Pushing Fear Aside

Opening an Etsy shop has been on my bucket list for the past few years, but I always let it slip away. Life is too hectic. I don't have time. So many excuses.

To get a step farther in making this Etsy shop dream come true, I decided I should pick a name. But how? I am the type who gets tired of names & then decides to change them. Like I've changed blogs about 4 times now. And I can't even count how many times I've changed my instagram name.

Anyway, I picked a name, and then I made an email address, instagram name, and even registered it as a store on Etsy.  I guess you can call it official.

Except, the shop isn't opened yet and won't be open for probably months down the road. I don't have anything to sell yet.  I have to make these things, sometime & somewhere.

I have a lot of ideas of things I want to create. I have a lot of time to create them. I'd like to have my shop open by September, maybe sooner. I'd like to have at least 10 items listed for sale when I open the shop. Doesn't seem too hard to accomplish, but let's see how life goes the next few months.

I guess the biggest thing holding me back is fear. I'm afraid of putting all this money (that I don't really have) & time to make these items... and then open my shop and never sale anything.

I'm afraid of having piles of artwork sitting in my already too packed, boxes everywhere, one bedroom apartment.  I don't like the clutter.

I'm afraid of selling something and then it going really wrong. It gets lost -- or breaks -- in the mail or the buyer hates it. Or I totally underestimate how much shipping is and end up losing money on my artwork.

I'm pretty stressed about the whole thing, which doesn't make it the funnest experience. But, it's something I've never done before, and it's OK to be a little afraid. I will learn a lot during my research the next few months. I will continue learning when I open the shop. & one day, maybe, if I don't lose the steam on this, I'll run a successful and stress-free Etsy shop.