This is the 2nd in a series of stories from entrepreneurs who have not let limitations in life and business stop them from reaching their goals of owning a successful business.

In this installment, you’ll meet Robert who shares is wisdom on the “gut check moment” that all entrepreneurs need to be ready for and Dana who did not let domestic violence and being homeless with four children stop her from becoming an entrepreneur. Read on to be truly inspired.

Robert Tuchman, Entrepreneur, Author of Young Guns Fearless Entrepreneur said, “If you want to become an entrepreneur, you are going to have to take a few deep breaths and get ready to enjoy the ride. At some point during this journey, you are going to encounter a “gut check moment.” This is when you answer the WHY question of your business that you will have to figure out with your partner. Everyone must answer this question. There are going to be those times during the early stage of business that you come across these “gut check moments” and are unsure what to do. However, if you know what you are doing and realize WHY you are doing it, you are setting yourself up for a good future. Many people understand that they are going to come across these “gut check moments” and are going to have to make tough decisions along the way. It is a great thing to have confidence and you need that in order to be successful, but you also need to know that there will be scary decisions that you will come across.

When you come across one of these moments, you must stand tall and stick your chest out. You need to be in full control of the decision and make sure that you are feeling up to the challenge. If you put off one of these decisions, you will not be prepared the next time a situation arises. Being an entrepreneur is a learning process just as everything is in life. The more decisions you make, the more you grow as a person and as a company.

A “gut check moment” that I had to face was when we first started out the business and sold a client packages to the MLB All-Star Game that was taking place in Colorado. The cost for us was $25,000. The phone rang and it was not a call I was looking forward too, but I had to step up and stay calm. The supplier told me that his company was going bankrupt and would not be able to deliver the tickets. $25,000 was a lot of money to the company, especially since it was our first year of business. I knew that I had to do something to make the pieces fit into the puzzle, and we were able to get other hotel inventory and ticket inventory to make everything work out. I had to do the right thing for the client even if we lost money on the deal. If the client is happy, I am happy.

When engaging in these moments where we second guess ourselves, we have to keep going forward and never look back. After that phone call, I could have gave up on my dreams and quit but I kept going and did what I needed to do. As you are on this wonderful ride, keep positive and stay determined.”

Visit Robert’s website at http://premieresports.com/

Dana Rankin, Advertising Sales Representative said, “I did not let the crisis of domestic violence and being homeless stop me from building successful online businesses. Most started while living in a shelter with my 4 children. I used resources on and off line and researched in the library to help get my businesses started.

Visit Dana’s website at http://www.hopeforwomenmag.com/
Follow Dana on Twitter at http://twitter.com/devosbydana
Follow Dana’s Blog at http://therecipediva.wordpress.com/

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron, lovable dog Hank, and sweet kitten Sammy. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

Once upon a time in a faraway place, there was a little boy about 12 years old. This little boy had a big dream. Well, really, this little boy wanted to rule the world. Oh yes, and this little boy is me.

I have found a sidekick. Unfortunately, it is a female human being. Unfortunately number two, her name is Delilah. Much to my dismay, she has no qualms with this “name” she goes by and refuses to allow me to call her by a more professional name. Whatever, girls can be so contrary. So I have spent the last week training Delilah for all the things that she could possibly encounter while we are taking over the world, and how to handle the situation appropriately. I am giving Delilah the duty of deciding how we are going to come up with the appropriate funds for taking over the world. She thinks we will only need about one hundred dollars to start with. I think we need about a million. Either way, we must figure out how to get our hands on all this dough. When I asked my mother if I could temporarily borrow one hundred dollars, she said that I would have to work for it. That woman is purely insane. When one is taking over the world, there is no time to work for money. Especially from one’s own parental figure! Geez, when I finally rule the world I am going to formulate a class that teaches parents how to properly take care of and treat their children. It will be mandatory.

Rodney will be here every week. Don’t miss the fantastic stories of the young lad’s journey to rule the world.

Read last week’s story

Brittany Black is the creator of Rodney’s story. She is a 19 year old junior at the University of South Florida, majoring in English. Writing is a hobby she has always enjoyed. She eventually wants to be a criminal defense attorney. Her hobbies are reading, writing, running, beaching, and typical college people stuff. Follow her on Twitter at Brittany123xo.

Giancarlo Massaro was up watching late night TV when he saw an infomercial pitching a product. It was while watching the infomercial that Giancarlo came up with the idea for AnyLukyDay, a daily contest website that operates as an advertising space to promote companies’ products and services through giveaways. In this interview, learn how Giancarlo is providing each of his clients a unique, fun and exciting 24-hour advertising campaign on AnyLuckyDay.

Tell us about AnyLuckyDay and how you came up with this unique idea?

