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Today, I am thrilled to host a special guest: crafting influencer and educator Amy from Amy Makes That! She is living proof that in today’s world, your business can be whatever you dream it to be, thanks to the magic of social media. 

Amy spills her secrets on how she turned her creative passion into a thriving business, from rocking a YouTube channel to mentoring and selling digital templates. 

Are you curious about how she does it all and how she, as a crafting mentor, can help you start a crafting business? Join us as Amy shares her story, from the early days of her business to where she is now. Plus, she’s here for the real talk on entrepreneurship, success and hard-earned lessons she’s learned along the way! 

Amy, also known as “Amy Makes That” is a seasoned Cricut crafter and content creator sharing unique project ideas, tips for beginners, and craft business advice. She is eager to help crafters reach their full potential with their cutting machine and hopes to inspire every person who comes across her platforms.

Amy’s Resources:

The CBDP (Craft Business Digital Planner) Waitlist 

Free Niche Guide For Craft Businesses 

Shop AMT

Ways to connect with Amy: 

Blog: amymakesthat.com/blog 

Instagram: @amymakesthat

Instagram Broadcast Channel: AMT Makers Group

Facebook: @amymakesthat

YouTube: @amymakesthat

TikTok: @amymakesthat

Pinterest: @amymakesthat

Website: amymakesthat.com

Questions answered in this interview:

• How did you get into crafting? 
• With a YouTube channel, several social platforms, a mentorship, and plenty of digital templates, how do you do it all? 
• Can you give us some pointers on how to choose the best niche? 
• As a crafting influencer and small business mentor, how do you help small business owners? 
• How do you define success in this season of your life & how has it changed since you started your business?
• Can you tell us a little bit about your business journey and the work you took to get here? 
• What are the top three lessons you’ve learned along the way on your business journey? 

How did you get into crafting?

I actually only started this journey back in 2018. I was researching side hustles because I was a full time college student, pretty broke, and wanted to make extra money on the side. So I started researching different cutting machines because I loved to craft and make homemade gifts for people. I thought the Crucut looked pretty easy to navigate and found out it was! 

I worked full-time, went to school full-time, was very involved in student organizations on campus, all while starting the process of a craft business, selling to friends and family. In 2019 as I got more established in crafting, I struggled to find quick but equally value-packed videos that would help me with certain cricket projects. So I thought to myself, since I loved video editing, why not start a YouTube channel? Literally, the rest is history.

It’s crazy how immediately I threw myself into crafting and everything snowballed from there. If you learn anything from my story, it’s to just go for it!  Starting this business was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. 

With a YouTube channel, several social platforms, a mentorship, and plenty of digital templates, how do you do it all?

I tend to take on too many projects than I can handle, which meant I burnt out very easily in the beginning of my business. Now, I’ve learned the hard way that I can’t take on too much. One thing that’s benefited me is just learning to stay organized, and a huge help has been theming my work days. 

Theming my days worked out so well for me because I wasn’t trying to edit every day or film every day. Instead, I batch different tasks all at once. It took me, like, four years to finally build some consistency in my schedule but honestly it’s made such a difference because now I have more time for myself. 

I’ve been able to stick to a morning and evening routine, plus I’ve had more time to go to the gym, read, and just take care of things that need to get done around the house. 

There are some people who can start a TikTok channel and YouTube channel and do it all at the same time, and hey, to each their own. But it’s important to know your limits and not overwhelm yourself by trying to wear all these hats and be a multitasker. 

I first started with YouTube, and once that felt pretty established, I worked on Instagram. Then I worked on TikTok and started adding YouTube shorts. I focused on one platform at a time and did my best to stay in my lane.

Can you give us some pointers on how to choose the best niche? 

This is probably one of the most asked questions I get in my comments and DMs. For starters, I have a Niche Guide For Craft Businesses that you can download for free, explaining what a niche is and the top five niches you can get into.

Most people don’t realize if you try to sell a bunch of different products without a specific theme or niche, it’s tougher to keep customers coming back for more. A niche makes it easier for you to build a loyal customer base. So if you want to have consistent sales and consistent customers, you can’t just be a one-stop-shop.

That being said, when you’re just starting your craft business, it’s okay to sell a variety of products. This helps you figure out what you enjoy making, what you don’t and what customers actually like. Eventually, you can narrow down to the sweet spot of making products you love AND within a niche that’s in demand.

So yes, feel free to make everything at first. But I’m telling you, once you narrow down and figure out your niche, that’s when the money starts coming in.

As a crafting influencer and small business mentor, how do you help small business owners?

YouTube channel & other social platforms

This is like my main hub. Chances are, if you DM me a crafting question, whether it’s about my favorite vinyl or places to buy blanks for your business, I have a YouTube video on it. That’s the first place I recommend binging and watching all my content. 

