All the links you need: aleksheffield.com Comment on this comment what you want to see next 🍥👇

I'm seriously tired of always hearing about "how bad things are" as a way to deter people from starting their work.

I really appreciate your videos actually explaining information instead of just spamming to go through a workshop or a course you offer. Very informative and actually helpful!

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🚀 Starting a business may seem daunting, but starting early gives you an advantage. 00:26 🏞️ Success in business often involves emulating what works for others. 01:09 💡 Successful product selection involves analyzing reviews and profitability. 02:31 📊 Tools like Allura can help analyze a shop's profitability. 03:55 📈 Building a successful business involves modeling after multiple successful shops. 05:17 🤝 Wisdom comes from learning from others' experiences. 06:13 ⚙️ The Pareto Principle: Focus on the vital 20% of inputs that yield 80% of results. 09:59 🕒 Consistency and persistence are key to business growth. 12:59 🎥 Leave a comment to suggest future video topics. Made with HARPA AI

In the last few months I've been steadily going through KZfaq looking at this kind of content - PoD, Amazon KDP, Shopify, etc.. and I can say without a doubt yours is some of the best, most down to earth and usable content I've come across in all my 'searching'. I need to get some kinda side business going and it's a big job sorting all the wheat from the chaff, especially on KZfaq. I know there are plenty of creators who've been successful in these various pursuits, but as far as I'm concerned, you are very near the top of the list. The real world examples and instructions you provide in your content is useful, realistic and understandable. There's no getting around the fact that ANY idea like this is gonna take some work and some input and that success probably isn't gonna come overnight - even though in some cases it seems like it does! - but I'm sticking with you Alek! I hope you keep the great content coming! Lik'd and Sub'd for sure!

Hey Alek, GREAT video, thank you so much for posting. I was in a bit of the doldrums about my Etsy shop. I opened in March, had a couple of sales and got a review pretty quickly then NOTHING. I tried everything I could think of, I took loads of advice from all sorts of sources but still zilch. Then I saw your video yesterday and it really pepped me up. Hearing your story and how you turned things around has really inspired me and I now feel much better prepared to carry on my journey. I was determined not to give up but sales were so low I was thinking I needed to face the truth. Now I'm doing my research and putting in the work. Watch this space, next year I will write again and tell you how I got on! Keep up the great work Alek, your experience and advice are a real tonic to all us newbies out here! 😄

Alek, thank you so much for this! I launched my store last week and today I sold 4 shirts to the same person and I cried in the parking lot of Aldi when I heard the money sound from Etsy! I only have 4 items in my shop so far and working on adding about 15 more this week! Keep up the great content. I would love to see something about utilizing social media platforms like Fb Ig and TikTok to help drive customers to our stores!

The problem with the waiting game is, Etsy listings will cost a lot especially if you have 100's of listings. So prepare to spend money and time without making any money to cover your Etsy listing bills and any other third-party bills you may have to create your items. Then again, it all reflects on the saying "You need to spend money to make money". Good for you Alek, you got over the hump.

Thank you so much 😅for sharing your steps, your mindset, history, process, and your time! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 Your encouragement is so helpful for those of us on the verge of quitting.

ALEK!!!!! Today is my turning point!!!! Thank you thank you!!!! I am now where you were in 2020 and now I know that all is not lost....I am on my way!!!!!!! You inspire me!!!! Please keep it up!!!! ❤Christa.

Thank you for this video! I needed something to make me finally start and not quit just after a few months of not having any results. If I had not watched your video today, I was probably going to open my etsy shop and quit in two months after not having any sales. Now, I am prepared for what I need to expect, and I know I can do it. ❤

This video is a blessing. Thank you so much. I was almost going to give up on my shop (not a mug business but I may consider that in the future 😅) but you’ve given me a formula that makes it worth the effort. Taking notes.

You are one of my favorite YTers for POD bro, very inspirational and keep up the good work.

thanks for the encouragement!! I really needed that. Interesting to hear your take of "climbing their mountain." makes so much sense!!

Hey Alex. Thanks for another great video. I find researching designs the biggest hurdle. So many videos out there once you have a niche, but finding a niche idea would be a great video for us beginners. thanks and have an awesome day

Great work! Your perseverance and patience paid off.. Discipline is everything.

I appreciate all the information provided my man!! You definitely make it easier to process the information

Omg this is really motivating. I feel totally inspired, you clear things up so well. Thank you so so much. Great video.

Thanks for this, I’m going thru a slump in my mindset about my business not working out and this gives me some encouragement to keep going and make it work.

I needed to find your channel so badly. Thank you!

Thanks for your video! It was from your mugs video a few weeks back that I decided to start my own shop now with 20+ listings. This video is definitely validates the work I've been doing this past month.

Thank you for your leadership. Please keep making the hits. We are grateful.

very inspirational Alek, I currently have over 700 views and over 400 visits and just open shop in may, this video was just the boost that i needed right now thank you!!

