We were lucky to catch up with Sierra Alford recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sierra, thanks for joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

I most definitely take vacations. I actually chose to start an at home job not only because I like to be creative but also to make it possible for my family to take day trips and vacations. My husband works extremely hard but we live paycheck to paycheck. I didn’t want my kids to grow up and not have fun memories of visiting places. Owning my own business allows me to be able to do this for them and not stress about finances.

Sierra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I first started my Etsy shop when my son was almost a year old. I wanted to continue to stay home with him and bring in extra money to help take some of the stress off my husband. I started making things I knew I wanted and then my friends wanted it too. They shared my business with everyone they knew and it grew into something I was very proud of. Over the years I have changed to making different things from stand stamping metal to owning a laser printer.

One of my favorite things to make is memorial pieces. I have my customers send me pictures of their loved ones that they’ve lost and I engrave it on wood so they may keep it forever. If they have something with their writing on it, I have also added that to the engraving too. As much as it saddens me to make them, it also makes me happy to be able to do this for them.
My most popular piece is my wooden name tags. Everyone loves how beautiful and unique they are and the magnet on the back has been such a hit. I love when someone comes to me asking for a custom name tag that is unique to just them.

The product I have the most fun making is my crystal and resin moons. I get to be creative and make some of the most beautiful pieces of art. Every one of them is one of a kind. I have gone to the crystal and mineral shows to pick out the crystals I add to each piece.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I sell mainly on Etsy. I started back when it wasn’t very big and I have just continued to use it. It is a great way to get see but since it is a lot bigger and more saturated, you definitely have to continue to advertise on other social media accounts.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I wish I could say I have social media mastered, but I don’t. Before the algorithm started, Instagram was the number one way I got most of my customers. Luckily I have quite a few still following me. But I’m order to keep people seeing everything, I would have to post more then I have time for. Now I mainly use it to show off my work now.

Contact Info:

• Website: Nothingbutglisten.Etsy.com
• Instagram: Nothingbutglisten
• Facebook: Nothing But Glisten

Image Credits
Headshot – @aliartandphotography Product pictures- @capturing.prana