Last summer we had a lot of fun interviewing three of our Tizzit HQ members: Wendy, Gwen, and Milena. They told us all about their businesses and how they have grown them into what they are today.
One of the questions I really wanted to ask them— but totally forgot because I was having so much fun talking to them about their wonderful businesses (!!)— is
Tell me what a “day in the life” looks like for your handmade business!
But fear not!!, I did ask them afterwards, and their answers are wonderful because as you would guess, a day in the life in each of their handmade businesses is different for each one of them because every handmade shop develops systems that work for that shop and that person.
In today’s article we are going to hear what a day in the life is like for Wendy, creator/owner of the Flannel Board Fun Etsy Shop and FlannelBoardFun.com, a wonderful handmade business that makes felt sets for kids to use independently on portable travel mats, as well as felt board stories and songs for preschool teachers and librarians to use during their storytimes.
So, ready? Let’s dive in.
Before I start, I want to remind you that a day in the life of one handmade shop owner will not look like a day in the life of your shop!
Each business is different: some makers work full-time on their shop, some work part time.
Some have an end-goal focused on a set profit, others have a smaller profit goal and focus on enjoyment of the creation process.
Each one is different, and that is the beauty of it!
And when we listen to other shop owners, we can pick and choose ideas that will work for our shop, without feeling the need to run our business exactly like someone else’s.
So let’s hear what a day in the life is like for Wendy, and I will interject my thoughts as we go through her response.
When I asked Wendy what a day in the life is like for her, here is the first thing she said:
—HA! I wish I could succinctly sum it up, because that would mean I’m the queen of organization and productivity. But the reality is that it’s always a work in progress, or at least it’s certainly something that changes over time as my business evolves and I learn more about what works. For me, it is probably easier to describe “a week in the life” or even “a month in the life”, because so many things happen within a business that no day is ever the same as the next.
I think Wendy makes an important point here: It’s not so much about having the same exact perfect day each day— cause that’s impossible (it would change all the time, right?) and it’s also very inefficient.
One of the tips we talk a lot about in Tizzit HQ is using systems and processes to become more efficient. It allows you to be more focused, which results in getting more things done in less time than if you did it one time here and one time there.
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Wendy has obviously discovered that, and has learned to look at her weeks and months and divide her tasks over larger time periods.
Let’s read more of her answer:
In general, I would say that I’m at my most productive–and my days look like I want them to–at the beginning of each quarter. That’s when I do a quarterly review, plan out my goals and projects for the quarter, and have specific tasks lined up. I use your Roadmap Planner and the accompanying review videos, which helps me narrow down what to focus on and create my goals and projects. Having a project broken down into steps and tasks works wonders for keeping me on track and focused.
What Wendy has discovered is the importance of having systems to use every quarter, month, and week so that the things that need to get done consistently…get done consistently!
My weekly planning for handmade sellers article was created just for this reason: it helps you learn how to develop efficient schedules and systems for all of your to-do’s, so that you are using your time efficiently and are making sure no tasks fall through the cracks.
Wendy talked a bit about the systems and procedures she has developed:
Outside of the various quarterly projects, there are certain things that stay consistent for me within a week or month. I always have a Make Day (capital letters make it more official ) on Thursdays, for example, so no matter what else is going on, that day is set aside to make and re-stock products. I have a Content Creation Week (or two!) each month, when I make and schedule my Pinterest Pins; film, edit, and schedule my YouTube Videos; and write and schedule my newsletters and blogs. I have time scheduled each month for Bookkeeping, for Inventory, for ordering materials and office supplies, etc. I have time scheduled to prep packaging materials, print stickers, etc. By scheduling these repeating tasks, I actually DO them when they are scheduled. When I don’t schedule things like that, I do a little of this, a little of that, get distracted, go down rabbit holes, etc. etc. etc.!
I just LOVE this! She has clear tasks she knows need to be done, and she is clear on the frequency they need to be done at.
