Now that we're entering the fourth and final quarter of the year, I think it's really time for me to stop goofing about and really get down to my (Etsy) work. The thing is, the more yoga I get into, the less stuff I create, and vice versa. I'm so torn between the two.

Anyway, for the month of September, some of you might have noticed that I didn't list very many new items. I actually tried a different approach:
I renewed nearly 4 times as many new listings as I made (previous renewal rate was pretty much the inverse, or lower);
I had only one Showcase spot in the entire month; and
I abstained from bead-buying!

Money-wise, September was surprisingly the second-best month of the year, and loads better than the pathetic excuse that was August. Obviously, I don't know whether there's a correlation here. I wish Etsy would offer sellers some useful statistics so we know where our buyers are coming from. Nevertheless, since launching my own website in mid-August and updating most of my published URLs to point there so that people go through it to get to my Etsy shop, at least I know a bit more about where people find me. Heh heh.

I was updating my accounts today and realised *sniff* I'm not making a good enough profit margin. No doubt, with experience and such, I'm doing better than when I first started, but I'm far from being self-sustaining at the moment. And the market is just so, so saturated and competitive. That's why I resisted buying any more new beads. If I don't look, I wouldn't be tempted.

I'm often asked what exactly it is that I do, since I don't have a full-time job and am perceived to be spending all my time on crafting. Here's a list:

- check out books/magazines/shops for inspiration
- source for materials and supplies
- catalogue these materials and supplies when I receive them
- sit down and make stuff
- take photos and prepare them in Photoshop
- figure out the costing for each piece
- write up the listings
- be online to list them at different times of the day
- check out forums and other online communities
- manage convos and email from buyers
- wrap and package items when they are sold
- create address labels, fill in customs and registration forms
- go to the post office (registered mail must be handled at the PO)
- do all the accounting nonsense because I am self-employed

And as you can tell, I do next to zero promotion. Part of me just doesn't feel like creating extra work for myself. But that's something I might want to think about for next year, perhaps. If you take into account the fact that I don't do collection-style work, sometimes it can be quite challenging to be constantly creating new and different things. Should I move away from this? I don't know... but I do know that it would certainly make things more efficient.

So... the bottom line is, if you see a parent - or even better, a parent with a day job - who also manages a crafting business, well, you know you're looking at a hero! I really have to take my hat off to them.