Why Your Creative Teen Should Open an Etsy Shop + FREEBIE

Do you have a creative teen in your home who is wondering how to sell on Etsy? Maybe your kitchen table is covered with fabric or paint or macrame supplies as your high schooler makes yet another adorable product.

But what if she could open an Etsy shop, learn business skills, earn a profit, and count it toward credit on the homeschool transcript? Sound too good to be true?

Here’s why you should encourage this entrepreneurial endeavor and how to support your teen.

How to Sell on Etsy

Many people ask if Etsy is still a good place to sell handmade, vintage, or digital products. The overwhelming answer is still yes! This is mainly because of the huge customer base that Etsy has amassed on their site.

People know and love Etsy for the quality of the shops and products and routinely look for unique gifts there. 

You really can’t beat the millions of customers that Etsy will bring right to your shop. If your teen tried to set up their own online store, it would take much longer to bring in the customer base.

Plus, the risk is very low with setting up an Etsy storefront. Other than listing fees, which are only 20 cents per listing, you won’t pay any other fees until you make a sale. And, by using a referral link from a current Etsy seller, you can get 40 free listings. (Make sure you check out the FREEBIE in this post for a referral link!)

So the short answer is: Yes, Etsy is still a great online platform for creatives and your teen should consider opening a shop there.

Your Teen Will Benefit From Running a Business

There are so many valuable skills that your teen will learn when running a business.

Here are just a few of those life skills:

• Customer service
• Communication
• Organization
• Productivity
• Business finances
• Problem solving
• Critical thinking

Plus, entrepreneurial endeavors look great on the homeschool high school transcript! They can make your teen stand out from their peers when applying for scholarships and trying to get into college.

Learning to manage school work time along with business requirements will give your teen a little insight and practice into a “real life” working scenario.

In addition, when they open an Etsy shop, they will also be honing their handmade skill, whether they are selling crafts, digital products, or even flipping vintage items.

Selling on Etsy Can Count on the Transcript

If your teen is putting in the work to learn about business, and specifically selling on Etsy, then definitely show that effort, skill, and progress on the homeschool high school transcript! It doesn’t need to be complicated to do this.

You basically need to keep track of a few items to craft your own elective:

• Time spent
• Resources used
• Tasks
• Final project

High school credits represent between 120-180 hours of work. This is shown easily with 45-60 minutes of work on this elective for 180 days of school.

You can DIY a creative elective by gathering resources and helping your student plan a path forward. Or, you can purchase an online course that will have the steps laid out for your student.

Then, keep track of the tasks that your teen works with each day toward their final project.

What is their final project? It’s simply a grand finale to their elective which shows that they can use the information and skills that they have learned.

So, if your teen opens an Etsy shop, their final project might be a properly set-up Etsy storefront with at least 10 listings for sale. If they do the proper research and work, this would likely take a semester to complete.

Just keep a paper trail to back up the transcript. Using an elective tracking sheet will get the job done.

Additional Resources for Selling on Etsy

Want to help your teen become an Etsy entrepreneur? Check out these resources:

• FREE Etsy Quickstart Checklist
• Listen to a podcast interview with a successful teen Etsy seller!
• Etsy Quickstart Guide ebook
• Selling on Etsy Masterclass for Teens (save 20% with the coupon code MOXIE)

And don’t miss out on a limited time offer to grab a FREE ticket to the Life Skills Leadership Summit from 2/22-26/21. You will be able to listen to inspiring speakers who give insight and ideas into helping your teens in the areas of business, entrepreneurship, and other crucial life skills.

I wish I would have been taught these skills when I was a kid! – Carrie

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Abby Banks

Abby is a former public school teacher, now homeschooling her five children. She’s in the trenches just like you and knows it can be challenging to be home with your kids all day while you struggle to keep up with the housework and educate your kids (and maybe even work on the side!). She blogs over at www.4onemore.com and hosts the Homeschool with Moxie podcast.