It reminds me of this quote by James Clear:
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Wendy has taken all the tasks that need to happen on a regular basis -content creation, making products, all the things she listed in her letter – and she has broken them down into achievable – as in not overwhelming – tasks and sets a specific time period aside to get each one done.
Breaking down bigger projects into steps is a “must do” part of this process – setting aside a time to “work on Pinterest” for example just won’t cut it, you need to list the sub-tasks involved in keeping your Pinterest system going and set aside the right amount of time for each task. This way when you sit down to do the work, you don’t spend half an hour trying to remember what “working on Pinterest” involves. You know that you need to create X new pins designs, upload X pin to X board, it’s all clearly laid out and you can get to work straight away much more efficiently. It’s a little like having a to-do list that reads “build a house” instead of “buy land”, “research local house plan designers” etc etc. all broken down it’s much less overwhelming!
I talk about how to do that in my video How to squeeze your to-do list in your crazy busy routine; doing this is a great first step to getting your time more organized so you don’t always feel like you are behind and forgetting to do things.
Now I want to share with you the final part of Wendy’s “day in the life” message, a gem of wisdom that I think is so important for every handmade shop owner to hear:
There are two big things I’ve realized: The first is that my business is always changing, and my daily/weekly/monthly schedule is going to need tweaks and adjustments just like all the other parts of the business. It’s important to be as organized as I can, but it’s also important to give myself permission to mess up, change things as I need to, and not expect perfection. And the second is that it’s just as important to schedule time away from my business. My day/week/month can not be all about the business, as much as I love working on it.
It’s hugely important for people to realize it’s NORMAL for routines and systems to evolve and change and it’s always a work in progress.
Like Wendy said, you need to give yourself permission to make mistakes, change things that aren’t working, and know that doing that is all part of making a business successful!
I also love her advice that it’s as important to schedule time off as it is to schedule time to work on your business. Balancing work and time off will actually make you more productive in the long run, and scheduling that time off is a great way to make sure it doesn’t keep getting pushed aside because you’re “too busy.”
Advice like Wendy’s is one of the wonderful things that I love about Tizzit HQ!
When you are a member of Tizzit HQ you gain access to courses that walk you through each part of setting up, running, and improving your handmade shop!
And in addition to all of these courses, you become part of the wonderful, caring, and supportive community of makers who will encourage you and share gems of wisdom just like Wendy did today so do consider joining us, we’d love to have you!
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Thanks for reading, and until next time, au revoir!
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I am struggling to form a routine. We are a mother/daughter team. My daughter is a graphic designer. I do almost everything else. Included in that is running my professional bookkeeping business on a part-time basis. I’m semi-retired. I also run a mini farm with animals, a garden, etc. I am trying to pinpoint a “system” for getting our Etsy shop work done. My daughter has her routine down because she is the creator. That’s all she does for our Etsy business. Of course, she helps me around the house, in my bookkeeping business, and on the farm as well.
So, here are my questions:
1. What marketing and advertising do you do? Social Media? Which platforms? What do you do on social media? How much time do you allow for it?
2. What other marketing do you do? When do you do it?
3. What do you do regarding your analytics? When do you do it? How much time is allotted to it?
4. Do you perform product research? If so, where does that fall in your schedule? How much time do you spend on it?
5. Do you do SEO? If so, when do you do that? How long do you spend doing it?
6. Are there other tasks I should be including in my routine?
If you don’t want to give me specifics, please share generalities. See the example below:
1. Marketing Facebook 1 day a week, 2 hours
2. Marketing Pinterest 1 day a week, 2 hours
3. SEO 1 day a week, 1 hour.
4. Product research 1 day a week 3 hours
5. Analytics 1 day a week, 1 hour
6. Accounting 1 day a month, 1 hour
Are there other tasks I should be doing that aren’t included here?
Hello Anna! Thank you for sharing your background and your questions with us. We’d love for our members in our free Facebook group to answer your questions for you. They will be able to speak from experience in managing their own handmade business! Here’s the link to the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tizzit/