How LittleHamCollection 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?
Hello! I’m Amanda, owner and creator of Little Ham Collection on Etsy. We design and sell printable party items. We create everything from invitations and signage to water labels and chip bag covers. My love for graphic design and the desire to stay home when my son was born was the kickstart of this company. I left the corporate world of marketing and never looked back. I’ve always been one to sit in front of a computer and just create—it’s what I love to do. You know what they say: do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life. It’s true.
My inspiration started when my son was born. I wanted to fulfill all of the fun party ideas. There are just so many & personalization is key for any event. I figured, why not take what I know, what I love, and snowball it into a business? a business venture that still allowed me to be a stay-at-home active mom and also sit in my inspiration daily. Mix all of that with a little hip hop, love, and design and you get the Little Ham Collection.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
Some of the favorite items in our shop are the hip-hop inspired designs. We’re the family that's pulling up to football practice bumping a little 90’s hip hop. My son can recite every (edited) Biggie lyric-so it’s our thing. I said my inspiration comes from home, right? Yepp, mini-me inspiration daily. I’d like to think we specialize in this niche.
A couple of other designs that are popular and our fav’s are all things arcade and video game style for parties! We are big gamers over here too, and it’s definitely a popular niche these days. I always find it best to design what you know-it definitely shows in your work.
When looking through our shop, you will also find some more modernized designs for teens and adults-with marble patterns, glitz and glamor because I had to include some of my own inspired style as well. It seems like all things glam are popular with teens, especially for those celebrating a sweet 16. We dabble in a little bit of everything in event designs ; we can be your go-to when it comes to digital products for birthdays, baby showers, and every other special occasion.
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?
We surprisingly had a strong start back in 2016. We started selling and getting sales in our first week of being open. Within the first month, I had no regrets about leaving the corporate world-as I was bringing in a comparable income just from Etsy alone. Honestly, that is why I put in as much work as I do today—I saw so much potential in our growth and even more so now. This is now a true full-time job for me. I am completely hands-on with all of our customers, from editing to design preferences and helping with downloads.
We try to attract customers by finding missing pieces in a niche. I design based on what’s needed and fuel that with some inspiration and my design style. We also like a very clean mock-up look. This seems to work for us—the design is the main focus in all the photos. We do invest a monthly budget into Etsy ads, and being a top-earning shop, we are automatically enrolled in off-site ads. We love the revenue that the offsite ads bring in-anything advertising, we are all for it. We also spend time on Pinterest; although Pinterest was stronger in our earlier days, we are currently revamping our approach on that platform and moving more into social media, but to this point, Etsy has been a large source of our traffic.
Managing LittleHamCollection
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?
At this time, it is only me who is running the show. There will be expansion in the future. I would love to bring on another designer to widen our style choices in our shop. I think I am, at this point, willing to share this second baby of mine. As for tools and apps on the front end of things;
Templett
I used to complete all the editing of our designs and email the final print files, but 2 years ago I started converting the shop into self-editing Templett’s. Templett is a popular front-end editing tool in the digital world now. You can edit and download your purchases instantly. Customers love the ability to customize their products a step further and have immediate access. Giving the reins to Templett has also allowed me more time to keep designing and bring new things to the shop. However, for those who do not like the editing aspect, we are always happy to help. Customer service is always our top priority, and we understand the tech and app side of things aren’t everyone's favorite, but the majority of our customers love this aspect of our shop offerings.
Apps and Tools on my side of things:
Adobe Photoshop & Adobe Illustrator
I designed everything in these 2 applications. I’ve been designing for almost 20 years and have always been a die-hard Adobe addict.
Etsy Creators
I also love to support other creators on Etsy by purchasing commercial use artwork and placing it in some of our designs with a twist of my own style.
Quickbooks
We use this for all of our bookkeeping—Etsy syncs with the platform and makes organization and tax time a breeze.
As for shipping, at this time we do not ship any physical products-this is another option in which we may extend our services. We will have to see. Digital products have become so popular that I personally have not been pressured to offer printed items. However, we also sell on Zazzle for all things printed and fulfilled that are offered within their product lines.
The future of LittleHamCollection
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
I would love to increase our social presence. We have built a recognizable brand, but I am working on balancing my time to dedicate to social platforms. After we gain traction, we would love to open a full-service stand-alone website to increase traffic. Etsy will forever have my heart, though. We are not leaving.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Jump in and do it. Honestly, don’t overthink it. It’s a learning curve, but you will learn it. Study market trends, use strong keyword phrases in your SEO, keep your main photos clean and appealing.
If you are wanting to create designs -I will say this, avoid copyright material at all cause. Do not go off of the fact you saw another shop use a logo or character in any designs - it’s illegal. We are a shop who gets witty with our designs & wording, but avoids infringement at all cost. This will get your shop closed and I promise you can become successful on the platform without doing it. Be creative in your own genius.
Ultimately, you are building a brand and a business - there will be ups, downs and all around learning experiences, but stay true to your work. Do not give up and stay focused on just getting better every day. Instant results are not reality, but you will scale your business as it grows and create your own success story. Trust me, it’s possible.
Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers.
Feel free to share these if you like.
Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: In digital sales, there isn’t much of an overhead cost. I can honestly say our profit margins are right around 80/20, seeing as our only costs are design subscriptions, fees and advertising.
Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: Our conversion rate stays right around 3.8–4.2%.
LittleHamCollection
Printable Invitations & Party Designs
