Etsy Seller Interview with Julie of Jushmu

How Jushmu got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

Hey, I’m Julie, and I’m absolutely terrible at bios, but here we go! I’m a Canadian illustrator and designer who makes cool and silly things for cool and silly people. I first opened my Etsy shop back in mid-2016, while I was in my first full-time graphic design role outside of school. I tabled at my first comic convention that falls and decided that an Etsy shop was the perfect way to sell all of the extra inventory I totally thought I’d sell out of. Since then, I've been making enamel pins, stickers, and other items.

I used to base my products on things that I thought other people would like—which really isn’t a terrible idea; that’s a pretty basic sales technique. However, after several years, I’ve finally found out a bit more about who I am and what I like to draw, and thankfully, like-minded people have been like, "Wow, I like that stuff too; take my money!" But in all seriousness, it took a long time for me to find people who liked exactly what I liked, and I still branch out to things that aren’t necessarily too niche. Also, cats. Cats are always good.

When it comes to sourcing products, I’ve done a lot of research into different papers and printers for all of the products that I make in-house and different manufacturers for when I don’t have the tools (i.e., for my enamel pins and metal dice sets). Finding the right tools and manufacturers comes with a lot of trial and error and sometimes tears, but all of the information is thankfully readily available online.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

Oh, this is such a hard one because my answer will always change! Right now, I think I’m the happiest with my metal dice sets. Although making resin dice wasn’t meant to be for me, I was happy that I was able to find a manufacturer that was willing to let me make dice sets where each die was a different color, which was something I hadn’t seen being sold before (at least in the pastel rainbow colors). So even though I couldn’t make it by hand, I was still able to make something that at least seemed unique (and I still think it is). I’m sure someone out there will copy me eventually (haha). And on the plus side, they’ve been very well received, especially by those in the ttrpg community looking for less masculine metal dice sets! You can find them here.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

Truthfully, I’m not exactly sure since Etsy won’t let me see past November 1, 2017! I started in mid-2016, and I’m sure that I likely didn’t see many sales come in that year as I was not a marketing guru by any means. And frankly, I’m still not! A lot of my sales currently come either organically from Etsy or from my social media channels. I’ve fallen a bit behind in 2022 and 2023 with my social channels due to a variety of reasons, but mostly burnout. Burnout from being self-employed, from the constant algorithm changes, shifting to video, etc. But, thankfully, I’m still kicking!

Managing Jushmu

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

It’s all me, baby! Well, at least mostly—aside from taxes (I’m just not a numbers person) and occasional help from my best friend if orders get too overwhelming during holidays. Otherwise, I do all of the illustration, product design, sourcing, social media strategy, customer service, shipping and packaging, marketing—you name it. You really need to put on all of the hats when you run a shop by yourself (and maybe that’s also why I’m burned out, haha). When it comes to fulfillment, I ship packages out once a week (on Wednesdays). This is for two main reasons: it costs me $15 for a courier to pick up my international packages each week, and I’m the only person who still has some freelance work and a Patreon. Shipping once a week saves me a lot of time and money, and most people are totally accepting of it! If anyone ever needs something quicker, though, I always encourage them to reach out to me directly so we can see if there’s a faster solution.

As for tools or apps, I don’t use too many. For shipping, I use a company here in Canada called ChitChats. They allow me to ship packages in and outside of Canada instead of having to rely on Canada Post (whose prices are very high, iykyk). They’ve honestly been a lifesaver, and I highly recommend them to any small businesses in Canada that want to ship internationally for less. The other app I use is called Trunk, which is for inventory management across different storefronts. That way, if an item sells in one shop, it will be taken out of the other one. Trunk, on the other hand, is quite pricey, so I've been looking for alternatives in 2023! Having a good inventory management system is key, though, if you have more than one shop!

The future of Jushmu

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

Honestly, this year I’m looking into offering more digital products for some sweet, sweet passive income. Aside from that, my goals this year are to continue growing through social media and really find my "marketing voice." I have a really hard time marketing myself after working in marketing for 4 years, so I’m really trying to find more ways to connect with my audience more genuinely and less sales-y. On top of that, I’d love to make more apparel, preferably through local print shops rather than print on demand if I can, but I’d love to get some more hoodies and maybe hat designs! Who knows!

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

Unless you’re some marketing wizard, don’t expect to get a whole bunch of sales right away. And don’t feel bad about that either! It takes time to build up a shop, a following, a collection of products, and all that good stuff. That is completely normal and acceptable! Remember, everyone, grows at a different pace. Heck, it took me nearly 6 years to hit 10,000 on Instagram, when it took some of my friends less than one. What matters is that you’re proud of the products you make and that you’re having fun.

Also, don’t buy too much inventory to start. Always lower the minimum quantities until you’re confident that the product will sell. Heck, I still order pins in batches of 50, just in case. Some designs you love and think will sell out immediately might sit there for years, and I learned that lesson the hard way, haha. Heck, I still have some designs from four years ago!

Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: Totally dependent on the month. In slow months it might be less than 1k. In seasonal months it might be 3k+ (CAD).

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: Again depends on the product, but typically 60-90%.

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: So far this year in Etsy it’s 1.8%