" Over the years, I’ve always shopped on Etsy and Amazon. I loved to aimlessly scroll through thousands of listings that promoted adorable stickers or plush animals to find the perfect gift for a beloved or myself.
In reality, I’d never thought I’d become one of those sellers. "
-Rebeca Lopez
Exciting and Doubtful Beginnings.
I began my small journey with a desire to market a product I was passionate about. Millions of creators on Etsy had their own enamel pins, lanyards, stickers, hand-made bags, and so much more. I didn't even know how to sell online, which is why I needed a plan. So many questions and uncertainties lingered through my head at the time. "What brand should I have? Should I give Thank-You cards out? How much is shipping? How do I ship stuff out? "
.png)
.png)
More packaging, more hassle for a newbie
Smaller and easier to handle
.png)
The Planning Phase
I began my small journey with a desire to market a product I was passionate about. Millions of creators on Etsy had their own enamel pins, lanyards, stickers, hand-made bags, and so much more. I didn't even know how to sell online, which is why I needed a plan. So many questions and uncertainties lingered through my head at the time. "What brand should I have? Should I give Thank-You cards out? How much is shipping? How do I ship stuff out? "
Google Sheets Planning
Due to shopping on Etsy, I used my past purchases on how Enamel Pins should be packaged. They usually came with a Backing Card, a note, and even some freebies to make the customer happy.
​
Next, I crafted a Google Sheet that factored in all the packaging/product materials. This process took a very long time since I needed to compare pricing, quantity, and quality for each of the necessary materials. After choosing the materials from each of the three categories, I would need to combine the prices to see how much I need to price my product at to make a profit. Thankfully since my product is smaller, my profit margins would be much larger compared to selling plushies.
​
In addition to my hunt for materials, I was able to obtain free bubble mailer from our founder Casey Sanchez. With my google sheet prepared, I purchased both bulks of stickers and my Enamel Pins.
​
​
.png){kind=small}
_edited.png)
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
A Journey into
Brand Design
While my products were shipping, it was time to make a brand for myself. How do I want to represent myself online? How should I represent my business through my product? What would my online shop be called?
​
This part of the process was the easiest since I am a creative person. Putting my skills to the test, I created multiple mock-ups of my potential business and how it could possibly look.
​
After creating my mascot and deciding my shop's color palette, I designed and printed out my backing cards that will come with a hand written note inside. It sounds like an easy feat, but even then I had to create mock-ups for what I'd write. Not to mention writing the same note a hundred times in advance to waste less time in the future....
Photography, Practice till Perfection
After my shipment of pins have arrived, it was time for the staging portion of the process.
​
This was the most time consuming part since I didn't know how to stage items or what colors combined with which. If I should have used flowers, marbles, colored paper, or other decorations to fit the theme.
After sacrificing my phone's gallery and tirelessly taking too many photos of the same set of stickers and pins, I chose the handful that stood out the most to post as a thumbnail on my Etsy page..
Shipment Arrival
Staging Process
Gallery of Staging Photos
Sweet Endings; Embracing the Present Proudly
This brings us to the present! My online business is still up and running as a side hustle while I attend my third year of college. So far on the amount I've sold, I have broken even and do not owe anything though I still have leftover inventory to sell
Now that the one year mark has came, I plan on taking this experience to the next level by creating my own custom keychains or plushies! I haven't chosen a final design since I am quite indecisive on what art piece I should bring to life but for now, I will keep drawing sketches and mock-ups to my heart's content!
​
