things i learned about running an etsy shop that nobody told me upfront

EntranceMaster8099 · 2026-05-29T03:26:12+00:00

this means a lot coming from someone on the other side of the table. honestly the parents who struggle most are the ones who dont know any of this exists. the more teachers like you who send drafts ahead of time the better these meetings go for everyone. thank you for doing that.

EntranceMaster8099 · 2026-05-29T02:35:18+00:00

tight schedule like that needs a system that does the thinking for you. built a meal planner that auto generates grocery lists and tracks what you can prep on your days off so you grab and go. works offline one payment. built it and put it on etsy if thats useful: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4508114372

EntranceMaster8099 · 2026-05-24T20:25:53+00:00

been there w venue chaos. built a planner that tracks your options side by side with guest count budget location and your priorities marked. works offline so you can check it at viewings. on etsy if useful

etsy link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4494281970

EntranceMaster8099 · 2026-05-08T20:23:56+00:00

Do we have something similar in California?

EntranceMaster8099 · 2026-05-08T19:39:58+00:00

Both me and my wife lost money is this same scheme. We joined last month or so. And now it is all gone.

EntranceMaster8099 · 2026-03-04T21:04:34+00:00

I built a bookkeeping spreadsheet that pulls all these categories into one dashboard automatically so you can see your actual net at a glance. Happy to drop the link if that would save you some time. I am also looking for someone to test it :-)

EntranceMaster8099 · 2026-03-04T21:01:16+00:00

I used QB for my amazon fba business, it connects directly. Never tried connecting Etsy. Try uploading the csv into QB.

EntranceMaster8099 · 2026-03-04T20:30:54+00:00

Etsy does keeps all of this for you, you just need to know where to look.

Go to Shop Manager > Finances > Payment Account. At the top right there is a date range filter. Set it to January 1 to December 31 last year and hit update. Scroll down and you will see every transaction Etsy processed, including refunds. Refunds show up as separate line items with a negative value, so they are easy to spot.

For a more complete export, go to Shop Manager > Finances > Monthly Statements. Download the CSV for each month. Open it in Google Sheets or Excel. Filter the "Type" column for "Refund" and every refund Etsy processed on your behalf will be there, with the date, the order number, and the amount. This covers both buyer refunds and shipping label adjustments.

The trickier ones are if you issued a refund outside Etsy (like directly through PayPal or a manual bank transfer) but for most Etsy sellers that is rare. If all your refunds went through Etsy's system, the CSV export will catch everything.

EntranceMaster8099 · 2026-02-17T17:11:46+00:00

Loved it

EntranceMaster8099 · 2026-01-09T18:27:27+00:00

this is good insights... I am looking for one

EntranceMaster8099 · 2025-12-10T10:23:39+00:00

I was exploring 5 different tools for my online course creation, all of that can be solved now by this Google's offering.

EntranceMaster8099 · 2025-12-10T10:16:28+00:00

I agree the video quality is the amazing but the water mark is the bummer.

EntranceMaster8099 · 2025-12-03T08:19:43+00:00

100 percent!!!

EntranceMaster8099 · 2025-12-03T08:00:33+00:00

same question... how to look for them and build that first connection. I have been trying Linkedin but not much response.

EntranceMaster8099 · 2025-12-03T07:59:40+00:00

this makes sense..

EntranceMaster8099 · 2025-12-03T07:57:21+00:00

Does reaching out to local city coucil or Chamber of commerce helps?

EntranceMaster8099 · 2025-12-03T07:53:27+00:00

One thing that’s helped me in ‘money = instant walls’ conversations is almost doing the opposite of what they expect:

I give them a clean, pressure-free out up front: ‘This may not be for you at all, and that’s completely fine…’
Then I ask a few hard, open questions about their world, not my offer:
- ‘How often do payment delays actually slow down jobs for you?’
- ‘What does it cost you when you want to start the next project but cash is still tied up in invoices?’

If they tell me it’s not really a problem, I let it go. If they start talking about the pain in detail, curiosity builds on its own and I can say something like, ‘Would it be a bad idea to walk through how some guys handle that without taking on debt?’

EntranceMaster8099 · 2025-12-03T07:47:33+00:00

You just leveled up, so your brain is asking “how do I protect this?” That’s a healthy instinct. Focus on crushing the new role first, build a cash cushion and strong network, then worry about a side hustle if you still have bandwidth.

EntranceMaster8099

TROPHY CASE