The unique idea for AnyLuckyDay came about in December 2008. I had built and sold many websites leading up to my freshman year of college, but I decided to take a year off to focus on school. In December of my sophomore year, I was watching TV late one night trying to think of ideas for another website and that’s when I saw an infomercial pitching a product. I thought, “wouldn’t it be cool if I could test these products out before I had to buy them?” With a little tweaking of my initial idea, AnyLuckyDay was born.

AnyLuckyDay is a daily contest website that operates as an advertising space to promote companies’ products and services through giveaways. Every day, thousands of companies are searching for new and unique ways to advertise that are different than a traditional one-way advertising campaign. AnyLuckyDay does just that, providing each of its clients with a unique, fun and exciting 24-hour advertising campaign that includes a product giveaway, a custom “product-pitching” video created by me, and multiple posts on our Twitter and Facebook accounts. Clients also receive viral exposure as our users share the giveaway with their social networks in order to receive extra entries. It’s a great atmosphere because our users get to learn about new companies and they receive the chance to win their products, which creates an interactive experience for both the client and the customer.

How does the process work?

AnyLuckyDay works on a ‘one giveaway a day’ schedule. Every 24 hours we feature a new company and giveaway one (or many) of their products. Giveaways run from 12:00AM EST to 11:59PM EST. Winners are picked at random at the conclusion of each giveaway.

For contestants looking to enter the daily giveaways, they simply have to read the daily contest and watch the video on the homepage. Next, they must click the blue ‘Visit Sponsor’ button to check out the sponsor’s site because after all, they are giving everyone a chance to win their product. Finally, clicking the orange ‘Comment’ button and posting a comment will secure their entry into the giveaway.

For companies interested in taking advantage of the unique advertising service that AnyLuckyDay provides, they can view our booking calendar to purchase a day to be featured. Once a day is booked, we will work with the company to plan out their campaign.

How do you promote the product or service?

Every product or service is promoted on the homepage of AnyLuckyDay through a blog post as well as a custom ‘product-pitching’ video. In addition, multiple posts are made on our Twitter and Facebook accounts. Throughout the day, our users also share the daily giveaway with their social networks in order to receive extra entries, which allows it to go viral.

What types of product or service gets the most response?

I’ve been doing this for almost two years now and here is what I have found. Electronic items tend to always do well, as well as jewelry, apparel and unusual gadgets. I’ve started to shy away from promoting services because they do not get as good of a response as I would like them to. Surprisingly, food items have done well too, with a giveaway from Snyder’s of Hanover attracting over 600 contestants.

How has using video on your site helped in the sites growth?

Using video has helped AnyLuckyDay grow tenfold since I started it in January 2009. First, I feel that the video aspect adds a personal touch to the site, so people can actually see who is behind AnyLuckyDay and who is operating the giveaways. Second, using video allows for people to learn about the companies that support AnyLuckyDay and provide people with all the great giveaways. The great thing about video is that it can easily be shared with friends and family and reposted anywhere, which has allowed for more and more people to check out AnyLuckyDay.

What did you learn during the start up phase?

Don’t expect to turn an idea into an overnight success because it just won’t happen. I had so many great ideas in the beginning and felt that with a few weeks of hard work, I would be seeing green, and a whole lot of it. That wasn’t the case. In fact, AnyLuckyDay made no money for an entire year, but I kept on pushing. I worked 12-14 hour days, I stayed in on weekends when friends were out partying, and I even worked during my college classes (sorry mom).

What advice would you give aspiring entrepreneurs?

If you have an idea and you want it to succeed, be ready to pump all of your time and effort into it. You need to be passionate about it and truly believe in it. You will work longer hours than a normal 9-5 job, but that’s the life of an entrepreneur. You won’t make your first million overnight either, so if long hours and making little to no money is not for you, then don’t be an entrepreneur. I will tell you this though, there is no greater feeling than working so hard for something and seeing it finally succeed.

Is there anything you would like to add?

You can check out AnyLuckyDay at http://anyluckyday.com. You can follow us on Twitter @anyluckyday, or ‘Like’ us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/anyluckydaycontests

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron, lovable dog Hank, and sweet kitten Sammy. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

Once upon a time in a faraway place, there was a little boy about 12 years old. This little boy had a big dream. Well, really, this little boy wanted to rule the world. Oh yes, and this little boy is me. And if you must know, I really don’t live in a faraway place; I just heard that on Shrek and thought it sounded cool. I am 12.7 years old to be exact. My mother says that no one really cares about the .7 years that I find extremely necessary to tack onto the 12, but it matters to me so I will do it until the day I die. Or until it gets boring like Nintendo 64 or Legos do. I suppose I should tell you my name since I am letting you in on the secret of me ruling the world in the (very) near future. I am Rodney Charles James Jr. If I had my choice that’s what everyone would call me, but unfortunately my mother (damn that woman) has bestowed me with the very dry nickname of Rod. So here I am, all 12.7 years of me, preparing my plans of ruling the world. At first I was going to shoot for something more common or attainable such as a successful lemonade stand that would make me millions or change the legal driving age to 12 (which means I would have had my license .7 years ago), but I have come to the conclusion that if I am going to do anything with my valuable time it might as well be ruling the world.

