As the New York Daily News reported, New York City has a new idea for helping low-income New Yorkers earn some extra cash: “turn them into Etsy sellers.”
According to the city’s website, the NYC Craft Entrepreneurship Program is a training program that enables artists and craftspeople to supplement their income and improve their well-being by starting independent, creative businesses online.
The NYC Craft Entrepreneurship Program is provided by the NYC Department of Small Business Services in partnership with Etsy and funded by Citi Community Development. Through a special curriculum that will be taught by experienced instructors (who are also successful Etsy shop owners), participants will learn to start and set up their online business. During the course, participants will learn by doing within their own online shop. The program’s ultimate goal is to enable graduates to earn supplemental income.
The subjects covered in the five classes are:
- Becoming an Entrepreneur
- Branding and Marketing
- Product Photography
- Day-to-Day Business Strategy
- Planning for Growth
Etsy ran pilot programs in New York and in Rockford, Illinois, explained in this Etsy blog post, that said the Rockford class included men and women with skills including woodworking, jewelry making, photography, stationery, and more.
In a year-end review published in December, Etsy said it had a total of 69 participants in the pilots who opened 22 Etsy shops and made 41 sales on Etsy. Some participants also felt inspired to sell at craft fairs and generated additional income there as well. Read more about it on the Etsy blog.
