The Naptime Hustle Podcast

Unless you’ve recently avoided the online world you would have heard all the buzz about laser cutting machines. Well, I have a treat for you today! I sat down with a trusted leader in the laser industry, Emily, otherwise known as “That Mom With A Laser”. If you are interested in getting a laser cutting machine or you want to design SVGs for them, you will definitely benefit from this episode. Click the link and listen in as we chat about the most desired designs for lasers and all the excitement such as fumes, fires, and how to charge top dollar for your designs.

The laser cutting machine is on the rise in the crafters’ market and as SVG designers we need to stay on top of this growing industry. That is why, in this episode, I am sharing with you the action steps for staying on top and riding the Glowforge wave. You also don’t want to miss out on two resources I have for you when creating SVG files for Glowforge.

When it comes to niching down, what team are you on? Is it team niche down or are you of the mind that broader has to be better? Well, no matter which team you currently reside on you're going to benefit from today's episode with Mim Jenkinson of Love from Mim. As a fellow course designer and coach, she and I could talk all day, and we definitely agree on the one true keystone of both of our successes. If you want to know the truth too then grab your iced coffee and click the link to listen in as Mim and I have a laugh over our shared path to success.

"Kasey, I am so worried about copyright infringement and all the legal stuff when it comes to starting a business. Please help!" I get sent questions like these pretty much every other day, and I just want to say. Girl, you are not alone! In today's episode, I bring on Amira Irfan who is a business lawyer, seven-figure blogger, and coach at A Self Guru, an online company that helps entrepreneurs make money online and legally protect their businesses. We have a much-needed conversation surrounding legal compliance on our websites to copyright infringements to trademarks.

It’s here! Come take advantage of my annual list of Etsy and design trends for 2022. You’ll hear the details of Etsy’s trends and insights article and my list of what you should be selling in your shop this year. Plus Etsy has seen growth in this customer type and it will change things for you. I hope these predictions help your business to be profitable this year. Enjoy!

It’s that time again! This episode has become a tradition and my favorite. I'm constantly watching and looking for the trends to help my own business so I have a nose for what direction things are heading in. Are you ready to hear my 2022 SVG trends and predictions? If you don’t want to get left behind, click the link and listen in as I cover which 2021 predictions came true and what you should be selling this year!

If you run in SVG circles then you know about Etsy, but in this episode, we’re talking about Design Bundles and we’re comparing the two. My guest, Aubrey Tate, has seen great success in her Etsy shop but about six months ago she decided to open a shop on a second platform. She’s spilling the tea on all the similarities and differences plus I asked if she has a favorite. Grab your earbuds and click play to listen in as Aubrey shares the deets on both platforms. 

This week, my guest, Etsy shop owner Whitney Cawood, is sharing with us how focusing on her strengths and making pivots to maximize them is growing her business and her income. The changes she has made have led her from teaching first grade to owning her mockup shop on Etsy. Listen in as Whitney lays out the things you’ll need if you want to grow your own mock-up business, plus she let us in on a few secrets to her success. Some of them came from advice I gave on my podcast. Grab your earbuds and listen in as Whitney and I talk about how honing in on your strengths and pivoting when necessary can lead to growth in your business. 

It’s a new year so it’s time to set our goals. We’ve all been there. We set our goals, we are on board and ready to go, but then it takes approximately three and a half weeks for those goals to fizzle out and go “Pop”. Not this year! This year I am going to help you set some goals that won't fizzle out by the end of January? I’m sharing the steps that I use to set my goals and I found an article from Forbes to compliment what I am already sharing with you. When I use these steps I hit my goals almost every time so grab your pen and paper, settle in and click play to listen.    

As I said last week, these last few episodes of the year are all about the “How” when it comes to getting ready for the new year. This week I’m showing you how to reflect on your business from this year and use that information to set the right goals in the year to come. I’m discussing what areas you should look at and I’m giving you specific questions to ask both yourself and your customers. Asking the right questions about where your business currently is will steer you in the direction you want to go for the new year. I break down each question to help you understand why it’s vital and where to get the answer. I’m also going over a list of variables you want to consider when you review all of this information. This year-end review is a good way to make sure that your business is exactly where you want it to be and that you're headed to the place where you can see yourself being for the rest of your life. If you’re setting up your goals for next year then I invite you to click the link and come listen to the Podcast!

Are you planning out next year’s content and listings? Here’s some help for you. I’ve been at this for a while and I’ve learned a few tricks to simplify the process. In this episode, I’m sharing my step-by-step process to plan out your content and listings then map them out in the calendar for the new year so you can implement them without all the overwhelm.  Listen in as I go over my process, why I choose to plan for months instead of the year, and what I need you to start doing right now to make this process easier on you next year.

