Rise Up Designs

One of the things you get used to when you run a small business is feedback. It comes from everywhere — customers, friends, family, people at craft fairs, people who see something online. And honestly, most of the time it comes from a good place. People want to help. But if you’ve ever tested a product idea with different people, you know what usually happens. One person will say, “I love it!” Another person will say, “It’s nice, but I’d change this.” Someone else will say, “I like it… but I’d remove that.” And suddenly you’re sitting there thinking, Okay… so what exactly am I supposed to do with all of this? Feedback can be incredibly helpful, but it can also be a little exhausting if you let every opinion pull you in a different direction. What I’ve learned is this: feedback is information, not instruction. Just because someone suggests something doesn’t mean you have to implement it. But it does give you insight. It shows you how people see your work, what catches their at...

When I started selling on Etsy, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect: ✔️ Make cute things. ✔️ List them. ✔️ Watch the sales roll in. Yeah… not quite. 😂  Etsy has been an amazing experience so far, but it’s also been full of surprises—some good, some… character-building. Here are a few things I definitely didn’t expect when I opened my shop. 1️⃣ People Will Favorite Your Stuff… But Never Buy It At first, I thought a ton of favorites meant I was about to get a ton of sales.   NOPE. They favorite, they leave, and sometimes… they never come back. 📌 Me, seeing a new favorite: "Omg, they love it! They’re totally buying!" 📌 Me, two weeks later: "Hello?? Where did you go? COME BACK." What I’ve learned: Favorites don’t equal sales. But they DO mean someone liked your product enough to save it—so there’s still hope! 2️⃣ You’ll Spend More Time on SEO Than You Ever Thought Possible I used to think SEO ( search engine optimization ) was just...