Today is Tuesday. I am going to middle school to join my fellow 7th grade peers in the unnecessary hours of education that my mother seems to think I need so badly. Little does she know, her nagging me to constantly go to school has been a key cause of my future ruling of the world. The first thing that I need to do to get this show on the road is create a business plan. But of what? Who am I going to allow to be part of this scheme? And do I want to share the ruling of the world with some insignificant 7th grader? Or worse, ADULT? Hm. This leaves me no other choice but to call upon my wiser 12 year old self who suggests that I call on the help of someone else. So I hold auditions in order to find the most worthy individual to act as my assistant and sidekick. This is harder than it seems.

I have interviewed 13 kids who think they know everything about ruling the world. In reality, they know nothing and are all after the fame and fortune that shall be obtained. What I am seeking to find is a dependable person who can stop thinking about the fame and fortune for long enough to actually achieve the goal. I need someone trustworthy who won’t go spilling my brilliant plans to all of the other wana-be world rulers. So far I have been unsuccessful.12 year olds have such a short attention span, geez.

Rodney will be here every week. Don’t miss the fantastic stories of the young lad’s journey to rule the world.

Brittany Black is the creator of Rodney’s story. She is a 19 year old a junior at the University of South Florida, majoring in English. Writing is a hobby she has always enjoyed. She eventually wants to be a criminal defense attorney. Her hobbies are reading, writing, running, beaching, and typical college people stuff. Follow her on Twitter at Brittany123xo.

Raymond Lei started ooShirts, a custom t-shirt business, when he was just 16 years old. Raymond had the task of ordering t-shirts for his high school tennis club, when he became disgusted at the lack of a clear solution for his t-shirt needs. In this interview, learn how Raymond grew ooShirts, whose primary principle is efficiency, into a business with $1 million in yearly revenue.

When did you start ooShirts?

I started ooShirts when I was 16 years old. I was a sophomore in high school.

How did you come up with your business idea?

During the summer after my freshman year in high school, I went on a trip to Hangzhou, China, where I first became interested in business. During my stay there, I would walk outside and see this amazing growth of small businesses all around me. Every day, a buzzing new shop would open and replace an old dying one, and every week, the products being sold just kept getting better and better. The customers, myself included, enjoyed as they could buy more and more for less.

When I returned to my home in Cupertino, I had the task of ordering t-shirts for my high school tennis club. As I looked for a place to order from, I couldn’t find a clear solution. All existing companies were either overpriced or had untrustworthy and unfriendly websites. I was a little angered at the lack of a solution. The industry was huge (everyone wears custom t-shirts) but the businesses in it were unsatisfactory. I thought I could provide a better product to customers at a lower cost and set out to do it.

How has your business evolved since the start of your business?

There were several stages, depending on how far back you want to go. At the very start, I directly talked to other clubs at my school and sold to them. After receiving more orders, I built a website so I could take each order more efficiently. After receiving even more orders, I hired a couple employees to help me take orders so that I could focus less on operations and more on growth. Now, we’re building an automated system so that each employee can take care of $1 million in yearly revenue. So you can say we’ve become more efficient. We’ve also improved our supply chain from one supplier to twenty suppliers. I’ll discuss how this helps us later.

Have you always been entrepreneurial?

It depends on how you define entrepreneurial. I’ve always liked to do things differently. I never liked joining existing groups, and haven’t ever joined a group I didn’t create. I would always embark on my own projects fueled by my own ideas. And I liked coming up with these ideas. If that’s how you define entrepreneurial, then yes, I’ve always been entrepreneurial.

One of the things that sets ooShirts apart from your competitors is your company principles. Can you tell us about them and how they work?

Our primary principle is efficiency. We’re much more efficient than our competitors.

First, our ordering process is very streamlined. Our website allows customers to create their own t-shirt designs without manual help from our artists. They can do everything they need to do online, and submit it to us. When we receive the design, the automated order processing code we wrote lets us take care of each order quickly and accurately.

Second, we’ve set up a network of 20 printers and suppliers around the United States. This is important for several purposes. In addition to letting us get shirts to the customers faster and with lower shipping costs, it also lets us have a greater, more readily available line of products in stock.

