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This month I'm bringing you an article written by my lovely entrepreneurial friend, Lucy, who runs her own small business, My Brick Box. And who still does....... despite the horrors of June 2019! Read on to find out what happened (and take heed if you, too, are a seller!) |
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CRAP FOR SALE! |
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Well, looking back at my first handmade products, that’s exactly what they were and before I knew it I was the biggest (and best |
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BUT |
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Only 4 weeks ago I woke up one morning as usual, kids ready and dressed for school, coffee and toast made, ready to knuckle down for another day of Lego Lego and more Lego. I opened my emails, and my world fell apart. I actually felt the blood run cold, my mouth went dry and I began to shake. There it was in black and white. The death warrant. Etsy has terminated your selling permissions as we have received a third party notification of copyright infringement. Etc Etc Etc Adieu old friend.... |
NOOOOO!! |
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I fell to my knees in the kitchen and cried. My career, my job, my passion, my family's source of income, my customers, my Holy Grail... GONE at the push of a singular corporate button. A big cold lifeless button........ |
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The days that followed were days of mixed emotions. The main culprits being fear, grief, panic, stress, anger, uncertainty......
I tried and I tried to tell them, to ask for a solution; nobody could help and eventually they sent me an email saying that they wouldn’t be replying to me in this regard again.
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Anyway, once the gloom had started to dissolve in my heart, I sat down and asked myself “what does this mean for me?” What do I do with this situation? How do I make this into a positive? How do I survive? FIRST STOP: call the Tax Credits office and tell them your annual income isn’t going to be that great after all. (In fact, we might even qualify for a food bank) Sorted. NEXT: Take every penny you have got left in the business account and throw it at YOURSELF! Yes, ME! (And I don’t mean going out to have my nails done, or filling my wardrobe.) I used what was left to do two things.
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To cut a long story short, my mind has been blown:
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It’s been a few weeks since Etsy threw me under the bus and I can honestly say with my hand on my heart that I am glad they did.
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I have to work smarter for each sale. I have to take the customer from the top to the bottom by being a “person”. On Etsy the job was done for me. Signed, sealed and sold without ever having to even talk to a customer. I think the new way of doing business is going to be a better experience for both me and my customers and I’m delighted. I know every sale I get I will have earned myself. They saw my Facebook ad, they trusted my website, they liked dealing with me. I’ve got something that Etsy hasn’t got. A living breathing, life-loving, Lego making, lovely little pulse. Thank you Etsy. Adieu to you too 
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Thanks SO much to Lucy for sharing her experience with us. It's a reminder to us all: you do NOT own your own business if you only sell through one online marketplace, be it Etsy or Amazon or Facebook, or wherever..... BE PREPARED! You can find Lucy's lovely frames at mybrickbox.net and catch up with her on Facebook or Instagram |
I can’t believe I had the nerve to sell them - let alone that anyone actually bought one!
) Lego frame seller on the Etsy platform.
Glad you found it helpful, Dawn :-D
(Hopefully you will never have to undergo an experience like Lucy’s, though!)
Yes, customer trust is absolutely VITAL, and also – before that – knowing who your Target Customer actually IS!
Do feel free to get in contact if you would like any assistance with your own website (what’s your business?)
Thanks for sharing this very insightful experience!
Lucy’s point about customers trusting her website resonated with me as I’d like to set up a business website and have been looking at the different options and things to consider.
:-)