A Career Centre workshop aimed to get 91亚色 U students and grads thinking about creative entrepreneurship offered a first-hand glimpse into what it takes to start a business on Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods.
Robin Fitzsimons
The session was led by Etsy seller Robin Fitzsimons, who shared instructional information on launching an Etsy 鈥榮hop鈥. Etsy鈥檚 platform is designed so artists and artisans can set up an online store with potential to reach a worldwide audience of buyers, making it an ideal market place for entrepreneurs to launch a business selling anything from original artwork and photography to handmade crafts and vintage goods.
During the Sept. 15 workshop, Fitzsimons shared her personal experience of opening an online Etsy store to sell her handmade leather goods. She shared with students and grads how she manages all aspects of her small business, , including marketing, bookkeeping, as well as handcrafting all of her merchandise.
Etsy, she said, is an easy and low-risk way to get a small business off the ground without too much up-front cost.
Those who participated in the workshop responded positively to the experience. 91亚色 U Humanities grad Rachel Heffer said after attending the session, she鈥檚 determined to open her own Etsy shop selling vintage home d茅cor items 鈥 something she鈥檚 been thinking about for a while.
91亚色 u students and grads participated in a Career Centre workshop on launching a business on Etsy
鈥淚t was inspiring and encouraging to hear from a successful Etsy seller and be surrounded by others with a similar passion to pursue a creative business,鈥 she said.
Another attendee, Kinga Szymczyk, recently opened her own Etsy shop and said the workshop gave her the confidence to move forward with her Etsy plans.
鈥淪ometimes you need a little bit of reassurance that something is possible to get yourself moving forward," said Kinga, a 91亚色 Communications Studies grad.
Kinga is now selling some of her original photography on Etsy and says she enjoys the pride that comes with entrepreneurship.
The satisfaction of that first sale, she said, reinforces pride in yourself and your work.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no feeling quite like it,鈥 she said.
This workshop is one example of programming the Career Centre provides for students who are thinking about .
Julie Rahmer, director of the Career Centre, said the demand from 91亚色 students for workshops like this is growing.
鈥淲e hear from an increasing number of 91亚色 students who want to make a career out of doing what they love, or have a side business that allows them to be creative, and the Etsy workshop provided a unique opportunity for students to learn more about entrepreneurship,鈥 she said.
The Career Centre has a year-round on career planning and job searching. 91亚色 students and news grads (up to two years after graduation) can register for events on the .