Third, we outsource internationally. We outsource a good amount of programming and graphic design work overseas where we can get the same quality work at the fraction of the cost.
When we combine these three points, we can price our custom t-shirts at 30 to 50 percent lower cost than our competitors and still make a profit. This is the value customers are looking for, and this is the reason we’ve been growing so quickly these past couple of months.

You are student at UC Berkeley. How has being a student helped you on your entrepreneurial journey?

There are two parts to being a student. One involves academics, the other involves people. I don’t think taking academic courses helps with my business. Textbooks do not teach you how to think different; they teach you how to think the same. I don’t find learning from a textbook is helpful for me, or for any other entrepreneur. I won’t drop out. Though I am an entrepreneur, I am also human. I’ve met some truly amazing people, and want to continue building relationships here.

How do you balance school and business?

I pick the easiest classes and spend the rest of my time on my business.

What are your plans for the future of your business?

My goal is to have an average 50% month-over-month growth rate for the remaining months this year.

For more information on Raymond and ooShirts visit http://www.ooshirts.com.

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneur journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

This is the first in a series of stories from entrepreneurs who have not let limitations in life and business stop them from reaching their goals of owning a successful business. Entrepreneurs are an inspiring bunch. They have the tenacity to keep pushing forward. I hope their stories encourage you to NEVER give up on your dreams.

Six years ago, Selena Cuffe was 28 years old and single, with a steady job, a Harvard Business School degree and the dream to one day own her own business. The next year she got married, became pregnant and started her own wine importing business, Heritage Link Brands, which was the first and now largest distributor of wine from the African continent and it’s Diaspora. Selena was featured as the B.E. Next Entrepreneur of the Year on the cover of the August 2009 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine, but it hasn’t been an easy ride through the male-dominated, highly competitive wine industry. It’s taken five years of building supply chains, late night transatlantic phone calls and coaching vintners in the ways of US business deals, but Selena, who financed the company with personal savings and credit cards, has made it work. Pregnant with her first child when she began, her family has blossomed along with her business, and she happily works alongside her husband Khary, the COO of Heritage Link Brands, and is the mother of two young boys, who share her enthusiasm for life. The company’s wines are now sold online and in 41 states through noted vendors like Whole Foods, Sams Club and Disney, as well as grocery stores across the country. Selena also recently took Heritage Link Brands to the skies, and now several of its wines are available on American Airlines and United.

For more information on Selena and Heritage Link Brands visit http://www.heritagelinkbrands.com
Become a Facebook Fan at http://www.facebook.com/heritagelink
Follow Heritage Link Brands on Twitter at http://twitter.com/heritage_link

When Peggy Frank’s daughter now 27, received a terminal diagnosis 10 years ago, she quit her corporate position as PR Director for Prudential Healthcare to start her own home-based Public Relations firm. She had worked at her hospital bed in different parts of the country as the family lives in Los Angeles. Peggy’s daughter had surgeries in Miami and Boston (last surgery Feb. 2009), last hospitalization April 2010 in Los Angeles. Peggy also teaches online, and again, she has continued to work productively. Peggy is the mom of 4 daughters; mostly she raised them as a single mom. Peggy said, “I know many people have their own health, or health of loved ones’ that serve to derail enthusiasm for productive work efforts, however, I have never allowed her illnesses to stop me.” When Peggy’s daughter was younger (1983-1995), she worked at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, as the assistant director of PR. Often her daughter would be hospitalized for weeks at a time. Peggy continued to work by day, while visiting her daughter throughout the day, and then she slept in her office, so that she could stay with her all night – living at the hospital on one occasion for as long as two-weeks.

For more information on Peggy and Frank Public Relations Worldwide visit http://www.frankpr.com
Become a Facebook Friend at http://www.facebook.com/peggy.c.frank
Follw Peggy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pcfrank

Pamela Hawley, a social entrepreneur who founded UniversalGiving™ – not without needing to overcome some challenges! Starting out to found UniversalGiving had its own obstacles. Even though Pamela had a track record as an entrepreneur within the industry (having previously been a co-founder of VolunteerMatch), people were doubtful her new organization could survive. One prominent foundation executive said, “The question is… is there even a market for international giving? Who would want to give to another country?” They expected it to simply wither away…but they obviously didn’t realize how tenacious and scrappy the team was! That was in 2002, and UniversalGiving is still strong today. UniversalGiving was originally founded under another name, only to face legal issues with another company. After a few years, the issue was successfully resolved to UniversalGiving’s benefit. Pamela has also faced challenges from trusted employees, which led to an almost complete rebuilding of UniversalGiving’s core team. Through patience and perseverance, she was able to let employees who were not a good fit exit, and then quickly bring on the right people to replace them–people who were not only knowledgeable and competent, but also aligned with UniversalGiving’s strong values. Now they have solid funding, a supportive and innovative culture, and super employees! They kept sticking with their values and they eventually realized themselves after much hard work.

