Things I Still Have No Idea What I’m Doing… and That’s Okay

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Let’s just go ahead and normalize this:

You can be doing the thing, growing the business, shipping the orders, and STILL feel like you’re winging it half the time.

Because that’s exactly where I am.

I officially launched my Etsy shop on February 12, 2025, and since then, it’s been a wild, wonderful, and occasionally wobbly ride. I’ve been:
📦 Making and shipping orders
💻 Blogging daily
🛒 Selling UV DTF wraps
👕 Launching print-on-demand tees
… and still staring at my screen some days like: “Who gave me permission to be the CEO of this operation??”

So here it is—my “still figuring it out” list—a collection of things I’m fumbling through and surviving anyway.

🌀 1. Etsy SEO (aka: The Algorithm Mystery Mansion)

Search engine optimization is one of those things everyone swears is the key to success… but nobody can really explain how it works. One day I’m adding long-tail keywords like a boss, the next day I’m wondering if I should delete half my tags and start over.

I know tags and titles matter. I know descriptions need keywords. I know product photos help with click-through.
But am I doing it right?
Who knows. Etsy’s algorithm is basically a secret vault guarded by glittery gnomes.

Current strategy:
✔️ Refresh listings with actual edits (titles, tags, photos, descriptions)
✔️ Use relevant keywords customers would actually type
✔️ Light a candle
✔️ Say a prayer (“Diosito, por favor que alguien encuentre mi taza hoy. Amén.”)
✔️ Repeat

📦 2. Shipping Timelines and Pricing (a.k.a. the Etsy Math Olympics)

Shipping is… a game. A complicated one.

When I first started, I just clicked the suggested rates and hoped for the best. Then came the reality:
✔️ Packaging costs
✔️ Time to process and drop off
✔️ The emotional damage of undercharging

And just when I think I’ve nailed it—bam! A tumbler ships to Houston for $4.23… but the same thing to Denver? $12.67. What even?!

Current strategy: Weigh everything, check Etsy’s calculators, build in a little cushion, and repeat to myself: “Shipping isn’t stealing my joy. Shipping isn’t stealing my joy…”

💰 3. Pricing (Trying to Keep It Cute and Sustainable)

I want to be fair. I want to be accessible. But I also want to not go broke. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Between material costs, time spent designing, applying wraps, packaging, and everything in between—I’ve had to really look at what I’m charging and ask:
“Am I paying myself… or just keeping busy?”

It’s even trickier now that I’ve added print-on-demand t-shirts to the mix. I don’t have to physically make them, but I’m still doing the design, testing quality, handling customer service, and promoting it all.

Current strategy: Know my worth, calculate my costs, trust that the right customers will value it, and stop apologizing for charging for my work.

🧠 4. Print-On-Demand (I’m New Here, Be Nice.)

Launching POD tees was both exciting and terrifying. On one hand: YES to less inventory management and a new revenue stream. On the other: WHAT EVEN IS A MOCKUP GENERATOR and how many t-shirt colors is too many?

I’m currently experimenting with vendors, playing with designs, and keeping the learning curve real. It’s not perfect yet—but I’m proud I did it scared.

Current strategy: Start small, keep learning, ask questions in all the POD groups, and remember that imperfect progress is still progress.

🛑 5. Saying “No” (With Love and Boundaries)

This one’s personal. When friends or family ask for discounts—or freebies—I still feel that old familiar twinge of guilt.

But I’ve learned that honoring my time and talent isn’t rude. It’s necessary. This is a business, not a hobby. And if I keep giving everything away, I’ll have nothing left to give to the people who truly value it.

Current strategy: Send the Etsy link, stand by my pricing, and practice saying “no” without a 300-word apology.

✨ What I Do Know:

I’m growing.
I’m figuring it out.
And I’m building something amazing—even if I still have tabs open with Etsy FAQs and half-filled spreadsheets.

So if you’re out there wondering whether you’re doing this whole business thing right…
Let me be the one to say: You are.

Because trying counts.
Messy effort counts.
And you count.

📌 Wanna see what I have figured out (mostly)?
🛒 https://riseupdesignboutique.etsy.com

Until next time,
Jecca

Location: San Antonio, TX 78261, USA

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