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I quit my warehouse job after starting an Etsy side hustle that made $67,000 in profit in 10 months. Here's how I escaped the 9-to-5 grind.

Dec 21, 2022, 15:53 IST
Business Insider
Erik Soto Ayala, 23, quit his warehouse job after launching a successful Etsy shop.Erik Soto
  • Erik Soto Ayala, an ex-warehouse forklift operator, started a side hustle to escape the 9-to-5.
  • He was willing to start selling anything and researched Etsy products that had minimum competition.
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This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Erik Soto Ayala, a 23-year-old entrepreneur selling engraved wallets on Etsy. It has been edited for length and clarity.

While I was thankful for my warehouse job as a forklift operator and floor product stacker, I wanted to escape the 9-to-5 grind. I knew there was more to life than just clocking in and out.

I quit my job in October after almost four years — handing in my two weeks' notice was one of my most freeing experiences ever.

I was quitting because I'd launched a side hustle six months earlier and was making more income than my salary. I made $2,600 a month at my warehouse job. In September, my side hustle made $26,000 in revenue, and I took home $14,300.

I tried launching side hustles before, but my Etsy store was different

My side-hustle journey wasn't easy. I tried launching side hustles in the past — Fulfillment by Amazon, investing in cryptocurrency, drop shipping, and even social-media management — but they all failed. I spent between $2,000 and $3,000 on each venture, working overtime to finance them.

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My Etsy endeavor was different because I wasn't chasing an oversaturated market.

I researched products with low competition instead and improved on what was already out there. Rather than selling brand names on Amazon, I saw a big opportunity with personalized gifts on Etsy.

From wood crafts to embroidery, I was open to starting an Etsy store for anything, and I was constantly brainstorming, watching YouTube videos, and reading blogs by successful Etsy sellers.

By the middle of January, I stumbled across a video on laser engraving that caught my attention. I had never heard of or seen a laser engraver before. I felt in my gut that this was my product.

From January to February, I'd sometimes spend up to eight hours after work researching the Etsy engraving market.

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I invested in the best laser-engraver package I could find, which cost me $1,200. I started working overtime in January to save up money to put into my Etsy store. I had saved up enough to buy the laser engraver by the end of February.

The next step was deciding what to engrave. At the beginning of March, I found myself needing a new wallet, and that's when it hit me: "Why don't I try engraving wallets?"

I landed on a niche product that didn't have much competition

After searching for personalized wallets on Etsy, I saw massive potential. There were only two or three competitors on the site. I thought I could offer a better product and better customer service than what was out there. I'd noticed that the comments at my competitors' stores were mixed at best.

I spent $200 to buy a small order of wallets from Alibaba. When it arrived, I tested the engraver on them, and it looked great. I invested another $400 to start building my inventory.

My fiancée took product photos using my iPhone, and I uploaded them to my Etsy shop. Five days later, my first sale came in.

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I knew customer service was something I could control and use to differentiate my store, so I committed to providing the best customer service. This meant replying to customers' comments as quickly as possible and ensuring next-day shipping.

Prioritizing customer service helped me gain an audience quickly

May was the first month my business was open. I had 16 orders, which totaled $521.20. I made it a point to keep in touch with my customers through Etsy messaging and sent a notification when their orders shipped.

My competitors were shipping three to five days after a purchase, and customers sometimes received their orders two weeks after purchase. I was processing orders the next day. I think this is a big part of why my store took off.

By June, I had made nearly $1,000 in sales. At that point, I was buying bigger bulk orders of wallets to keep up with demand. As sales increased, I knew I had to do something different. I was still juggling my store with my full-time job.

I purchased a second engraving machine in July so my fiancée could help with fulfilling orders. I organized my time into two blocks: engraving and packing at night and customer service early in the mornings and during my breaks at work. This helped me manage work and the Etsy shop.

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My Etsy shop was successful enough that I quit my warehouse job

After six months, I'd generated over $80,000, and I quit my warehouse job in October to take my business full time.

I ran Etsy ads to test new products and spent $3,500 over the first six months. I now mainly rely on organic Etsy traffic. I selected a market and a product that people seemed to like, and as long as I deliver great customer service, I believe sales will continue to grow.

By the end of November, I'd made over six figures in revenue in only seven months of selling wallets on Etsy; $67,000 of that was profit.

I control my hours and can be creative while running the store with my fiancée. I invest everything back into the business. I'm hoping to start paying myself a salary and have saved some money in the event the store slows down, but right now, I'm very excited about its future.

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