How to go FULL TIME on ETSY (Turn your ETSY SHOP from side hustle to career!)

About this video

Hayes gives four tips for turning an Etsy shop from a side hustle into a full-time career. First, control costs: research wholesalers and bulk buying instead of simply raising prices, price in the value of your own time plus supplies, taxes, Etsy fees, marketing and shipping, and track every expense — she says she uses QuickBooks and lost money early on by not recording costs properly, and warns low-priced items need very high sales volume to reach a target income. Second, reinvest in the business: list investments needed over the next year or two and set aside surplus for them; she gives her own example of buying a laser cutting machine instead of paying a vendor per piece, saying it paid for itself within the year and later enabled a second shop. Third, plan ahead for each season, projecting sales, buying supplies early and pre-making expected bestsellers, while balancing the risk of overstocking. Fourth, shift to a long-term mentality, asking what today’s work does for where you want to be in five years.

Key takeaways

• Cut material costs through wholesalers and bulk buying before raising prices, and build time, taxes, fees, marketing and shipping into every price
• Track all expenses systematically — Hayes says she uses QuickBooks — because unrecorded costs silently erode profit margins
• Reinvest surplus deliberately: her laser cutter replaced a per-piece vendor cost, paid for itself within the year in her account, and enabled a second shop
• Project each season in advance, pre-buy supplies and pre-make expected bestsellers, but balance preparation against ending up with unused stock
• Stay flexible on trends — notice styles phasing out and new ones rising — and judge decisions by a five-year horizon rather than day-to-day sales

Episode details: published December 30, 2020 · 10:32 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Kate Hayes’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

← Previous: How I made $70K in 30 DAYS on Etsy 😳 | HOW TO SELL ON ETSY · Next: STEP BY STEP FORMULA TO BOOST ETSY SALES | How to get sales on Etsy →

All Kate Hayes videos · Kate Hayes profile · Kate Hayes on YouTube