enJOY it

Stay organized : Sort your email into folders to keep track of shop orders. Have a system for marking things as paid and shipped. Keep your inventory sorted as well so you don't run into the problem I have dealt with twice where you re-sell something that you have already sold.

Keep a spreadsheet : Spreadsheets are not for everyone. I get
that. But it is important to track what is coming in and what is going
out. Not only so you know if your little venture is succeeding but so
you know what you made for tax purposes down the line. I have a
spreadsheet with two columns – INS and OUTS. Every etsy order, workshop
seat, custom journal, gets entered in the INS column. Every etsy
payment, supply purchase, studio rental, postage charge goes into the
OUTS. I have worked out all sorts of calculations to tell me how much I
have made vs. how much I have spent and what percentage of my gross
income (how much I took in) is net income (how much I took in minus
expenses). I am careful to track my spending so I know where my OUTS
are going : fees, shipping, supplies, packaging, letterpress rental, or publicity.

Check shipping costs : Unless your are shipping Priority Mail only, postage is not a one size fits all and treating it that way is a very easy way to lose money. Take packaged samples to the post office and write down what rates will be. Do not guess. You could under price and come up short OR over price and your item will lose some value in the eye of consumers. In your shipping cost, consider the price of your mailing envelopes or boxes. Consider your etsy and paypal fees. Consider the amount of effort it will take you to get larger items delivered to the post office. Be sure to charge accordingly.

Pay yourself : When calculating how much to charge for something, do not just consider what you paid for the raw materials and then add a few bucks. You have to add your time. Did the item take you an hour to make? How much do you deserve to be paid per hour? How much are you losing by NOT working an hourly wage job? Also consider that not only did you pay for the materials, but you paid for the tools that you worked with and the desk that you worked on.

Publicize : Consider reaching out to blogs that
frequently feature products similar to yours. Here is a great post
from Design*Sponge about contacting design bloggers. Non paid editorial
features can work wonders. It may also be a good idea to advertise on blogs or
purchasing a table in curated marketplaces like Poppytalk Handmade. Many blogs may offer unique opportunities to their sponsors, like editorial content or the chance to host giveaways. (Giveaways mean links, links mean clicks to your stuff. Clicks mean eyes. The more eyes, the more opportunities for purchase.)

Consider your small venture a job : Again, this is not something that is for everyone. I think a lot of small shops work perfectly as a hobby and that is how they were intended. If, however, you would eventually like your shop to be your career, start calling it that. Think of it as a real job with consistent hours. Set realistic goals and work towards them. Do not push them to the side just because you can. If this was your real job, and a boss was standing over you, you would need be expected to deliver results. Same goes for this – only you are your own boss.

*These are my thoughts. Just some tips I have mulled over while in the process of building my own little shop. They may differ in opinion from yours and that's good news. It means there are many ways to succeed. I also recommend the book Craft, Inc. There is so much good stuff in that book about starting a business from scratch, pricing your product, advertising, ETC. Great read and reference.