from Everything I Know .... A Tale of Two Shops

Chapter 1 Part 1: A Tale of Two Shops

Total strangers are well, strangers. That means I don’t know them and consequently, they don’t know me. An online business is really a virtual relationship. You end up selling, buying, and dealing with total strangers on a daily basis.

It was quite an eye opener when I realized that having an online shop meant I would have to get comfortable with meeting, knowing and even liking complete strangers.

For me, it was an odd concept at best. I am a fairly private person and I don’t make good “close” friends very easily. So now, I had new virtual friends from a virtual community. It was very strange indeed.

Somehow, I had 'met' and liked a few shop owners. People who attracted me to their virtual personalities. We would hang out in the Forums. I liked their posts. I respected their generous advice, and I even laughed out loud at their jokes. This is crazy! I don’t know these people. They are strangers.

But watch and listen and learn, I did. I browsed their shops, stalked their Forum posts, read their blogs, listened to their advice, and mostly, absorbed their online presence.

So, I became a huge fan of a few. It was easy to do.

So, this is the story of the first two shops that caught my attention on the Etsy Forums way back in January. To this day, these shops do not know who I am, but for me, I am still a big fan.

Moral of the story? Virtual friends can teach you some valuable lessons.

Next Post:
Chapter 1 Part 2: Littleputbooks