I started my business just over a year ago but through health and life issues I wasn’t able to start it seriously until more recently.
I’ve read and watched so much on how to make the jewellery, package it and promote it online and I feel that I have comparable prices and talent/designs to what is already out there. I’m aiming to I post daily (I’ve just had a few off days due to covid this week) and do offers etc just like other sellers but so far I’ve just had one friend buy a discounted pair of earrings for his wife which I managed to loose between my house and his via a supermarket and another well-meaning friend who said he’d wear them if he was a woman.
I see instagram accounts with tens of thousands of followers and ‘release dates’ for their next creations. I see people selling dozens of items of jewellery a month. There’s even a woman on etsy that sells thousands of £’s worth of clay earrings each month (beyond what I think she can physically make herself) similar to my price point and comparable to my designs. What are these peoples secret, surely if it’s just time then how much?
I just feel like I’m 35 years too late to the show (I’m 61) and it’s a young woman’s game. Will my business actually ever grow to be anything worth while (before I’m a pensioner ) or am I flogging a dead horse?
I think rather than comments like ‘be patient’ and words of encouragement etc I feel that myself and possibly a lot of other newbies out there want realistic facts from others about how long it took them to ‘make it’, what worked for them and how much they do sell regularly and also those who gave up and why.
If I carry on at this rate I’ll have well over 100 pairs of earrings for sale within 6 months of being on Folksy, but how much more do I need to fork out in supplies and fees before I start to see a growing profit rather than potential sporadic sales?
I know I’ve yet to become active within the folksy community (Facebook and forum) but realistically how is that going to help me with a build-up of future sales?
Asking for all those despondent creators like me out there, thank you so much for reading…I’m writing this at 3am feeling sad…
I have a Fat Cat Clay Creations business account on Instagram and a private Facebook group too.
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Good morning Julie, I do hope you managed to get some sleep after. I love your earrings they are fun and unique. I have been making and selling on Folksy for over 10 years, over that time my style and products have changed. When I first started I made and sold beaded jewellery and it took around 3 months to make my first sale then over the next 12 months sales increased to around 1-2 a week and busier months before Christmas I could sell as much as 30 a month. I also painted and sold art and scrapbooks, but in 2016 I took the plunge and started making silver jewellery and opened my current shop (I have closed the other shops as I wanted a name change and don’t sell art at the moment as I don’t have time). I sell on average 8-10 items a month on Folksy, but it is quieter now, I think due to people being more careful with their money and also the novelty of shopping in person again and it’s summer, I have only had 2 sales in the past month but I’m sure it will pick up again in the autumn. I do sell elsewhere as well (and do better on another larger site) so don’t have all my eggs in one basket so to speak.
I’m not a spring chicken myself (57) and use instagram, facebook, pintrest and twitter (not braved TikToc yet!) and have just bought a holder so that I can make some video’s as social media is changing rapidly and I want to try and keep up. I also join groups on facebook and the daily listers thread on here to help with promotion.
I wish you good luck and don’t give up 
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Welcome to Folksy Julie.
Your earrings are very pretty and well done for building the stock you have.
It takes time to have your first sale in Folksy and you have to do a lot of promotion work both on the forums and Instagram. It would be advisable to have a business Facebook page, link both insta and fab then you post on one, appears on the other.
Looking at your shop you have no ‘About’ section. People who buy handmade like to buy from people, take a look at other sellers to give you some ideas what to write.
The daily challenge 365 topic in the forum is good. You list an item a day, can be a relist. To join you agree to visit each item listed by fellow sellers, heart on their page. That way we also do the same for you. This helps to keep your shop higher up the rankings on the front pages.
You are a plus seller but not making use of the feature facility. Go to shopkeeping and select a minimum of 3 or more items to feature. They will then appear at the top of your shop page.
As a plus seller you can also relist whenever you want for free. This again even if say a dozen items a week can display your items in the newest section on the front page.
Keep your chin up you will get there. I have been crafting and selling on and off since ‘81, retired at 50, now 64 and love it. Keeps me sane if not rich!
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Brilliant reply thank you so much Max 
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Hi Carole, so it’s not just teeny boppers on here 
I do have all the socials apart from TikTok 
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No lots of wrinklies. Could be because we have more time. I have found I can devote more time to the business since packing up work. Luckily enough both DH and I retired in 2008. Have had an enjoyable time since. Never had children, private pensions which were indexed linked, paid for house years ago with a redundancy payout, can now have fun doing what we want to do. In other words growing old disgracefully and must wear purple!
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Hello Julie, your shop looks fab, so light and bright. As does your IG, I have followed you over there. But I think you really must get a business page going on FB to bring people to your shop.
I think your shop would really benefit from filling out the ‘About’ section, let everyone know a little more about Julie and Fat Cat.
It sounds like you are a bit overwhelmed when you look at other people’s businesses on social media, but I don’t suppose any of them were an overnight success. Don’t try to do everything at once. Make a bit of a plan as in what you do each day, once a week, or once a month and keep an eye on what works and what doesn’t.
And if your friend said he would wear your jewellery if he was a woman, I wonder if you could make a few things for men?
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Hi Julie
I’ve admired your earrings when they have popped up on here. MY first port of call for a query like yours is to check your shop front and especially your Facbook link. Wondering why you have this as a private group and not a public place where other people can see you and maybe spread the word. No idea what posts you are putting on there as it is private so no idea how to advice on that. I get an Awful lot of my ‘trade’ via Facebook.
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Aaww thanks for your kind words
I do have business instagram and a Facebook private group, not sure if that needs to be anything different? I also have Pinterest to I start with a new image on Instagram then post everywhere else and the same when I put up new items in folksy. Not sure about the mens jewellery but never say never haha!! I will sort out my About section….
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Hi Joy, I just thought a private group would be more exclusive so that members could get special offers before the general public. But I’ll change it back to public if you think it would be better?
Julie
I don’t think you currently have enough followers to want to add restrictions. Build your audience first.
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I can’t seem to find out how to change the group on iPad, sooooo many different settings, none relevant 
But at least I’ve written my ABOUT section 
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Ah, apparently it’s not possible to change it back due to privacy 
All very helpful information.
I just like to know how to make a business page happen on Facebook please
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I don’t think a private group is helping at all to bring customers to your shop. I always try to imagine how something would work in a bricks and mortar shop. If had to join up before a shop in our high street would let me wander in and take a look, I wouldn’t bother.
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Marjan, I did mine so long ago that I couldn’t remember, so I just had a look. I’m on a desk top though, so it may look different on different devices.
I went to my news feed and over on the lefthand side is a list. A little way down I clicked ‘See More’ and was able to scroll down to ‘Pages’. Clicked that and over on the left hand column there’s a button which says ‘+create new page’ and that took me to a template to add on a new page.
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I love your ABOUT section and cat lovers will be smitten!
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Ah yes I understand BUT they don’t need to ‘enter’ to see things as they can already see my items as they are coming from Folksy or instagram, I don’t think there’s too much happening via Facebook but we shall see and as I can’t change back the group I’m stuck with it 
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Aawww thank you Rather than plan it too much I went with the flow and that’s what I ended up with
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I have a personal and business Facebook page. You have to have a personal one to set up a business. Get a lot of customers via FB and they prefer you to use business to promote business rather than a personal page. Some people have had their personal page blocked if used for business.
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