I’ve been following Jess Van Den from Create and Thrive for a couple of years and have listened to most of her podcasts. She began her career as a science teacher in Australia, started making jewellery for fun, then selling it online which then led her to eventually make Epheriell her full-time job in 2010. Jess set up an etsy shop to sell her handmade jewellery and had many people ask her questions about selling online. She began Create & Thrive to teach others how to turn their handmade hobby into a thriving business. To listen to her complete story tune into her first podcast: Episode 0 – Jess’ Story.

Jess offers many ways to help individuals learn the business of selling handmade items online. Some of these are free like: 10 Essential keys to successfully sell handmade products online. Others such as, Set Up Shop are fee based. All of her information is very practical, down-to-earth, and realistic. One of her sayings: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint”. It takes time, patience and the willingness to persevere to attain your goals.

Part of being successful is knowing what your goals are. Jess is offering a 30 day free course that I am participating in called: #MakingItPodcourse. Each day for 30 days, Jess talks about mindset, money, marketing, and business management especially for those who are makers. None of the podcourses are long, ranging in length from 10-20 minutes. She refers back to her podcast list for those who would like more in-depth focus on the topic. Each podcourse has an action item for you to consider each day and a printable one-page course summary. Although this course started the July 1st, it’s not too late to start. I encourage you to do something, don’t wait until everything is perfect before you begin. There is no perfect time or set of circumstances. Just begin, remember it’s a slow steady marathon!
