Sometimes It Just Ain't Fair: Snooki's Etsy Shop

When I saw on the front page of Yahoo that Snooki opened an Etsy shop I had to see exactly what she might be making.  Now I've never watched the Jersey Shore, or any of Snooki's other exploits, but I'm aware of who she is.  When I saw that she immediately sold out of everything in her shop I wasn't surprised.  I also wasn't surprised to find that the items she is making and selling are nothing special.  I was more excited to read the comments because I knew exactly what everyone would be saying.

The comments would range from fair:

"Looks like something an elementary school kids would make for Mother's day."

"Not someone I would ever want, but I applaud her entrepreneurial efforts."

"Really? You took a #$%$ sharpie and wrote on a mug. Congratulations on passing preschool art class."

"Well, as a fellow Etsy seller, at least it's drawing more attention to the site, and possibly to other people's shops. I may not be a fan of hers, but maybe more people will know about Etsy, and all the other wonderful shops it has to offer."

To angry:

"Only an idiot would by this BS ! Reality TV is not real TV and these so-called TV stars are nothing but low-life televised idiots!"

"More useless, tasteless #$%$ from the high queen of famous for nothing. Congratulations, you idiots continue to make her filthy rich for doing nothing."

"No home is complete without an illiterate slogan written by this ignorant hosebag on your coffee mug. How stupid must one be to buy this #$%$?"

This one really took the cake on anger:

"these worthless #$%$ should be beaten until they are a blood pile of worthless fake #$%$ guts and bones they get everything handed to the for being a drunk whore on tv and now get to make even more money selling ccraptastic pieces of #$%$ on the web while real people get nothing they tell the poor and homeless work harder dont be lazy but when we put items up for sale no one even sees them because we cant afford the advertizing this system is so #$%$ stupid its beyond bearable death to all this #$%$ from the bottom of my heart"

But my favorite part was the conflict between these two comments:

"Snooker is a genius... The public is stupid for making her popular"

"It is confirmed that she is indeed an idiot."

So is she an idiot or a genius?  I suppose both might be true.  What can you learn from this?

1.  Look on the bright side
As the commenter above mentioned, when celebrities bring attention to a site like Etsy we all win.  Now maybe you've been in the Etsy game for a while and you can't imagine that someone doesn't know about Etsy, but let me give you an example.  Nearly all of my Mexican students know what Ebay is but almost none of them even know what Amazon is, let alone Etsy.  Maybe Mexico isn't your market, but I remember similar reactions in the US only a couple years ago.  There are still many many potential customers around the world that still don't know about Etsy.

2.  Use what you have
Snooki is not waiting for fancy equipment to begin making her stuff.  Yeah maybe it's just a Sharpie and some ready-made blank mugs, but that's ok.  She is using what she has, including catch phrases that are unique or representative of her personality.  She obviously has fans and she's giving them what they want.  

3.  Start!
Now I agree that the stuff Snooki is making isn't that great, however we all started somewhere.  She's getting a lot of crap for her crap because she's famous, but who knows, maybe in a year or two she will be making something amazing.  I have to give props to her for going ahead and starting.  Many people hold back because they are afraid to put something out there that is not perfect.  If we all did that we would never begin.  When I think of the first dolls I sold I laugh.  They were so simple and rudimentary.  But I have sold every single doll I have ever made and have continued to improve over the years.  So take a cue here and if you are someone who hasn't even started a shop yet, do it!

I know it can be frustrating when a celebrity or other person comes onto the scene and has seemingly overnight success.  Of course it strikes at the heart of those of us that have worked tirelessly for years to build our businesses.  However there is no reason to let it get you down.  You can't measure their success against yours.  Just keep working hard and laugh at all the nonsense!