SELLER STORIES Evenlight Eagles Blowing Rock, NC etsy.com/shop/evenlight I’ve been a leather artisan for many years and did craft shows before opening my Etsy shop. I was never great with computers, but I knew I could make so many more sales if I had a way for people to find their way back to me when they weren’t ready to purchase at the show. I’m a self-employed single mom, and it took me a few years but I just made the leap this year to homeschooling my daughter. The flexibility that my creative business provides has a lot to do with that transition. Recently, I applied for some assistance from a local organization that helps micro-entrepreneurs like me with managing the less creative aspects of my business (like tax, bookkeeping, and management). Programs like these are important in building a strong people-based economy. Success for me is being happy and having the freedom to live life to my own standards. Being a creative microbusiness owner is so fulfilling and allows me to spend quality time with my daughter. I’m actively building toward expansion and intend to grow my business to provide flexible family conscious employment for other local women. It’s time to support the microbusinesses who are driving the new economy. As the economy continues to shift in ways that make independent work more commonplace and desirable, Etsy sellers’ experiences should inform and shape our understanding of the future of work. Many Etsy sellers and independent makers are businesses of one, and face very different challenges from even a ten- or twenty-person company. Yet, most government programs for small businesses tend to be siloed and overlook the needs of these creative entrepreneurs, focusing instead on helping small businesses become big businesses by offering low-cost loans and assistance related to hiring employees or obtaining government contracts. These services are important, but less relevant to a microbusiness owner who wants to increase her sales and improve the efficiency of her business operations. Many microbusiness owners define success on their own terms, 13 2017 Seller Census Report