Discover how one mom turned her passion into a thriving Etsy side hustle, earning $10,000/month in passive income. Get inspired by her journey and learn actionable tips to start your own digital product business today!
When it comes to turning a passion into a thriving side hustle, Rachel, the mom behind a successful Etsy side hustle bringing in $10,000 a month in passive income, has cracked the code.
Inspired by her love for personal finance and fueled by a desire to create a sustainable source of income, Rachel embarked on a journey that has not only transformed her life but also inspired countless others.
In this interview, she shares her story of starting Money Hacking Mama—from her first budgeting template to scaling a passive income business—all while balancing the demands of motherhood and her personal life.
If you’ve ever dreamed of starting your own Etsy shop or exploring the world of digital products, Rachel’s story is proof that with perseverance, strategy, and a little creativity, it’s possible to achieve financial freedom doing something you love.
Key Takeaways
- Start with Your Passion: Rachel’s journey began with her love for personal finance, leading her to create digital products that align with her interests and expertise.
- Invest in Education and Community: Joining courses and communities gave Rachel the knowledge and support she needed to succeed.
- Do the Research: Identifying trends, finding demand, and analyzing competition were key to creating products that sell.
- Perseverance Pays Off: Success didn’t happen overnight; Rachel committed to daily habits and stayed motivated even when results were slow.
- Leverage the Right Tools: Platforms like Canva and erank.com helped Rachel streamline product creation and market research.
- Focus on SEO and Marketing: Driving traffic to her Etsy listings through effective SEO and marketing was crucial to scaling her business.
- Balance and Flexibility: Establishing passive income has allowed Rachel to prioritize family and other life goals, proving that success doesn’t have to come at the expense of personal fulfillment.
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From Passion to Profits: How This Mom Built a Thriving Etsy Side Hustle Earning $10,000/Month in Passive Income
1. Can you share a bit about your background and what inspired you to start selling digital products on Etsy?
I have always been passionate about personal finance and financial hacks. For example, when I was 10, I told my mom I would find a way to pay for all my college (which I did).
Then, in college, I studied entrepreneurship because I was fascinated with money.
Rather than go straight into entrepreneurship, after I graduated, I worked in many types of jobs, from a non-profit to biotech to finance and finally in higher education.
While exploring different careers (none of which had me wanting to work in them until I was 65), I came across the idea of financial independence.
While in the early stages of my personal finance and FI/RE journey, I listened to many personal finance and side hustle podcasts. One fateful day, one of my favorite podcasters mentioned they would sell three new courses.
One was on blogging, another on selling digital products, and a final on freelancing. I was most drawn to the blogging course (which I bought), but the digital products course interested me, so I also bought that one.
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2. Before diving into Etsy, did you have any prior experience with entrepreneurship or creating digital products?
I studied entrepreneurship in college and had a handful of side hustles that never took off before I dove into Etsy.
While I never created a digital product meant to be sold, I had a lot of experience using Canva and felt comfortable with the platform to create unique and valuable assets because I had done that in many of my previous jobs.
3. What made you choose Etsy as the platform to sell your digital products?
I chose Etsy to sell digital products mostly because that’s what Gold City Ventures recommended. That being said, in hindsight, I still like the platform because it makes marketing easy.
Etsy is already bringing people looking for products to the website so you can access a large pool of customers. I also like that there isn’t a recurring monthly cost.
If you sell products, they take a commission, but if you don’t sell products, you’re not out a monthly recurring fee.
4. Can you tell us about your very first product on Etsy? How did you come up with the idea, and what was the process of creating it?
My very first product on Etsy was a budgeting template.
Since I was interested in personal finance, I thought I’d sell personal finance-related digital products. I created it using Canva and then made it have advanced features by using Adobe.
4. Were there any initial challenges or setbacks you faced when starting your Etsy shop? How did you overcome them?
My Etsy store didn’t make a sizable amount of money at first. It took me around 9 months before things started to take off. I think the biggest challenge with most side hustles is not feeling successful right away.