You’ll also find quick and helpful short-form videos on my Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. And of course, on all these platforms, I’ll offer live streams as an opportunity for you to talk to me and ask questions in real-time.

1:1 craft business sessions, social media sessions, and Q&A sessions

Through paid 1:1 sessions, I help crafters who are either looking to launch their business, make sales, grow their social media presence, or simply get their questions answered. I love being able to help people in real-time because it helps me learn more about the community I serve too. 

How do you define success in this season of your life & how has it changed since you started your business?

Oh, that’s a really good question. When I first started, I was in an imposter syndrome era where I didn’t believe I deserved all the opportunities that came my way. I wasn’t confident and treated myself poorly. 

Today, I finally earned the 100K subscriber plaque from YouTube, which was my number one goal since starting this business. I look at it everyday and think to myself, wow, it’s amazing that I get to do this for a living.

Gratitude is huge for me. I’m always thinking, writing, and saying what I’m grateful for everyday. That’s what success means to me right now.

Can you tell us a little bit about your business journey and the work you took to get here?

Yeah, it was definitely a roller coaster. This pertains to anyone, but whether you’re a content creator or a small business owner, there will be a lot of ups and downs and it’s going to be a bumpy ride. When I first started YouTube, I originally followed the route of being an Etsy seller and simply vlogging about my business journey.

But a pivotal moment for me was when my Etsy shop got deactivated, out of the blue. So I created a series on my YouTube channel explaining what happened and why it happened. I definitely cried about it and thought I’d have to go back to my 9-5, which I didn’t want. Then something hit me — I realized this couldn’t be the end. I couldn’t just give up on my YouTube channel.

So from there, I researched on how to start a craft business with a Cricut with the goal to inspire as many people as I could. It was the best decision I made career wise because that’s when I saw growth and my community started building more. 

To be honest, to this day I still don’t know why my Etsy shop deactivated. But if it had never happened, Amy Makes That wouldn’t have existed at all.

Overall, a lot of my journey has been finding blessings in all the bad moments and not taking every downfall as something to beat myself up about. I made mistakes, we’re all going to make mistakes, and that’s okay. But the reward and everything that will come after is so well worth it.

What are the top three lessons you’ve learned along the way on your business journey? 

Mistakes will happen, don’t be afraid of them 

I mentioned this a bit before, but don’t view mistakes as bad things. Always take them as lessons and try to find the blessing in them. Chances are, that mistake will help you grow in the end. It’s okay to make mistakes because we’re all human, no one is perfect, and that’s how we improve.

People’s actions and words are never a reflection of you

As a content creator, I’ve learned a lot about people. Maybe you’ll be posting on social media for a while, but when a video goes viral, you immediately receive troll comments saying that your content sucks. Or maybe you have friends and family in your life right now that don’t support your craft business. 

I used to take a lot of those things to heart. I was an avid people pleaser. I wanted to make sure everyone loved me and approved of me. And if something went wrong, it immediately changed my mood. But in reality, when someone doesn’t support you, or someone goes out of their way to push negative energy toward you, just know that it has nothing, NOTHING to do with you and it has everything to do with them. 

Think about it: no mentally sane person spends their time trolling people’s content, right? So when you’re putting content out there, you’ll start to learn a lot about who your real friends and supporters are.

Take care of yourself

I’m not talking about listening to relaxing music or taking a bubble bath. I’m talking about being mindful of how you treat and speak to yourself. Like I said before, there was a time when I loved a lot of people more than I loved myself. I was never confident. I mean, I’m 28 years old and the fact I was so negative toward myself and my business up until now says a lot.

Going to therapy helped me realize I don’t need to be a doormat for people. When you put so much energy into pleasing others and they don’t give you that same energy back, it completely crushes you. That’s why it’s so important to set boundaries and start saying no. If you don’t, you’ll get extremely burnt out or maybe even resent the work you’re doing. 

As a craft business owner, you know how easy it is for friends and family to ask you “Hey, can you make this for me really quick?” And that “really quick” turns into a 4-5 hour project that you could’ve spent working on for a potential customer. It’s okay to say no and it’s okay to be the “bad guy”. The people who get mad at you for saying no and for practicing boundaries are the ones who never respected them in the first place. And for the people who graciously understand when you say “Hey, I’m busy I can’t do this for you right now,” keep them close and tight in your circle. 

Self-care is really, really important. It’s not selfish at all. Don’t listen to anyone else who tells you it is. 

If you’d like to learn more about how to choose a niche as a craft business owner, download Amy’s freebie, the Niche Guide For Craft Businesses. If you’d like to dive deeper into this interview, tune in to today’s podcast episode here 🎧. 

Talk soon,

Michaela