I used to see a notification from Etsy and panic, “Oh no, someone wants me to make a headband.”
I don’t know why I felt that way, since I enjoy making headbands. Which is one reason I started a Etsy store. More so because I could not find anywhere to buy comfortable, affordable, custom headbands for my own daughter. So I decided to become the solution I was looking for, in order to help other families.
In September, something shifted in my confidence. Now, when I get a notification from Etsy, I am eager and excited and make more headbands. Which is great, because I had a lot of orders in September and October.
I have no clue what changed other than we finally bought a printer. Now I can print my own shipping labels and put it in my mailbox. So much easier then finding time to load my kids in the car and drive to the post office a couple times a week.
No, wait, I do know what happened.
September is when I broke even. After 8 months in business, I finally sold enough headbands to pay for all the supplies I had bought.
In the past, whenever I tried to turn a hobby into a business, it ruined the fun and I failed to make money. All that work and no reward. Just a big pile of homemade items, way more than I need to use myself.
September marked the moment when my headband hobby business started making money instead of costing money. Suddenly I am free. The debt I owed to myself is paid off. Now I can totally justify purchasing some fun new patterns of elastic and doing a pre-Christmas Cyber Sale.