This whole make 1000 listings thing is the most absurd feature of Etsy. And their algorithm isn’t just satisfied with that. They want you to continually add listings infinitely after that. Otherwise they will pull you from the search results. This seriously makes me reconsider using Etsy at all. Particularly if I am going to be bringing in much of my own traffic anyway from social media.

This video puts in context all of your other videos and really answers all the negative comments of people who are just trolling to troll. Great video!

Thanks Alek, clear and to the point with warmth and intelligence. Looking forward in 'eating your brains!' with patience of course!

It's refreshing to see someone showing what the real start of a business looks like. You need to give it time, keep moving forward, don't give up and the results will come if you are taking the right action.

Your video was superb! Don’t expect instant results….but keep on Keepin’ on!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great lesson for life in general!!

excellent presentation Alek. i love the growth curve graphs.

Thanks for all the info and relevant numbers, i have been on the fence about this for a while having a job and all, i got laid off and have decided to give this a shot. Thanks!🎉

I agree everything you said. Thank you so much all the efforts you put in on your videos. One thing I hope to watch on your future videos is how to deal with customers issues/complains. Especially during big holidays. Thank you so much again, you saved a lot of my time to do this business so I can use that time with my family.❤

Excellent video Alek. Reading some of the comments below I see that many still think Etsy is a magic lantern not a BUSINESS. You always deliver straight truth!

Very good information, clear and without sugar coating.

Thank you for this video Alek. You are awesome and gave me a lot of ideas for my photography business. I am gouging to watch your other videos and follow your lead. I have subbed already. Thanks a million.

Thank you for being honest about what it takes and how long!

I kinda understand what you're talking about. Have been at it for a few months, constantly learning, applying proven things to my shop & reworking others while also integrating my own thing. It's like a science project - doing things & observing the change. Quite fun actually.

You’re talking about automating the listings. How to do that? Maybe make a video about that please?

Great little video. Clear and concise and right to the point. I’m gonna take your advice and I’m gonna make this little dream happen. I’ll keep you posted on how I do.

Thank you Alex. This was Avery insightful video from the motivational framework, the incorporation of the 80/20 rule, and overall it did not make me feel like I was wasting my time watching YOUR video. Cheers

Thank you so much for all this!!! I am going to start today! I am going to use my developer knowledge for automation and get all those numbers ready!

Omg this is just what I need to hear, I open my etsy store about 4 month ago but uploading consistently probably the last 2 months 120 listings (tshirts) 0 sales... I'm learning everyday from you guys...and I wont give up, Thank you!!

Awesome Alek for transparency. Thankyou

Thanks for sharing! The most useful part, I think was seeing how to check what the actual net income was, instead of the gross- all the 'how to quit your day job and sell on Etsy' articles and videos tend to gloss over that, so I appreciate that you covered it.

Great video. I love the growth chart! I feel like it can pertain to my weight loss journey too 😂 most quit right before it gets going good! So much great info!

Thank you Alek!!! ✨🌹

Thanks for the insight and motivation, Alek

Great content thank you so much! I never even thought mugs were viable listings until I saw your videos.

Your video is awesome! Thank you for sharing!

Very helpful and encouraging! Thank you!!

Great video Alek! Thank's

Thank you again for excellent content, really appreciated what you did.

Thank you for your realistic expectations. Just like with anything else. Success takes time. Your examples of real timeliness and expectations is refreshing over the ones acting like this type of business is an overnight success. Love your channel. Thank you for sharing you knowledge and experience. I always love your examples.

Thank you Alex, I appreciate you!

Really like this video. It was very informative as well as motivating! Thank you for your insight and sharing it with us.

Thanks for another informative video Alek.

Thanks for posting the honest truth and how to just keep going!

Alek you're so encouraging...and detailed to explain to us...thank you so very kindly!

Thanks for sharing. I really appreciate all your help. Just about to start so the timing of this video is perfect.

Hi Alek, thanks for all the valuable information you're putting out there for us. I would really like to see a video on SEO and maybe something about ads as well. That would be really helpful for us, especially SEO. If you have developed some SEO best practices, can you share them with us?

Very useful video. Thank you sir

Really analyzing your videos and your explanations and it helps me a lot. Thanks! Other video topics maybe about how to automate and connect different shops with the same products for POD

Always love your content. Quick question, when you're editing your videos, do you use a particular software/plugin? I'm wondering about the slow zoom in & out in particular. Do you manually do that?

Your videos are so on point all the time.

Hi Alek. Thank You very much for Your great content. I've been watching your videos and it's my 2nd month on Etsy (no sales yet) . I'm doing my masters of engineering here in Finland. I've decided I'll make it through POD, no matter what. One question: will it hurt my apparel shop if I would add f.ex. mugs to my shop? Or should I set up another shop for mugs etc.?