As my business started needing me more in capacities outside of design I realized that I needed help with creating designs for my Etsy shop. The first thing I thought was “Can you even do that?” The answer is Yes, you can hire someone to create your designs and it’s made a world of difference for me in my business. These days I’m still the main designer but outsourcing parts of the designs process to somebody I trust has been such a blessing and a big weight off of my shoulders. If you are feeling pulled to other parts of your business or you just want some help with designs then listen to this episode, where I share why you should outsource, where to find the help, and the tips that made my experience worthwhile.     

One of the things we have in common is that our goal when we started our businesses was to be successful, earn money, do something we love to do, and have the freedom to live our lives. That’s why I want to give you a special treat. In this episode, I’m interviewing Jonathan Marks, our very first male guest on the show, but more importantly, he is a Print-on-Demand shop owner who started his business and within the first year he hit Six Figures. Listen 🎧 in as Johnathan shares the details on what it takes to be successful, his methods for saving time, and he shares his personal POD vendor preferences. Grab your hot cocoa and your earbuds then click play!!! 

Do you feel like it’s way harder than it should be? I understand where you are! I was there before! When I first started out I thought surely there was something wrong with me. Nothing I tried fit me or my life. I thought I would never succeed. The secret was that I had to find my special thing. I’m so excited to talk about this because you might find your special thing today. In this episode, I’m talking about my list of pros and cons of selling digital designs on Etsy vs. selling physical products. If you’re intrigued with this whole digital design thing then put in your earbuds and click play to listen as I go over why selling digital designs has me so passionate and wanting to teach other people. Oh, And there’s a special announcement you don’t want to miss.

 The holidays are on their way. Do you want to take time away from your shop to be with your loved ones? If you do, then hear me out! In my experience putting my shop into vacation mode, or paused, always led to a slump in my sales while I was away. In the beginning, I was too afraid to take time away, and then when I did, I thought I had to settle for a drop in sales, but over time I’ve learned little hacks to automate my shop beyond the already automated business that selling digital files on Etsy is. If you want to spend your vacations from your shop stress-free, knowing that everything is taken care of then listen to this episode, where I am sharing my list of secret sauce solutions to automated Etsy sales while you’re on vacation.

This time last month, we were talking about creating your first marketing funnel. Episode 111 Creating Your First Funnel - The Necessary Steps to Automated Marketing. I hope you listened to that episode but if not, you might want to start there. In this episode, I’m sitting down with growth strategist Michelle Fernandez and we’re talking about the nitty-gritty of funnels. There is so much value in this episode I can barely fit it all into these show notes.  We covered What funnels do, why you should be using one, the types of funnels you might use, how to get the most out of them, the most important parts of the funnel, and the mistakes that newbie funnel builders make.  I know that just like me you want your business to be a success.  We work so hard and sometimes I think we might be working too hard. So, If you want to learn how to use funnels to help you increase your conversion rate then grab your notebook, put in your earbuds, and get ready as Michelle dives deep into the “where”, “what”, and “how” of using a marketing funnel.        

I’ve noticed that marketing has one of two effects on new business owners. Either they try all the marketing strategies out at the same time hoping something will stick or they pretend that marketing isn’t something that they need to do and avoid it altogether. Whether you’re brand spanking new or you’ve been at it for a while we all struggle with confidence when it comes to marketing. In this episode of The Naptime Hustle, I’m sitting down with Chelly Ontis from We Can Make That. Chelly is sharing her 3 steps to avoiding overwhelm when marketing your creative business. If you want to find out how easy becoming a pro at marketing can be then grab your pen, paper, and earbuds, settle in and take notes because you’re leaving this episode with a marketing action plan.  

Do you know what’s scarier than Halloween? 👻 For me, it’s seeing a new business owner on multiple platforms! Sadly the percentage of their focus on each platform is probably not significant enough to help them be successful. They are always juggling platforms and never going all-in.  Are you that entrepreneur?  Imagine for just a moment that you chose one platform and you were dedicated to making it the most rewarding part of your marketing strategy. What do you think the outcome would be? If you said, “Ah-Mazing Growth” then you’re right on the money💲 Pardon the pun! In this episode, I’m sharing how to find the right platform for your business, get the most out of year one, and stay focused along the way. Plus I have an assignment for you that you’re going to want to begin working on right away. Tune in to get the 5 steps to going all-in and witnessing real growth.