For more information on Pamela and UniversalGiving visit http://www.universalgiving.org/
Visit the UniversalGiving blog at http://www.philanthropost.wordpress.com
Visit Pamela’s blog at http://www.pamelahawley.wordpress.com
Follow Pamela on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelahawley
Follow UniversalGiving on Twitter at http://twitter.com/universalgiving

Stay tuned over the next few weeks for the next installment of Overcoming Limitations.

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneur journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

Pugsly - 4 the Grapes Manager

Rachell Coe worked in the wine industry before opening her own business – 4 The Grapes. It was while working at the King Estate Winery as their webmaster and photographer that she realized that she had found her passion. Rachell loved the whole business of winemaking – from the nursery to marketing. In this interview, learn how Rachell took the skills she learned on the job and started her own business – 4 The Grapes, a photography, marketing, and design firm targeting small wineries and vineyards.

Your company 4 the Grapes provides photography, marketing, and design services to small wineries and vineyards. This is quite a niche market. What made you decide to focus on the wine industry?

I had never been interested in wine before, but when I was hired by King Estate Winery as their webmaster and photographer, I was involved in all aspects of winemaking – from the nursery, through organic vineyard management, the wine process on to marketing. And I LOVED it! How you could be outdoors in the vineyard one minute and then working up an ecommerce marketing plan the next – it kept me busy and interested. After a year and a half of this, I realized I was really missing being with my kids and when King Estate started scaling down its employees, I took this as my sign to go back into business for myself. Only this time, I decided to focus on what I now knew – the wine industry.

Tell us more about the services that 4 The Grapes offers?

Most of my business is web design, but I also do some print work (business cards & brochures), photography (vineyard, winery & bottle shots) and am starting to offer marketing services. I also have a successful blog where I provide website and marketing information (it’s even listed in Wine Business website as one of the blogs they check regularly).

I see you are currently offering a FREE website review to any small, boutique and micro winery website. What typical design flaws do you see during a website review?

Good question!!! The most common problems seem to be:

• Lack of consistency from one page to the next
• Code bloat (where there is a lot of extraneous coding that effects performance and download speed)
• Image files not optimized for quick downloading
• Not optimized for the Search Engines.

Do you provide ongoing support to clients who do not have the time to maintain their sites?

Yup – I still have most of the clients I started with 5 years ago.

How is the wine industry utilizing social media to increase exposure to potential customers?

Many wineries are using Social Media to further their brands – FaceBook is the most important and then Twitter.

What advice would you give aspiring entrepreneurs?

Find a niche!!!!!! Even before I started ‘Love Your Wedding Site’, I wasn’t doing so well because I was catering to EVERYONE – which means my clientele was so spread out that I never really had a chance to get my name out there and didn’t know who exactly to market to. By finding a niche, you know exactly WHO to market to and can learn enough about the business you become indispensable to your clients.

I always like to ask entrepreneurs – are there any books that you would recommend that have helped you along the way on your entrepreneur journey?

Hands down, ‘The Creative Business Guide to Running a Graphic Design Business’ by Cameron S. Foote

Is there anything else you would like to add?

The only thing I can add is to have patience – it takes a long time to build a successful business. But if you can hang in there, it’s definitely rewarding!

For information on Rachell and 4 The Grapes visit http://www.4thegrapes.com

Follow Rachell on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WineryMarketing

Become a Facebook friend at http://www.facebook.com/pages/4-the-Grapes/123373531673?ref=mf

Connect on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rachell-coe/5/881/b8a

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneur journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

This is the eighth in a series of interviews with Etsy entrepreneurs.

Celeste Meyeres had been designing, crafting, and selling her scarves for about four months when she heard about Etsy. Celeste opened her shop – Crickets Creations on November 26, 2007. Celeste uses only soft, cruelty free, designer, vintage or novelty yarns (vegan) with no potentially allergenic or irritating wool/animal fibers in her scarves. Celeste maintains a large collection of hundreds of yarns so she’ll have a varied palette of colors & textures; each new project is an adventure & custom orders are welcome! In this interview, learn how Celeste is living the creative entrepreneurs dream through her Etsy shop – Crickets Creations.

What brought you to become an Etsy shop owner?

With the encouragement of my husband, I had begun designing and creating scarves and selling them to retail boutiques and to individuals. After four months of this, I heard about Etsy from another crafter. I checked them out along with a few competitors’ sites and I was sold! I set up an account that day, November 26, 2007 and I’ve now been with Etsy for over two years.