Thanks a lot Alek for the motivational and practical video with tips and tricks, we will try to put into practice, Thanks

Excellent tutorial Alek! You're like the business coach I've always wanted! As to what more I want to see, I'd like to see online marketing techniques to drive traffic to your Etsy site such as Facebook, Pinterest marketing, etc. Also you alluded to automation, certainly I'd like to see how AI plays into this and how automation apps such as Zapier can streamline your process. Thanks again!

Great video thank you! I’d love a video on automating uploading, syncing between Etsy and Shopify listings, and automating keyword analysis.

Love the videos Alex! My girlfriend and I are starting a shop this week on Etsy based off of your videos. Would you recommend starting multiple though? I had thought about starting one for mugs and hitting 500 listings, then maybe starting another featuring a different product to increase chances of success. What are your thoughts?

Dope Content Alek🤘🏼😎💯💧 Needed this video.

my friend.. this video answered a lot of questions, just what i was looking for. It's time to shift the mindset and focus on amount of work put in each day, amount of skill put in each day. thank you.. Can you make a detailed video on market research, I would totally watch an hour plus video on that alone.

Thank you for this video Alek

Yeah you can see the spike just when Xmas is about to start. That probably a very key thing to keep in mind for new shops.

This is really really good, thank you. I'm looking at opening up my Etsy shop again. Hopefully I can do it better this time. I was making good sales but with movie related image and I want to go totally with my own creations this time... well based on well known themes I guess.

I feel this is way above my head and I didn't understand most of it. I have been looking at making money online for a long time but I guess I need a step by step walk through.

thank you so much for all of your great videos, you are honestly one of the most "straight to the point" and very honest people around youtube that is so clear about everything you do, but I have one question and I hope you answer it, is there any known solution for ETSY if my country isn't listed in it?

Your videos are so helpful. Thank you

Awesome video! 😍

I really like your videos man. I think you have shown me a different way of doing business on Esty. I started my focus on Etsy in Jan 2023, and well I still have not seen a penny. Yes, I am about ready to throw in the towel, but I am going to try your method you spoke of before I drop out. Thanks

Thank you, Alek, for sharing. It would be great if you could create a dedicated video about the ad. I know you've mentioned it in different videos

Hey Alek, thanks for this video and for sharing your perspective. Does this mean niche-one/two item stores are more profitable in general or, would one be okay to create a shop with a print-on-demand for several items and still make a good amount of revenue?

Alek ❤ may Allah bless you ❤ you are literally holding our hands and trying to pull us out from poverty... Worlds needs mentors like you.. your words feels unconditional and true ❤

Thank You Alek🧡

Thanks for sharing your knowledge🤑

Excellent video, thank you a lot

this was amazing and very very inspiring! I keep wanting to give up on etsy, so i needed to hear this thank you so much! How many listing did you put up, before your shop picked up? i would love to see a video about how to find trending designs with free methods! Thank you

Hey! Thanks for all the awesome info - when you were talking about months of growth I was hoping you'd go into detail about how many listings you were putting up daily/weekly/monthly or something. I work full-time and this is something I want to do but I need to know how much I should allocate daily/weekly. Thanks again!

I feel much better after watching this. I been in business little less than 2 months and only friends and family has purchased no real sales. I am at the same point should I give up? Etsy is slow and everyone is doing digital downloads. My concern is I work full time and work on the shop at least 35 hrs a week getting no where but like you just said laying the foundation. Thank you for the encouragment.

A step by step guide about how to set everything up and maybe it would be cool to get in small groups to go through the steps of creating AI Art and some more info about protecting your art and trademarks (some of the legal stuff)

Great Info!

Gr8 video. Thanks for your information

Awesome video sir!

I'd love to see a video where you break down moving to a shopify store and bringing your customers with you.

Thank you so much for this video, very inspiring, I am semi retired right now, not knowing where the next dollar will come from, however this video inspired me, it woke the old entrepreneur up inside me, I have a good feeling now where the next dollar will be coming from so to speak thanks to you.

Hey Alek, great video. Can you please talk about "brand" in developing a store? If say you had different styles or products in mind, would it be better to have two or three shops, each with a distinct development along a theme, aesthetic, type of product or branding? All the advice so far seem to point away from mixing. Thank you.

subscribed! just an honest channel :) thanks

Really useful. Thank you for this. I'm in the early phase of this myself now with just a few orders coming in as I develop traffic drivers and looking to work out next actions. For PoD products specifically, would be good to get a view on how - beyond just direct margin - you might want to assess suppliers and, critically, how to look out for signs that the massive effort of switching suppliers might be worth the investment.

This is so helpful! I'm 3 months in..always updating ..only 2 sales so far..i know I'm on the right path but it's been difficult to see others posting about how easy it is to make 10k a month with POD...I'd want to see more videos like this where you show benchmarks for new shops..what to expect in the first year. Thank you!

Thank you. Really. Thanks a lot. 🤜

this was very helpful... I think it gives the most realistic expectations of all... Just curious if there was anything in particular you attribute to your sudden growth and success... was it aligned with the 4th quarter? Did you start doing ads at that time... or was it just plugging along and suddenly BOOM?!!!

Great video!