It’s hard to stay motivated when you’re not seeing results. Luckily, when I started my Etsy store, I was also studying positive psychology and had learned about the power of perseverance.
I was also part of a community of people also working on creating Etsy stores. By staying focused and seeing other people succeed, I was able to stick with it until the results came.
To do this, I built specific habits like committing to work on my Etsy store daily.
5. Passive income can sound like a dream to many people. How did you turn your Etsy shop into a reliable source of passive income?
I invested in myself to learn from people who had already achieved what I wanted to achieve.
In the past, because of my frugal nature, I would always try to DIY my education with free online resources. While this was a start, it was never enough, and it was very time-consuming.
I also benefited tremendously from being part of the course’s community, where I could get help when I needed it and also get inspiration that helped motivate me to keep going when I wasn’t seeing results.
6. How do you decide what types of products to create and sell? Are there specific niches or trends you focus on?
I do extensive research before creating a product to find opportunities with some demand and low competition. I focus on catching trends and creating products that will add value to people’s lives by helping them save time.
7. What strategies or tools have been most effective in scaling your Etsy business?
I use erank.com religiously to do market research before I make a product. I also use Canva to create my products.
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8. As a mom, how do you balance running a successful Etsy shop while managing family life?
Now that my Etsy store is established, I prioritize my family, and my store can be run from my phone in a few minutes a day. In the beginning, though, I had to make sacrifices.
For example, when my daughter was first born, I spent up to 10 hours a day creating products and working on my Etsy store.
9. What does a typical day look like for you, and how do you prioritize your time?
Right now, my days vary quite a bit, and I haven’t settled into a new routine. I just bought a house which is a fixer-upper, so I’ve been spending a lot of time working on it. My mornings and afternoons are dedicated to my family.
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I teach. The rest of the time is dedicated to working on my business the house, consulting, spending time with friends, and working out.
I prioritize my time based on what will have the biggest impact and help me reach my personal and professional goals.
10. Looking back on your journey, what’s one thing you wish you knew before starting your Etsy shop?
I wish I knew to do research before you make a product and to only make products that customers are interested in buying.
11. What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about starting their own digital product business but feels hesitant?
Just do it. The learning you’ll get from this project will help you tremendously. The cherry on top is that it can also positively impact your finances.
12. How important is branding, marketing, and SEO for success on Etsy? Can you share any tips?
I don’t think branding is that important to be successful on Etsy. Many buyers on Etsy think they’re buying from “Etsy” instead of from individual sellers.
While building a brand is great, I don’t think it’s necessary to be successful on the platform. As for marketing and SEO, those are vital to be successful on the platform. You need to find a way to drive as much traffic as possible to your listings.
This can be done by understanding SEO to rank organically on the platform. But it can also be done by being an excellent marketer or influencer and sending people to your store yourself via social media, ads, or other content marketing.
13. What has been the most rewarding part of building your Etsy business and achieving financial freedom?
The most rewarding part of building my Etsy business and achieving financial freedom is the ability to help others from my lived experience.
I’ve always loved to help people and share my knowledge, but it lands differently with people when you can share tips confidently based on your personal experience.
14. Are there any upcoming projects, goals, or new product ideas you’re excited about?
As I mentioned, I just bought a fixer-upper. I’m excited about the transformation my new home will take on. I’ve been exploring sharing more about this process with others, but I haven’t made a decision just yet, so we’ll all have to wait and see.
Final Thoughts
Rachel’s journey from experimenting with side hustles to building a thriving Etsy business is a testament to the power of persistence, education, and passion.
She’s shown that starting a digital product business doesn’t require perfection or a massive upfront investment—just a willingness to learn, adapt, and stay the course.
Her story is an inspiration for moms (and anyone!) looking to create additional income streams while maintaining a fulfilling personal life.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale, Rachel’s advice is simple yet profound: “Just do it.” The lessons you learn along the way can transform not just your finances, but your entire outlook on life.
If you’re ready to take the leap into selling digital products, let Rachel’s experience remind you that the rewards of financial freedom and helping others can be well worth the effort.
