In the world of online marketplaces, few platforms have made an impact quite like Etsy. Known for its handmade and vintage goods, the platform has become a go-to destination for shoppers looking for unique and personalized items. But for Emma Larocque, Etsy is more than just a place to shop — it's a way to earn a significant passive income.
At just 22 years old, Emma Larocque has already made over $126 000 in sales on Etsy in 2023, all while working only three hours per week.
In this article, we'll break down how she achieved these impressive results in passive income selling t-shirts and sweatshirts on Etsy, and what lessons other sellers can learn from her success.
“Financial freedom is important to me”, says Emma Larocque
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Let's dive into this article...
Getting Started
After graduating with her bachelor's degree in business management two years ago in 2021, Emma says that she knew she never wanted to be tied down to a 9-to-5 job.
She started freelancing as a social media manager for brands straightaway. Emma used Upwork and networked locally to find clients. She manages their Pinterest and Instagram accounts. Emma has a full-time clientele, but she works flexible hours.
Emma was looking to start an online business on the side that she could scale to create passive income.
Being out of college, Emma didn't have a lot to put into a side hustle. But it was really important to her to have a passive income alongside her social-media freelancing.
She researched entrepreneurial opportunities with low starting costs and came across Printful, which prints designs on clothes. Because she works in digital marketing, Emma has experience with graphic design software, so she was able to easily start creating designs.
Emma created a Printful account and linked it to an Etsy shop she'd started in November 2021.
Selling Products on Etsy
At first, Emma didn't know exactly what she wanted to sell and didn't do anything for a few months. She tried baseball caps in April and made her first sale, then she tried T-shirts and sweatshirts. Sweatshirts were a happy medium between selling a quality product that made customers happy and making a good profit.
She tried a few different designs using Adobe Illustrator. Emma opted for her designs to be embroidered rather than sprayed on in ink because it felt like a better-quality product.
Once an order is placed through Etsy, Printful automatically embroiders the sweatshirt with Emma's design and sends it to the customer.
She tried embroidering different designs on sweatshirts in November, and she started getting consistent sales.
“I sold the sweatshirts at a price of $41.62 per sweatshirt, which felt competitive but reasonable. I didn't want to mark the price up to the point where I wasn't competitive — or to sell the sweatshirts for more than they were worth.” Emma says.
Revenue Earned
Emma's revenue for last year from her Etsy shop was about $71,000, after Etsy's 9.5% transaction and processing fee. Most of the revenue was earned from November onward. She took home $24,000 in profit from June to December 2022, after paying Printful for the products and shipping.
Emma is able to get sweatshirts for a cheap enough price on Printful, with each one costing about $22.
She spends about $40 a day on ads on Etsy. Emma also pays for off-site ads, where Etsy advertises her items on other websites such as Google and Pinterest.
Although most of her sales don't come from off-site ads, for those that do, Etsy takes up to 12% of the sale price. Emma finds the ads to be profitable because Etsy doesn't charge her until someone clicks on them.
Succeeding on Etsy
Some people say that Etsy is an oversaturated market. However, Emma believes that if you bring unique ideas to the table, you can still be successful.
Emma looks at trends for her designs, whether it's pop culture or holidays. But she tries not to focus on what's doing well on Etsy. Lots of people just copy other people's designs.
Emma found the best way is to make designs that no one else is doing yet. One design really took off in late November. Her revenue shot up from $2,800 in October to $55,200 in December. She never thought that would happen.
She made $48,000 in profit in the first five weeks of 2023, and her revenue over this time was $126,000.
And by March 2023, sold more than 3,700 sweatshirts with that design. Those alone have brought in $157,000 in revenue. She believes that the surge in sales and positive reviews from her best-selling sweatshirt has helped to increase her shop's credibility with potential customers.
Emma’s Etsy Strategy
A lot of Etsy sellers on Etsy make their products by hand, which can result in a higher profit margin. However, Emma chooses to pay more to have her items made and shipped by Printful, but that's what keeps her shop passive.
Emma says that her Etsy shop wasn't passive at all in the beginning.
At first, she would spend from 5 p.m. to midnight working on her Etsy shop after finishing her social-media work each day. She was willing to keep doing that for much longer, but it was so exciting when her shop started working out a lot sooner than she had originally thought.
Now, she spends about three hours a week on it, mostly using that time to answer customers' questions and upload one new design every other day. Consistency is key because Etsy will see you as inactive and won't prioritize your designs.
Emma doesn't spend a lot of time pushing sales and doesn't even use social media to promote her business. Other factors, such as purchases and reviews, are already driving her sales a lot. She has sold about 4,560 items and became a star seller in November. She didn't aim for that specifically, though, as she tries to focus on keeping her customers happy.
She says that she lost her star-seller status in December due to delays in shipping around Christmas. It was frustrating, but she tried not to be too hard on herself about it because it was out of her control.
Future Plans
Emma says that one day, she would like to sell the sweatshirts on her own website as well. However, she likes that for now, Etsy does the marketing for her.
Eventually, she plans to make all her income passive in order to spend more time with family and friends. Emma had envisioned the shop would make her an average salary. She didn't picture herself making six figures from it, especially not as soon as she has.
“I'm making enough now from Etsy to be passive full-time, which would mean I could spend more time with friends and family,” Emma says.
Conclusion
At just 22 years old, Emma Larocque has already made over $126 000 in sales on Etsy in 2023, all while working only three hours per week. For her, Etsy is more than just a place to shop - it's a way to earn a significant passive income.
With the help of Etsy Ads and social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest, she has been
Able to turn her business into a lifestyle while earning 6 figure revenues at a young age.