How do you market your business?

I tend to use the rule of thumb of investing about 10% of revenue in marketing and/or advertising. So, for example, if an advertiser approaches me with a $200 print ad proposal, then I ask myself, “If I buy this ad, will it likely result in $2,000 in direct or indirect sales?” If the answer is no or probably not, then I pass it by. If the answer is yes or probably yes, I’m likely to go for it. I advertise in a couple of product-specific venues (such as a photo prop website for my photo props) and have participated in a few blog giveaways and contests. Most of my advertising budget is spent listing and renewing my designs on Etsy.

How has social networking helped your business? What have you found works best for your store?

When I was first starting out and had more time than sales, I spent quite a bit of time setting up a blog as well as accounts with Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Ning, and just about every other social networking site! I found it takes about an hour each to build a profile and learn the ropes, then just a few minutes to post (I find non-spammy posts and paying attention to your audience to be more effective than non-stop, “Look at my stuff! Buy my stuff!”). Now that I have less time for marketing, I have honed down my social networking. There is one notable exception; one of my core lines is photo props, so I post professional photos of my pieces on Flickr, an online photography community.

What is your favorite part of being an Etsy store owner?

I love being able to interact with my customers in a meaningful way. I can tell that they really appreciate when they can communicate directly with the owner, designer, creator and “shipping department” of the business they’re supporting…because all those people are me! Many of my customers have become true friends and it’s very rewarding bringing joy to people and helping them feel special.

What are some of the ways that you find Etsy helps in your success as a store owner?

What advice would you give new Etsians just starting out?

Here’s what I did:

1) Have confidence in my own creativity. Ignore any doubts. Be willing to take reasonable risks (i.e. spend or risk a little to make a lot). That means accepting custom orders, personal checks, paying craft fair booth fees, renewing on Etsy as often as is productive for me (I experiment & pay attention) & making my shop welcoming to international customers.

2) Feel & express gratitude, humility & helpfulness always. This is a symbiotic relationship: I provide excellent product, excellent customer service & a piece of art; my customers provide word of mouth marketing, good feelings & revenue.

3) Diversify my market. For example, I offer over 100 different scarves in various styles, colors and weights to cast a wide net and grow my target market. I cater internationally to women, men, youth, seniors, belly dancers, country club types, goth, emo and indie types, anyone with sensitive skin, people of different ethnicities & cultures, vegans & other animal-friendly types, etc. For me, the key has been to have diffused focus; specializing in lots of different variations of just one or two products.

How did you come up with your shop name?

That’s a fun one! My nickname is Crickets because when my husband and I always seem to be reading one another’s thoughts since we’re so much on the same wavelength. When we were first getting to know one another, we took a country drive and starting talking about our favorite things. He asked, rhetorically, “You know what my favorite sound is?” And I replied with the first thing that popped into my head, “The sound of crickets?” Well, he was very surprised and exclaimed, “How did you know?!” So that became my nickname and now, whenever we say the exact, same thing simultaneously, we call it “crickets!”

How do you brand yourself to make your shop unique?

Nicky, my husband drew my logo of a cricket wearing a scarf and my logo is on all my hang tags and business cards. Online, a photo of my face is part of my banner, avatar and most of my listings. I want people to be able to look into my eyes, get a sense of me and know that they can trust me. I now realize another benefit is that my face can’t be imitated, it is uniquely mine. I am a big believer in designing all my own work and following my heart. Rather than looking at others’ designs for ideas, I follow my own inspiration or my customers’ custom orders (about one third of my business consists of special requests).

Do you feel a sense of community among the Etsy shop owners?

Yes, absolutely! I belong to about ten community or product-based teams on community. We work on projects together, exchange information and provide one another with fun and support.

How do you connect with your buyers?

Each customer receives a personalized, online message from me thanking and acknowledging their order and providing them with shipping information. I also include a handwritten note, write out addresses by hand, color the scarf my logo cricket wears with colored pens so it will be the same color as the scarf it’s attached to (and decorate the package with fun stickers!) and leave personal and appreciative feedback. I adore my customers and I think that’s why I have such a high rate of returning customers.

For information on Celeste and her Etsy shop visit http://www.etsy.com/people/CricketsCreations.

Follow Celeste’s blog at http://cricketscreations.blogspot.com.

Follow Celeste on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CricketsKnits.

Become a Facebook friend at http://www.facebook.com/CricketsCreations.

Check out Celeste’s professional pictures on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/cricketscreations.

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneur journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

Lani Hay served in the US Navy as an Intelligence Officer and Aviator Continue Reading

This is the fourth in a series of interviews with Etsy entrepreneurs.

