How Etsy Changed My Life as a Small Business Owner

It is hard to explain how exciting Etsy felt in the early days unless you were part of that moment. The platform was still young and the entire site had this feeling of possibility. People were selling things they had made with their own hands and customers were discovering them from all over the world.

When I opened my Etsy shop I had no idea what I was doing. My photos were taken outside in the backyard because the light was better there. I packed orders on my dining room table while my baby napped in the next room.

But Etsy did something remarkable for small creators. It gave us visibility.

Someone in California could stumble across a tiny shop run by a new mom in New Hampshire and order a handmade onesie. The internet suddenly made small creative businesses possible in a way they had never been before.

Within a few months the shop started gaining momentum. Orders came in from places I had never been. The first thousand dollars in sales felt enormous. I remember refreshing the order page constantly because I could not quite believe it was real.

The platform has evolved a lot since those days, but it will always hold a special place in my story. Without Etsy there probably would not be a The Wishing Elephant.