Only you can save us now.

Forgive me if I start to ramble, I really had no intent behind this post when I started it. It's just what's on my mind right now, with no real cohesiveness to it.

I'm still waiting for this "holiday rush" I keep hearing about on Etsy. Everyone else seems to be pretty busy, especially the soap sellers. Everyone wants soap for the holidays. I wish I had the money to buy all my presents on Etsy, or to make them all myself. Mostly what I need is money to pay my bills, that's the most important thing right now. Not to get any more into debt than I already am. But, that's a side-effect of investing in your own handmade capitalist venture. You need to spend money in order to make money. And I have made money selling on Etsy. A lot, in fact. In the last 8 months that I've been selling I've had 52 sales, one of those being a wholesale order for 28 pieces. All those profits though, went to buying more supplies to improve my business or tools or paying off credit cards that I used to start up my business in the first place. And there's still so much more that I need to make to "get out of the red".

Etsy just seems so slow for me lately. I was hoping that will the sudden drop in gas prices, people would start spending a little bit more. Especially now that it's the holiday season, people are doing a lot of shopping online for their Christmas and other holiday gifts. Trickle-down theory, I suppose. But I guess it's working the other way and people are tightening their belts even more, because of the recession we're in, because of the Bailout Plan. It makes it so much harder for all of us on Etsy, and anyone else who sells handmade.

Now that I've broached the subject of economics, I might as well touch on politics as well. Usually I stay clear of political topics when I'm talking about my business. I don't like to mix the two. But I will say this. To all those people out there who are bashing either candidate - use that energy to CHANGE it. Your vote CAN and WILL make a difference. But not if you don't use that right to vote. Don't just sit there and whinge about it when you can DO SOMETHING. I want to encourage everyone to get out there and make a difference. Please, for the sake of this country, help us.