Ashley Nizolek is a 25 yr old independent Jewelry Designer and Artisan. Ashley attended one of the fashion Mecca’s in NYC – The Fashion Institute of Technology. Ashley moved from the world of high fashion to the fun and exciting world of indie design by opening an Etsy shop. Ashley has a comprehensive shop up and running with over 200 items and was chosen by Etsy as an Etsy Featured Seller and watched her business grow. In this interview, learn how Ashley began her flourishing Etsy shop – A.N. Original Jewelry and left her 9 – 5 behind.

What brought you to become an Etsy shop owner?

Well first of all, I loved the idea of this handmade movement that seemed to really be brought about by Etsy and sites like it. I poked around on Etsy for a good 3 months before deciding to go forward and open up my own shop there. I had already been in business for a while outside of Etsy and had a website set up with a shopping cart set up but felt like I wasn’t able to reach my niche market of “Handmade” enthusiasts. After I got a better feel for Etsy, how it worked and how other shop owners seemed to be doing there, I decided to go for it and try my hand at selling on Etsy. I loved the unique charm of Etsy, the fact that it catered to a niche market and the fact that it felt young and hip, rather than a site full of knitted baby booties and quilts. Sure you can find those things on Etsy, but you can also find a really innovative group of up and coming indie designers with unique view points and fresh ideas.

How do you market your business?

Marketing my business is something thats always changing and evolving. In the beginning of my time on Etsy I didn’t do much off of Etsy. WIthin the Etsy community I made sure to be active on a daily basis, contributing helpful thoughts and ideas to other Etsy community members, trading business tips, introducing new designs etc. As my Etsy business grew, along with the number of sellers on Etsy grew, I realized I really needed to start reaching outside of Etsy to advertise. I began buying ad spots on popular handmade blogs and websites, as well as sponsoring giveaways with indie design blogs whenever possible, so long as I thought I was a good fit for the style of the website. I’ve also realized that Etsy shop owners are also Etsy buyers, so buying ad spots on Etsy resource websites like CraftCult have been worth their weight in gold. Other than purchased ad spots and giveaways etc, I rely heavily on word of mouth spread by happy customers. Nothing is more effective than a happy customer spreading the word and providing one on one testimonials to their family and friends. I am happy to say I have many repeat customers over my 2 years selling on Etsy.

How has social networking helped your business? What have you found works best for your store?

Social networking is a balancing act. There’s a fine line between effectively advertising and giving your business visibility and spam. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter allow me to interact with my customers by letting them know about special offers, new designs etc. I think the key with social networking is having a healthy mix of business and personal anecdotes. People are only going to keep checking in on you and your business if you act as an entertainer of sorts, providing comedic thoughts and stories about your life, obviously nothing too personal, but anything that helps people feel like they know you a bit more helps tremendously when it comes to people trusting you and your business. Twitter has hands down been my most effective social networking tool, next to blogging. My blog, which I link to from my website, is also a huge help. It shows people things behind the scenes that keep them engaged in your work as well as interested in you are a person. It allows your customers and fellow sellers to become a fly on the wall in the life of an independent designer.

What is your favorite part of being an Etsy store owner?

Etsy’s international appeal is really unsurpassed by other handmade market places online and if I were a B&M store I would have virtually no chance of building an international customer base. I love the fact that when I list an item on Etsy, it is beamed to all corners of the world. A solid 40% of my business is shipped internationally, which is really something I couldn’t hope to achieve without a marketplace like Etsy. I also love the ease of communication I have with my customers, I have the chance to maintain a relationship with my customers beyond the initial sale, and many of them choose to follow my blog or follow me on Twitter. Having an Etsy store also means pretty low overhead, and in this economy that has been key to keeping my business strong and thriving. I also love the flexibility of it; I make my own schedule and can work all night if I choose, since I am a night owl. I can also take my shop with me wherever I go via my Blackberry! I can answer customer emails, re-list sold items and tweak my store from the beach, and that is truly a treat.

What are some of the ways that you find Etsy helps in your success as a store owner?

Etsy is really great at promoting their sellers wherever they can. I recently participated in a special promotion which was made possible by Etsy teaming up with a website called The Frisky, to promote selected curated sellers. Etsy also provides a way for shop owners to learn new things via their virtual labs, ask admins questions in a live chat, talk about techniques to photo your work, all sorts of different things. Etsy brings a scholastic element to the table, offering all Etsy sellers (and buyers) new information around every corner, it’s just up to YOU to take advantage of it and use it to your best ability. A lot of Etsy is up to each singular shop owner, you have control over your own shop and its up to you to do what’s necessary to get yourself out there and succeed, but the teaching aspect that Etsy offers is something that really enriches the community and gives those who take advantage of the information offer a leg up on other shops on Etsy.

