How GirlFridayAcrylics got started
Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?
I'm Becky Arrowood, and I am the owner and founder of Girl Friday, maker of the Original Acrylic Calendar. We design, manufacture, and assemble floating acrylic calendars, acrylic fridge calendars, chore charts, number magnets, modern cork boards, and business boards. In 2013, I had four kids, and life was crazy. I needed a wall calendar so everyone could see what they had planned for the day. I had been trying different kinds of wall calendars for a few years and could not find one that I liked, so I started making my own. I contacted a local frame shop, and I had a custom frame made with acrylic (plexiglass) for the surface. I discovered that acrylic is a fabulous writing surface for dry-erase and wet-erase markers. All the calendars out there were made of cheap materials that did not erase well, ghosted, and stained.
I also wanted cute number magnets to put on the calendar, so I researched how to make those. It took me about 2 hours to make one set of number magnets. I knew that was not sustainable, but I had to see if people would actually buy them, so I made all the number magnets myself for about 9 months. I listed the calendar with the number magnets on Etsy, and someone bought it! Slowly, I got more and more sales. I researched how to source in China, and I contacted a company to make the glass numbers. I remember getting the shipment and being so excited as I opened the box. I could not believe it—the numbers were beautiful, vibrant in color, and way better than my homemade ones.
After about 2 years, I invented the floating acrylic wall calendar, the first of its kind on the market. I also invented a magnetic acrylic fridge calendar, as well as the Modern Cork Board, which was also the first of its kind on the market. I had no idea where to source acrylic, how to print on acrylic, and where to find the cool standoff mounts. I did tons of research, debated using acrylic or glass, and had prototypes made by local suppliers. I remember contacting an acrylic cutting company, and they said they could do what I needed. I emailed them, saying "OK great, here is my order!" They emailed back and said, we don't see a PO attached. I had no idea what a PO was. I had no business experience prior to starting my company, so everything I did was totally new to me and required tons of research.
After a couple of years, I hired my first employee, and at one point she said, I don't know how you live like this. I had stuff everywhere - frames, boxes, acrylic, etc. We shipped out of my dining room. I found a one-room space in a strip mall not far from my house, and I signed a one-year lease. As my business continued to grow, I took over more and more space in the strip mall and hired more employees. In 2019 I applied to be a part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 small business program, a 9-week program for small business owners. I learned so much, and it totally changed my perspective on the growth of my business. A year later I moved into a 5000sf warehouse and then took over an additional 3000sf when we bought a flatbed printer. We moved all manufacturing in-house that we had outsourced previously.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
My favorite item is our customizable clear acrylic calendar. They are so sleek and modern, and they erase like a dream. It is a piece of art that helps our customers be organized. The whole family can see, at a glance, what is going on for the day. They can be customized with a family name as well as sections like Notes and Menu or Groceries and To Do. Our designer will make them just the way our customers want them.
Getting sales on Etsy
How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?
It took six weeks before someone bought my one and only product on Etsy. Then the sales started to trickle in. For years, my products sold themselves; people were actively searching for a better reusable wall calendar. When I developed our acrylic calendar, that was when things really took off.
Managing GirlFridayAcrylics
How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?
It used to be only me. After a few years, I hired my first employee. Now I have 12 employees, including a warehouse manager, an office manager, a graphic designer, and order fulfillment employees. I used to do almost all the shipping myself; it was actually really fun. I still do some customer service, but mostly I am now focusing on growth. We assemble and ship all our products. We have a daily FedEx pickup.
Shipstation: Shipstation is far superior to Etsy Shipping. For one thing, Etsy does not allow you to change a customer's address and have it saved; that used to cause us so many headaches. I wish I had started using Shipstation much sooner. We can use our own FedEx account, set up rules and automation, and easily send return address labels. We can redirect a package since we are using our own FedEx account. And I get FedEx rewards! I have set up an alert in Shipstation that notifies me if a customer orders from Hawaii or Alaska so that we can contact the customer for the additional shipping charge. Shipping a large package to Hawaii and Alaska can add considerable shipping costs. Etsy does not provide a way to charge more for Hawaii and Alaska.
Rollo Printer: We love these little thermal printers for printing shipping labels. We get free shipping labels from FedEx.
TextExpander is invaluable. We use it for quick and consistent customer service responses and communicating with vendors.
CopyClip. This is a clipboard app on my Mac toolbar where you can copy and paste dozens of lines of text, not just the last line of text you copied.
Shortcut Bar: I use this to quickly access documents I use frequently.
Box: We put all our custom files in Box to have access on multiple computers.
ADP for payroll and Quickbooks Online for accounting
The future of GirlFridayAcrylics
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
We want to grow our brand by focusing on our marketing efforts and showcasing our high-quality, original products.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Don't just copy what someone else has done. Come up with your own original product. Figure out what people need that is unique and original. Know that sales do not come easy, especially at first. You have to be willing to really work at it. Also, be prepared to be copied. It is inevitable and disheartening. Try to stand out and make your product the best it can be.
Say yes. When a customer asked us to design a board for real estate agents, we said yes, and now we have a thriving business board shop on Etsy. But be cautious of too much custom work. If it is taking too much of your time, either charge a lot more or turn it down. If you have multiple products or sizes, try to focus on what is most popular. You may have to let some things go, even if you have worked really hard on them.
Good photographs are key. You must have good lighting, good backgrounds, etc. You can buy mockups for photographs.
Become computer savvy. If you are not good at using your computer, learn how to. Watch tutorials or take a class. I use my computer all day. I am biased toward Macs. For years, I met with trainers at the Apple Store to learn all that I could about my computer (back when they had Apple One-to-One). They also have phenomenal phone support.
Document everything. Where did you get that material from? The price you paid? Did you make a shipping deadline announcement for Christmas? Make an alert that recurs each year and write down all the details of what you did. Make an Excel or OneDrive document that documents what you purchased, the SKU of what you purchased, quantity, from where, contact information for the company, etc.
Keep a running document for social posts and ad ideas. When you see a post, a caption, an idea, music, or an idea pop into your head, immediately document it for future use.
Once you have employees, you will need to get workers' compensation. Shop around for this! I had Utah's Workers Compensation Company tell me that I would get the same rate, regardless of who provided the insurance. Not true.
Hire a bookkeeper to help you with your books. There are some you can just pay by the hour. Once you get bigger, you will need a CPA that works with small businesses.
Assign SKUs to everything. This will make things much easier if you grow. Once you move into a space, label everything with an SKU. Label your products, your boxes, etc.
Be prepared for negative feedback. Most customers are genuinely nice. But we have learned a lot from customer feedback, some of it negative, and made changes based on it. We try to be as accommodating as possible, even when we feel like we are in the right. Make your listings as clear as possible. Know that there will be the occasional customer who is downright mean.
Reach out for help. Contact other business owners to ask for advice. Most will be happy to help and want to give back.
Lastly, turn on 2-factor authentication everywhere. Your Etsy shop, your bank account, your Instagram account, etc.
GirlFridayAcrylics
The Original Acrylic Calendar ™
