Melissa from the Top 10 Handmade Etsy’s Sellers List shares her Business Insights for Success.

etsy-intro-graceco

I’ve always been a DIY kinda girl. I grew up with a mom who always made homemade play-dough, birthday cakes and sewed our dance costumes. So I learned to “sew a straight line” very early in age.

My love for sewing, and all things knit grew. Late in the fall of 2011, I made my first pair of lacey leg warmers. Everywhere I would go, people would stop and ask me where I got them. I put them up for sale online and in a matter of days I was overwhelmed with orders I could not possibly fulfill on my own! Now, almost 3 years later, we have sold over 100,000 pairs of these lacey, frilly boot socks and leg warmers. We have grown so rapidly that we have now evolved into an official company with trademarked designs, a full studio and warehouse, and friends and family as staff. (quoted from her website)

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I love to hear creatives adventures through business life. That being said I have today Melissa from Grace and Co who is part of the Top 10 Handmade Etsy Seller’s List. Today she shares her insights, knowledge and experiences.

Let me introduce to you Melissa the owner of graceandlace.com.

 

1 – Why did you choose Etsy when looking for a marketplace to sell your products?

I have been a huge fan of Etsy for years as I have shopped for many goodies on there.  I’ve always had great experiences on there.  I had a newborn daughter and was making little baby clothing for her.  Some friends suggested I put it up for sale – and Etsy seemed like a great spot!

 

2 – What differentiates your business from other Etsy businesses selling similar products?

That we are THE ORIGINAL leg warmer and boot socks.  There was not one lace topped legwarmer available on there when I first started making mine.  We also take photos to help “brand” our products.

 

3 – How did you go about pricing your products and has this changed over time?

I had no idea how to do pricing  (my husband is the business brains).  At first I just listed them in hopes that they would sell. There was such extreme interest so fast that supply and demand is what drove our pricing early on.

 

4 – Which social platform drives the most traffic to your Etsy shop and why?

Facebook – from day 1 we have used this platform to drive interest.

 

5 – Can you share one marketing tip that you use on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest?

Share share share!

 

6 – How does search engine optimization play a part in your business?

We started SEO initiative about a year ago – and it has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in business for us.  It has been a huge success!

 

7 – What challenges do you have in your business?

Scaling to the growth.  When you are growing over 1000%, they don’t teach you how to scale like this in business school.  There have been tons of challenges and learning along the way, but we have an incredible incredible team of devoted people to make it happen.

8 – If Etsy did the unthinkable and closed your shop tomorrow, what would you do next and why?

Run on own website – like we do now.

 

9 – What are the most important factors that contributes to your business success?

1) God – without Him and his direction, none of this would have been possible

2) Dedication – we would not be where we are today without serious dedication to grow our hobby into a business success

3) The people – I have hired my friends and family making the best TEAM on this planet. They are gifted, talented and driven. They take ownership. They are the best of the best!

 

10 – Can you share 1 goal you have set for 2015 and why?

To continue to develop products that our following loves which in turn funds our heart and mission to give back by opening up more orphanages.

 

Thank you Melissa for sharing with us in this interview. You can connect with Melissa via her website  www.graceandlace.com | etsy.com/shop/GraceandLaceCo | twitter.com/GraceandLaceCo | facebook.com/graceandlace  and pinterest.com/graceandlace/

 

In the comments share with me what social media platform is helping you get more exposure online and why?

Janet Walker has been a designer & internet marketer for over 16+ years. She established her creative biz on the 1st page of Google (+ other search engines) within a year of being online. Which led to international media coverage. Her analytical thinking, marketing know-how & break-it-down methodology, allows her to naturally align strategies, & more. She’s become the go-to for individuals, small & sought-after business leaders in various industries.  JWGInternational’s core is to empower, elevate & support those using their Gifts to impact others.



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