What advice would you give new Etsians just starting out?

I would first and foremost say be patient and take advantage of the amazingly unique community aspect of Etsy! Nothing happens overnight, and Etsy is no different. You really need to build your shop, your brand, and your good name on Etsy from the ground up. Dive head first into the community offered on Etsy and be friendly with your fellow Etsy Sellers (and of course buyers). I spent the first month I was on Etsy soaking up as much information as I possibly could. Read through the forums, be an active part in the Etsy community, but also remember its a give and take. Etsy is a little bit of the “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” mentality. Lots of people are willing to share tips etc but you should be prepared to offer what you can in the way of tips, tricks, SOMETHING. It’s important to gain the respect of your Etsy peers, including Etsy Admins, to be successful on Etsy. You have to realize everything you do, or say, is a reflection of your business when you do or say it on Etsy. Your ALWAYS representing you brand and you can’t ever overlook that on Etsy.

How did you come up with your shop name?

My shop name really isn’t all that interesting, it’s a play on my initials, which are A.N. So, when throwing around potential brand names we started to think “Hey, it could be ‘An Original’ but using your initials so it’s ‘A.N. Original’, your jewelry is handmade and unique, it’s ‘an original’ piece of jewelry. I purposely didn’t choose a trendy fun name like “Pineapple and Barkley” because I just figured I’d let my jewelry speak for itself rather than designing under a crazy name that attracts more attention than the actual jewelry.

How do you brand yourself to make your shop unique?

Branding is so important, but it can also be very expensive, especially for a smaller business, so I’ve had to really take a look at what was going to make me unique. I really like to focus on crisp clean lines and photos paired with lots of color. I photograph my work simply on a rainbow of colored backgrounds but make sure the tone and richness of the colors are all still harmonious. In the beginning I wanted everything to be very sleek, I wanted everything black and white, and crisp and sterile, like a high end designer. But, let’s face it, I am not Marc Jacobs so that doesn’t work for me or my brand. When I decided to bring a lot of color into my shop and focus on more whimsical yet still chic designs I saw a response almost immediately. People enjoy the feeling of happiness and lightheartedness they get when browsing my shop and I get lots of comments on how inviting it is. So, for me, bright colors, whimsical designs and crisp clean pictures are my calling card.

Do you feel a sense of community among the Etsy shop owners?

Definitely. As I mentioned in a previous question, the community is what makes Etsy SO unique and it is a valuable tool for your success on Etsy. Part of the reason I think I was able to find success on Etsy was that I took lots of time at the beginning to establish myself as a thoughtful and contributing member of the Etsy community, I soaked up any information I could like a sponge and wasn’t afraid to contact high sellers to ask questions or even just introduce myself and let them know I appreciate their work. Etsy is like a little (well HUGE actually) family, I’ve made a large number of friends on Etsy who then in turn send their friends and family my way to see my work, it just increases the word of mouth advertising tenfold to have a positive contributing attitude towards the Etsy community.

How do you connect with your buyers?

I work hard to make sure that when a customer receives an order in the mail it’s like opening a present! I don’t want it to be sterile and impersonal, that’s not why people shop on Etsy! I’m not Macy’s so I don’t send things in plastic bags in a cardboard box, I appreciate that my customer are choosing to support the handmade movement and work hard to make their ordering experience memorable. I try to include a number of fun items like logo magnets, custom A.N. Original lip balms, Chupa Chup lollipops (which are a huge hit) , Care cards, a little note to the customer to thank them if I’m able to. Many times a customer will tell me why their buying the item in a note with their purchase so if they do that I usually try to write a little card in response to further the personal connection. I also work hard to make sure I have lovely packaging, I spend the extra money on high quality brightly colored boxes and satin ribbon in vibrant colors. Since I use a rainbow of colors in my branding I like to change up my packaging color combos every few months. One month I might have light green boxes with purple satin ribbon and the next I will have periwinkle boxes with vibrant pink satin ribbon and use my logo to tie it all together. Once in a while I will offer some sort of coupon code or free gift as well. My ‘extras’ in my packaging are always changing because I have so many repeat customers I love to have a new surprise for them each time they purchase, and it’s just more fun and stimulating for me personally to keep things as fresh and new as I can.

For more information on Ashley and her Etsy shop visit www.anoriginaljewelry.etsy.com or visit her website at www.anoriginaljewelry.com. Follow Ashley on Twitter at twitter.com/ANORIGINAL. Become a Facebook Fan at www.facebook.com/pages/AN-Original-Jewelry/71161615360?ref=s

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneur journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneur dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at http://www.onewhowrites.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at Twitter.com/JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.