I partnered with college students to make over 56,000 sales on Etsy

Starting my business looked much different in reality than what most people would imagine. I've been asked: "What did your business plan look like?" and "Certainly, you must have taken an Introduction to Business Class!" But in actuality, the road to The Painted Press looked much more like an eighteen-year-old in her first semester of college with a small holiday budget and an idea.

It was the fall of 2014 when I created my first jewelry dish. Having recently finished a job as a nanny, and with no other job prospects on the horizon, I was strapped for cash. It was my first semester of college, but since I was taking half of my classes online, I found myself with a bit more free time and decided to DIY my way through the holidays. I wanted to create something simple, elegant, and personalized for my mom, sister, and friends. I went to Michael's with $10 in my pocket, a coupon, and an idea I thought could work.

After a few not-so-cute attempts, I landed on a process that worked and created a gift that I was excited to give. The jewelry dishes were really well received and several people told me I should list them on Etsy, and so I did. That's when it all began!

After listing the dishes (I had two designs at the time) I went on with my life and almost forgot about the whole thing. Weeks later, when I received my first order, it truly blew my mind. I was so happy and amazed that someone would actually want (and pay for) something I had made. After this initial order was placed I took a few pictures and uploaded them to my Etsy listings. New orders gradually came in and with each one, I was given the opportunity to refine my practice, work on my packaging, and learn hard lessons such as how to handle negative feedback. The growth was purely organic and slow, a process I believe is crucial to long-term success since it allowed me to work out kinks before more demand was created.

Approximately one year after I listed those first designs, everything changed. The first year had seen enough growth that my sister had come onboard to create additional designs and do a lot of the painting. We were working at it several days a week and shipping out around fifty orders a month. It wasn't generating a significant amount of money, but I was nineteen, living at home, and also had a part-time job as a caretaker. However, things changed significantly on November 16, 2015 when The Huffington Post published an article naming the "Top Personalized Gifts" for the upcoming holiday season and my dishes came in at number one. 

Going from a year of organic growth to an overnight explosion of orders made me quickly realize the necessity of hiring some help. Honestly, as a nineteen-year-old, the thought of having people work for me was scary. Fortunately, there was a group of family and friends around me that had seen what I was doing and who were more than willing to take a chance on me. My team of two quickly became a team of seven and that holiday season is etched in my memory as the most intense growing pain this business has ever seen.

As the business began to explode in growth I knew that payroll, bookkeeping, and all the legal aspects would need to be taken care of. This would add a whole new layer of complexity and certainly challenge my time management skills.

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