2012 Year End Goals Wrap Up

Goal #1
To sell 104 items on etsy in 2012. This averages out to 2 items a week. My first year on etsy I sold about 1 item a week, however last year I didn't even reach that benchmark, so I am leaving this at 104 sales for the year, with the hopes of blasting this year out of the park.

How did I do in 2012? Well, sales number wise, I did not reach this goal, as I only had 27 sales. BUT, if we look at revenue, I did awesome! Lets break it down:

Year	# of sales	Gross Sales
2010	58	635.5
2011	22	304.57
2012	27	981.21

So, why the drastic increase in revenue, but not number of items sold? It’s a two-fold thing. The first reason is that I made a lot of “destash” sales, AKA beading supplies I no longer needed, in 2010 and 2011. In 2012 27 of my sales were for destash, and in 2011 8 of the sales were destash. I had no destash listed, or sold, in 2012.

The second reason is that I had a few multiple item sales in 2012. I did one bridal order, which consisted of 6 necklace and earring sets. Then I had one customer who bought 3 necklaces, and another who I made 2 custom necklaces for. So the quantity of jewelry purchased increased. Also, I sold more “big ticket” items, such as necklace/earring sets, not just individual earrings.

Goal #2
To participate in 2 shows in 2012. I foresee lots of changes in our near future, so I am not going to push too hard on doing lots of shows. I am going to take my time, and research the venues thoroughly, so that I can maximize my potential for profits.

Well, I did do 2 shows in 2012. So I succeeded in this goal. The first show I did up in Northern California, where I was living at the time. It rained for the first few hours of the show, then it changed to snow. The turnout was poor, and they closed down early once the snow came. I don’t remember exactly how much I made, but I know I made my booth fee back, plus around $100, so I was okay with that.

Then I did a second show in Durango, CO, about an hour from where I now live (yes I lived in 3 places this year). That show was SLOW! I made my booth fee, then $22. Which I promptly spent on earrings and commissioned a large pottery utensil holder from another seller. Sales wise it was a bad show for everyone, except the pottery lady, who about sold out! But I met lots of nice people who live near where I now live.

Goal #3
To maintain at least 100 items in my etsy store. This will allow lots of diversity in my shop, as well as giving potential customers plenty to choose from.

I kicked butt on this goal J Except for maybe a total of 2 weeks the whole year, I had 100+ items in my shop.

Goal #4
To dedicate 5 hours per week to my shop. Whether that means creating, photographing, editing, or listing. 

Yeah. Not so much on this one. My year started off with a bang. Literally. On my way to work, on the second day of my job, I was in a major car accident. So life was hectic for awhile. I was also living with my great aunt for the first 8 months of the year. She was sooo generous to let me stay with her, and I didn’t like to spread my mess around her house. So I mostly worked when she was away. Then in mid-august I moved to Farmington, NM where my husband got placed with his airline. We quickly found a house and moved in. So the last 4 months I have been spending more time creating. Which has shown in my hands. I have developed an “overuse injury” from the increase in beading, as well as my day job as a physical therapist assistant, where I do hours of trigger point and deep tissue massage.

Goal #5
To maintain better records on how my time is spent, my supply purchases, and my sales. Also to keep a notebook full of the things that I need to work on, as well as ways to prepare my shop for the trends of shoppers.

I did good at this for about a week, but then quit tracking. Then when etsy added a “browse” search feature, I spent a good amount of time keeping track of keywords and trends. I tried to stay on top of the trends, but honestly, I failed. So maybe for 2 weeks out of the year I know how my time was spent. As for purchases, I have receipts all over the place. But thanks to etsy’s tracking of stats, I have a nice record of all the sales I made on etsy.

Overall it was a more profitable year. I learned some good lessons, and know what directions I want to take in 2013, including “off etsy” sales goals.