst thing that I encourage you
guys to do is look at the timeof year, look at your niche.
Could it be the same reason?
Keep track year after year, thefirst year, even write this
down.
Just whatever you're noticingand experiencing, write it down.
You've already chosen your, whyyou've launched your business,
(08:26):
you're focusing on your, whyyou've already been making sales
and then, all of a sudden, yoursales tank.
Get on that Google calendar.
Make a calendar just for yourEtsy shop for notes like these,
and have them repeat each year,okay.
And you can put a note in therelike Little event 2023, slow
sales this month until mid-March, or whatever, and put your
(08:49):
notes in there so that next year, when this happens, you can
start to see patterns in yourown business, in your own shop,
and not be on freak out modewhen it happens next year.
Right.
So if you stay and this is likeif you stay in the same area,
right, selling the same productyou will see a pattern.
(09:09):
I promise you you will see anebb and flow to your sales.
I mean, that's like mostbusinesses, but you will see an
ebb and flow to your business.
It's normal for sales to dip attimes, and so, instead of next
time blaming yourself, gettingdown, or blaming something
that's out of your control,throwing the towel and being
(09:31):
like I give up, see, I knew thiswouldn't work out, don't go
there.
Instead, just be watching forthese consistencies and plan for
them, okay.
So, number one record them,record them as they happen and
ask yourself is there a reasonfor this?
Is there an obvious reason forthe sales to be tanking?
For instance, one of mylaunches didn't go so well and
(09:56):
my team started freaking out anddoing the exact same thing that
we all do, you know, makingaccusations like it's because of
that, it's because of this, andI used to do the same.
But when I look at it now, Iknow that there's a reason.
I mean, since I've been doingthis Now, after the sales have
(10:20):
been consistently coming in andI've grown my business, and now
I'm to the point where I knowthat there's an answer, I just
haven't found it yet.
Okay, and so if you're still inthe startup phase, like maybe
you aren't to that point, butregardless, we don't need to
blame ourselves.
You know, and looking at it,recording it and watching for
these patterns that I feel takeit, takes off that pressure.
(10:40):
It makes it mean that that wearen't a failure, it's just
normal, instead of blamingourselves.
So none of these things aretrue, none of them serve us
either, you know, is it betterto show up?
You know, thinking that it'ssomething that you know it's
inevitable and it's just goingto happen, whether we'd like it
or not, and just throw in thetowel Like there's no point,
like that feels very heavy,right.
(11:01):
So instead viewing it andexpecting it to happen, now,
that can serve us and that wecan work with.
So, planning on it.
Number two, planning on itexpecting it to happen.
And when I view it like thisand when I'm prepared for it, I
can either change things up,maybe I try something new, maybe
(11:23):
there's a different line ofproducts that I can create that
I didn't create last year and bemaking those assumptions based
off your research, but also thetime of year, and so it might
just be time you know, when thishappens again next year,
something that you can beplanning for doing a little bit
differently.
I also created a list of thingsfor you to do that you could be
(11:47):
doing during, like these slowseasons, the seasons that, after
you've recorded it and see thispattern and have identified it,
and it's just a slow time ofyear, that is what this list is
for, okay.
And then, if you are looking tolike, give your shop a little
boost, I have a suggestion foryou here at the end, okay.
(12:09):
So, first off, if your shop isgoing through this slow season.
Number one I like to learnsomething new, like take a new
class where I learn a new skillor something that I've been
wanting to learn for a while butjust haven't had the time for.
So one thing, not reallybusiness related, but I've had
(12:31):
things just like they've beenstockpiling in my house.
My house has been gettingreally cluttered.
You know there was the sixmonths that we didn't have our
furniture or our possessions andI know like sad sob story, or
(12:51):
our possessions, and I know likesad sob story, but we had
people donate and give usfurniture and appliances and
household items and that's whatwe use for six months and then,
once we got our furniture andthings back, we then had like
two or three of everything.
So my ADHD brain went intooverdrive.
I really have struggled, justlike last year, like organizing,
downsizing, getting rid ofthings and getting back to that
(13:15):
minimalist lifestyle that Ireally enjoy living.
So for those of you who don'thave ADHD, starting a big task
like this, it's hard for us thathave it because it feels just
so heavy.
It's like you're.
It's like you're working on ahuge, big puzzle and trying to
(13:36):
assemble all the pieces, butthey aren't like assembling very
easily, like that's the bestway that I can describe how it
feels so taking on a hugeproject with all these different
things.
It's been difficult for me.
So I decided to retake adecluttering, minimizing type of
course, and I decided to dothis during the slow season in
(13:59):
January, right after we all ofthe Christmas toys, right after
we have like just that Christmas, like hustle.
Then in January, like this ismy slow season.
So this is when I have, and Itake usually my classes for the
year, or maybe read a book.
You can also, you know, take anin-person class.
(14:19):
You can take a online class.
For some of you, this could beEtsy, digital Success, like we
rolled that out in January.
Or learning illustrator in thedesigners course.
Or we have a sublim, a brandnew sublimation course coming up
here this coming month.
We're going to have an all newtraining there.
So another thing that you canbe doing.
(14:41):
So, yes, learning a new area orrefining a skill, and I would
even say like, make sure that ifyou're in the startup phase of
your business, I would tie itback to your business.
