Business owner worries

Since coming back from vacation I have been focusing on finishing up the projects for the contest that I plan on entering. I watched the statistics on our Etsy store, and started getting anxious. We changed some prices because nobody was looking at them.

Now, starting a new business can be an anxiety provoking thing. When you’ve got underlying anxiety issues, it can be a bit worse. While I didn’t consciously dwell on the what-ifs, it was always in the back of my mind.

The other day I realized what I had been doing and started to do something about it. I examined my thinking processes, and what I had been feeling about stuff. I read mental health stuff. I talked with Wood about our expectations for the business at this time. I read in the forums on Etsy.

This is what I came up with:

1. Statistics are a way of seeing how many “feet” enter our store, not a be-all and end-all of existence. (Kind of obvious now, I know, but sometimes we get rather wrapped up in our thoughts.)

2. The prices sellers ask on Etsy seems to be based on what “everybody else” charges rather than an actual pricing formula based on time and expenses. (That was rather discouraging when I read it.)

3. I am learning how to run a business. As one person on a forum put it, it’s like getting a master’s degree in business.

Since then we’ve had a bit more traffic in our shop – kids are going back to school, and moms have a breather??

So, I’m taking a calming breath, and forging on.