How To Stop Comparing Your Craft Business To Others

Spread the love

If you spend any time at all online, you’re probably comparing your craft business to others. I used to do this all the time, especially when I was just getting started. It just made me so frustrated and I had to figure out how to stop comparing my craft business to others so I could just focus on growing my own business.

Most of us grow up comparing ourselves to others all throughout school and even adulthood. We’ve been compared throughout our lives by other people who influenced us. It’s really silly when you think about it because we are all so different that there really is no way to compare, but somehow we find a way.

The problem with comparing your craft business to someone else’s is that what people show online is only part of the story and usually the best part. They don’t always share the struggle that they had to go through to get there. Comparing yourself to others on social media and other places online can be an endless rabbit hole that you may never get out of if you believe that what people are showing is the whole truth and not just the shiny best parts.

Also, in most cases that person did not set up their handmade shop on the exact day that you did. They also don’t sell the same craft products you sell or have the same type of customers.

Are you starting to see how ridiculous it is to compare our own handmade businesses to anyone else’s?!

Another HUGE factor is mindset. If the person you’re comparing yourself to has a super positive mindset about business and has a true belief in themselves and their ability to have a thriving business and you’re full of self-doubt and don’t know if this online craft business is going to work for you, then there is no comparison.

The truth is if you really believed you can and will have an ultra successful business, you wouldn’t even be worried about what anyone else is doing anyway.

Here’s how to stop comparing your craft business to others.

Work on your mindset around your craft business and belief in your success.

Do you believe that your handmade business will be successful? Do you believe it’s hard to grow a craft business? Do you believe your handmade products are worthy of selling? Do you believe you’re worthy of success? Do you believe you’re worthy of having money?

Once you have your answers to the questions above, look deeper into them. Why do you believe that? Where did you get that idea from? How can you start believing that you are worthy, you will be successful and that it’s easy to have the handmade business of your dreams?

I would suggest that you dig into these beliefs on a daily basis to really start understanding them and how to change them to positive beliefs.

You could also try using some positive affirmations that feel good to you. Just be sure your affirmations are something you can actually believe. If they are too far fetched, you won’t believe them and they could have the opposite effect.

Once you have a strong belief in your business and yourself, you won’t need to compare your handmade business to anyone else’s. You’ll know you’re on the right track and that you deserve to have all the success and money that you desire.

I listen to a success hypnosis while I’m working that just says a bunch of positive things about how I deserve to be happy, successful and rich. When I first started listening to it was a couple of months after I started my Etsy shop. I would be working on the very few orders I had or making new products to list and my phone would go CHA-CHING while I was listening to that success hypnosis!

Stay away from places online that cause you to compare your handmade business to others.

The times when I found myself comparing my craft business to others is when I was in Facebook groups for other handmade sellers. People posting their success with their Etsy shop would trigger me to start wondering why I wasn’t getting that much traffic or getting that many sales. I would wonder what are they doing different than I am? It would make me feel like I wasn’t doing enough or that my products weren’t good enough.

What I had to do was quit going into those groups. The amount I was learning in them was far less than the amount of bad feelings they were bringing up about my business. It would send me into a frenzy of trying to figure out what else I could do to promote my shop and I ended up doing things that didn’t feel great. Or I would unnecessarily start tweaking my SEO for the millionth time.

And I wasn’t thinking about the fact that their products are completely different from mine or that they could have a huge social media following or they’ve had their shop for 5 years.

Just focus on what feels good for you and your handmade shop.

If you’re doing things for your craft business that feel good and are fun to you, you’re a lot less likely to be worrying about how to do it differently to get someone else’s results. Most likely they’re getting the results they have because they’re doing things that feel fun to them.

If you like promoting your handmade business on social media, do that. If you enjoy making videos to teach your customers how to use your products, do that. If you like using Pinterest to pin your Etsy products, do that. Pick a couple of things and focus on them. Just MAKE SURE THEY ARE FUN FOR YOU!

There are hundreds of things you can do, but you only need ONE THING to work for your business to be successful. ONE THING! How easy is that? And when more than one thing starts to work, your business will grow at lightning speed.

Enjoy where you’re at in your craft business journey.

If you feel like you’re struggling, you’re probably learning something from the experience. Take a minute to think about that. What could you need to learn from this moment?

I had to learn the lesson of patience during my journey to success. I’ve always been impatient and I was definitely being impatient with my business success. Once I just let go of holding on so tightly and needing to control every little thing and let things fall into place, my business really took off.

I know that sounds hard to do when you need money right now or you just want to show yourself and everyone else that you can be successful with this thing that you’re putting so much effort into. When this really clicked in for me was when my boyfriend told me “We don’t really need the money. Just do your thing and have fun.”

It was like I needed permission to let go, but I wasn’t giving it to myself. How can you give yourself permission?

Make your handmade business everything YOU want it to be and don’t worry about anything or anyone else.

If you want your handmade business to succeed, you have to stop comparing yourself to other craft businesses. Your journey is completely different, your products are completely different, and YOU are completely different. And it’s all a good thing!

Be yourself. Do what you love. Have fun. Know that you are enough. Know that you deserve all the success. And if you believe it, you will have it.

You’re creating this handmade business for yourself so you can be happy, have fun, and have the freedom to do things your way. Don’t fall into the trap of doing things the way you think you HAVE TO because that’s what someone online said. This is your business and your life. It belongs to you and only you. So make it exactly how you want it to be.