Focus on learning an area orrefining that skill in an area
that you need in your business.
That'll help you.
So so much, okay.
Another thing you can do is bebrainstorming and researching
(15:06):
product ideas and building upyour product idea list for the
entire year.
Okay, so, as designers, weconstantly need a list of
product ideas.
Why not map out the rest of theyear, these two months, or this
month, so that each month, hereafter you, have a list of ideas
that you can continually bepulling from?
(15:27):
That takes away the decision.
Exhaustion, like in the moment,makes it so much easier.
That's one thing that I highlyrecommend.
Another thing that you can bedoing is working on a big
project, you know, kind of likethe one that I talked about, but
this one for your business and,as it relates back to your
business, one that has beenneeding done, like we all have
(15:51):
them right A project in ourbusiness that we've put on a
back burner, that takes a lot oftime, that we need to set aside
a lot of time to work on.
It's not urgent, it's not likecritical to our business.
It's just one of those projectsyou know.
You know the ones I'm talkingabout.
Yes, you do, because we eachhave them.
(16:12):
One example that I have isupdating one of our courses.
I decided to do this also inJanuary and February because it
takes a lot of time and it's alot of work and, honestly, I
don't really enjoy doing it, butit's got to be done.
So I set a time for it, tostart on it and to do it, and
(16:33):
then it's out of the way, don'thave to worry about it again for
the rest of the year.
Especially, like creatingcourses, you have to update them
every so often, so sortingthrough feedback from students,
finding those things inside thecourse, grabbing that part of
the video, editing it out orrerecording it, getting those
changes back from the editor andthen getting those changes also
(16:53):
up on the website and into ourcourse platform and inserted
back in there.
It takes several weeks, severaldays, and so what better time
to do something like that thanthe slowest months of the year?
Okay, I joke with friendsbecause, like, these two months
are like my hibernation.
My hibernation months becausepeople don't see me very much.
(17:13):
Well, that's because, like I'm,I hate the cold, I do not like
going outside unless Iabsolutely have to.
And two, I am a busy bee thesemonths because to me, again,
it's a perfect time.
It's right after thoseChristmas sales.
It's slow, there's nothinggoing on and I can set time
aside, because we already hadChristmas, with those high sales
(17:37):
, that big fourth quarter season.
We usually make more sales.
So I set part of my incomeaside, knowing that these are
going to be my slow months, andthen I just ride those passive
sales a bit and focus on thatproject.
And so this is key, becausewhat we are doing is we're
working on a project that willhelp us later on, and that's
(18:02):
what I want you to view thisperiod as.
Yes, it's slow, yes, your brainwants to freak out, but when
it's predicted and planned for,then we can enter into the
season with a very calm and incontrol, ready to take on and
tackle this project, this partof our businesses that will help
(18:22):
us later on and set us up forsuccess later on in the year.
Okay, and so what are someproject ideas?
Let's let's just like gothrough some that will get your
brain juices going.
So rebranding your Etsy shop isone.
Building your brand off Etsy isanother one.
(18:43):
You know you could be buildingup your website, or maybe you're
building up your social mediaplatform, or maybe you're
building an email list and anopt-in that you know, that could
also involve some updates backon your Etsy shop and promoting
it on your Etsy shop, maybe evenbranching out to a completely
(19:04):
new area, something new thatyou've been wanting to try.
That's another idea, okay.
So another idea, one for peoplewho are okay, I really need the
sales to be coming in.
Yes, this is a slow season, butI really need sales to be
coming in too.
So here is one thing that Iwill also redirect you Episode
(19:29):
15, five tricks to boost saleson Etsy when you're in a slump.
Wow, cannot believe thatepisode is that far back, but
there's a lot of good, usefulstuff in there and that's what I
suggest, like things that youcan do to boost your sales.
One thing that I tell mystudents during these slow
months is do not slack, do notlay back like most other shop
(19:51):
owners are doing.
You know they kind of getdiscouraged, right, we've
already gone over that part.
Like each of us, it's normal toget discouraged.
But instead of gettingdiscouraged, create like a mad
woman during these slow months,because Etsy will love this and
then, when you come out of thisslow season, you're going to be
ahead of your competition.
(20:12):
Okay, so those shop owners overthere.
They're riding that slump,they're getting discouraged,
they aren't working as muchbecause of it, and so the less
customers they have, the lessthey're producing in their shop.
But you, you aren't going tolet that happen.
It's going to help you becauseduring that time when they're
falling lower in the searchresults, since you are hustling,
(20:34):
since you are producing, sinceyou are creating new products,
this is going to help you gainrank and you're going to
leverage the slow season andproduce, produce, produce, so
that Etsy will take note of youand you will gain recognition in
their algorithm and in theirsystem.
And when the sales do peakagain, you're going to make more
(20:56):
sales than others because youhave that leg up.
All right, that is it.
You guys, be sure to go andgrab that sublimation trends of
2023.
And there's also design trendsin there as well.
So we have that sublimationtraining coming up.
I go through all of thedifferent types of sublimation
(21:19):
trends that I have seen thispast year and this coming year
and I go over each and every oneof those and, specifically,
what we're going to be teachingin the sublimation training.
So go and grab thatpinandposhcom forward, slash
sublimation and I'll see younext week.
Bye.
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