How to Make Money at Home as a Teen -Emma

Hey everyone! I am here with a new post!

Today I will be mostly talking about my online business, how you can start one of your own, and tips for teens wanting to start their own business.

Most of my friends don't know this yet, but this past August I started my own Etsy shop selling bandanas and bow ties for dogs and cats. And let me tell you, it was not easy.

I have gone through many different business plans, and still work out different problems and details everyday.

If you're creative and are interested in making things to sell online, keep reading.

The first step to starting your own Etsy shop is figuring out a product you can make to sell. You can research different DIYs on Pinterest that interest you, or maybe you already have something in mind that you have made before that you think you could sell.

Some things to think about when choosing a product to make and sell are:

-how long it takes you to make the product
-how much it costs to make the product
-if there are many starting costs you'd need to start your business
-if you can make the item in many different ways (the more items you have, the better your shop will do)
-if you can think of a select group of people who would be interested in buying your product

Some answers I had to these questions when starting my shop are:

-I can make 10 bow ties in 1 hour (pretty good efficiency rate)
-A half a yard of fabric is about $4, and I can make 8 bow ties with each half yard. I can also buy bulk supplies and packaging
-Business cards will cost around $20, but they will make my shop and packaging much more proffessional
-I can make bow ties in all kinds of different patterns and styles.
-I can contact people who have dogs or love animals to promote my shop.

Making an Etsy shop is pretty easy once you have a business plan, so I won't go into too much detail with this step.

Marketing is one of the most important parts of your new business. 95% of my sales have came just from Instagram. So, I highly recommend making an Instagram account for your new business, following hundreds of people who are in your "group" listed above, and hosting lots of giveaways and contests to make customers interested.

I have also started having brand representatives for my shop. I find these people on Instagram, they apply to be a model/brand rep, and their pets receive free bow ties to take photos in and promote my shop. I get to use these photos on my shop for marketing purposes too. So, it's a win win.

Having an Etsy shop while still in high school is NOT easy. But if you are looking for a fun way to be creative and make money from home on your own time, this is the perfect opportunity for you!

I know I didn't go into too much detail in this post, but I (might?) make this a series of posts for you all, and if you have any questions just let me know!

Also, be sure to check out Kathleen's new post talking about her inspiration for the blog and her posts. I really love her comments and she inspired me to write this post today!

Thanks for reading!

-Emma