Tag: Etsy

Maxxinspired #1

inspiringmax

As some of you know I opened an Etsy shop in January. It certainly is a different journey than I thought it would be, but I love it. When I started I had done a lot of research and made a plan however over time it has taken on a life of its own. My shop is called Maxxinspired. A sister to my blog Inspiring Max and both are based on my life. Because of this close connection I have decided to commence a weekly blogpost about my journey with my Etsy shop. I hope that you will find my insights and my designs interesting. My plan is to share the weekly highs, lows and frustrations of being a fledgling Etsy business owner.

For this weeks initial designs I am sharing the 12 designs that have sold. It is a very exciting moment when you hear the Cha-ching and I rush with anticipation to see which design has sold. Its my little dopamine hit. I am pleased to say my sales have been very varied as my shop is divided into many niches that have played a role in my life. These include mental health, nursing, bookish, travel, outdoors, gymnastics, toddlers, retirement, adulting moment, family, coffee, everyday issues, sassy women and my grumpy old men ( my biggest seller and leader in getting people to click). I based my winning grumpy designs on my husband so he thinks it is hilarious that he is the most popular. Over the last few weeks I have also added blankets and mugs. My tagline is Designs Inspired by Real Life, Made for Everyday Wear.

In my shop I currently have 675 designs. My initial goal was to get to 600 designs by the beginning of July as I was adding about 100 designs a month. Now however my growth has slowed substantially because I have now entered the stage of curating my shop. This effectively means that as my designs come up for renewal I am deciding if my early designs are good enough to stay in, can be changed to stay in or need to be be deleted forever. This takes time and means even though I am still designing at the same rate my number are slower to go up as I am losing designs each day. Sales and progress is slow because it takes time for the Etsy algorithm to find you and know who to send to your shop. While I have had only 12 sales I have 140+ favorited designs which is a good sign people are liking what they see. Hopefully in the next few months people will return to my shop and purchase a percentage of my favorited designs. I do have to remind myself that while progress is slow I need to trust the system like I did when I first started blogging. I didn’t have one view for over 3 months. But I kept going and now I have been read in over 150 countries. PATIENCE and TIME are the secrets.

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4439612879/take-the-steps-raccoon-hiking-shirt

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4457957709/funny-retirement-golf-shirt-golfing-is

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4471238128/were-better-together-australian-wildlife

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4439607225/let-your-dreams-fly-shirt-butterfly-tree

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4523271653/mens-gymnastics-shirt-boys-rings-graphic

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4530068214/girls-fairy-shirt-youth-fantasy-graphic

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4488381686/retirement-dopamine-shirt-not-my-problem

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4539786619/whimsical-ghost-halloween-blanket

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4478487790/grumpy-old-man-social-club-shirt-funny

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4535374797/personalized-youth-gymnastics-balance

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com/au/listing/4533721664/personalized-youth-gymnastics-rings

Click on the above links to go to more information about each design.

To have access to the whole shop click on the link below.

https://maxxinspired.etsy.com

Coffee Catch-Up #52

inspiringmax

If we were having coffee I would tell you today is my 64th birthday. And yes my husband has already sung to me with the help of the Beatles When I’m Sixty Four. I remember when I was young this seemed so old, but now I am here I feel like a baby in the next few decades of my life. In Australia today is also National Rum Day which is fitting as it is one of my favorite drinks. To celebrate hubby has also made me his specialty, Ginger Chocolate Rum Cakes. It is yummy so I can’t wait for this years version. To celebrate my birthday today Mickey Mouse is adorning our coffee direct from the Disney Wonder last January.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how surprised and excited I was recently when I received notification from WordPress that my little blog had achieved World Dominance Award. This apparently means that it has been read by people in 150 countries. I think that I have found my voice which was one of my goals when I started Inspiring Max in 2014. The other real shock is that it happened over time with people picking up and finding things I wrote up to 12 years ago. Thanks to you all for supporting my journey

If we were having coffee I would tell you I can’t believe it has been nearly six months since our last coffee. Where does the time go. Mind you this coffee catch-up is like my real life ones. Suddenly I turn around and realise it has been many months since we have seen each other. Like me, my blog has developed a life of its own. With 100+ views a day without me adding new content it deserves focus. So focus it will get. It’s exciting. I never dreamed this was possible so lets see where the next 12 months brings us.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that my hamstring injury is healing well. I have returned to Aqua aerobics which I love as well as exercises for older people which are good for my hamstring. It has now been 9 months since my wave caused injury and I have not yet returned to the ocean. In Australia it is winter so that part is easy at present. Hopefully it will continue to improve as time goes by.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how my Etsy shop is going. Like blogging it is hard to get your designs seen at first. but everyday I am seeing this improve. Also like blogging some of my original designs need upgrading which I am doing slowly. I currently have 660 designs and a clear vision for what is maxxinspired and what isn’t. As my blog and Etsy shop were made to go together I have decided to add a weekly segment called Maxxinspired Catch Up. A sister segment to my Coffee Catch -Ups where I talk about and upload the designs I have created that week as well as anything else of interest. I am sure that getting back to blogging will help inspire some fun t shirt, blanket and mug designs too. I have added a link to my shop and will let you know for the 16th my birthday I am running a sale if you stop by and anything peaks your interest. https://maxxinspired.etsy.com

If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world.

Thanks to Natalie for hosting weekend coffee share

Coffee Catch-Up #51

inspiringmax

If we were having coffee I would tell you about being lucky enough to get the second last stateroom on the Disney Wonder’s last cruise out of Australia. It was a 3 day cruise to nowhere that was all about Disney and fun. I loved it. I did think that it was interesting that we ended up sailing in circles between Sydney and Newcastle (my home town). Given how much fun we had I am sad that at this stage Disney has no plans to bring the Wonder or any other ship back to Australia for future cruise seasons. Over the next few weeks I will share more details of my amazing and very different cruise on the Disney Wonder.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I started an Etsy shop in early January. It was something that I had wanted to for many years. To find out more about how it developed I have linked my post Coffee Catch-Up #50. Over the last two weeks I have been very busy designing and today I am very excited to announce that I have uploaded my 100th design, (shown above.) My “Be Yourself” design is all about self love and inclusion. What I didn’t realise is that this weekend is the 48th Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. The other even more pleasing connection is that tonight is the start of Newcastle’s first dedicated LGBTQIA+ festival, which runs over the weekend. What an excellent way to celebrate inclusion and being yourself. If you are interested in stopping by and having a look, here is the address. https://www.etsy.com/shop/maxxinspired/?etsrc=sdt

If we were having coffee I would tell you how excited I was when my grandson called me ‘Grandma’ for the first time on my recent visit. I don’t think I realised how special it would feel. He has just turned 3 and his brother is 10 months old. I can’t believe how quickly time has flown since they were born.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world?