Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

How This Program Lets Etsy Businesses Grow Quickly A new tool helps DIY-ers turn into full-fledged manufacturers.

By Jenna Schnuer

This story appears in the February 2016 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Makayla Lee Photography
Okolita’s work, cleared for takeoff.

The feathers were killers. Ellen Okolita is a former florist and a stay-at-home mom who sells handmade children's costumes, and cuts "miles and miles" of felt feathers for her popular, whimsical outfits. There was no way around the process, and it limited the growth of her business. During last year's Halloween season, Okolita had to shut down her online Etsy shop, Tree + Vine, after booking as many orders as she could handle -- about $14,000 worth, at roughly $60 a pop. "I have long envisioned some sort of machine to help me cut feathers," says Okolita, who is based in Gray, Maine. "But I realized that might not be superfeasible because I work from my living room and don't have space for a machine."

And then came hope.

This is a subscriber-only article. Join Entrepreneur+ today for access

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

Taylor Swift Reportedly Pays All Restaurant-Goers' Checks to Clear Out Restaurant For Her and NFL Star Travis Kelce

The star was spotted at Arrowhead Stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs game Sunday night alongside Kelce's mother.

Business Models

4 Ways to Increase Efficiency Within Your Business

If you can make these kinds of changes with confidence, you can pave the way for your company to survive the present and thrive in the future.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2023

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2023.

Starting a Business

Its First Year, This Startup Struggled to Get 75 Clients. Five Years Later, They Have 18,000. Here's How They Did It.

Financial planning startup Facet knew they were targeting a huge untapped market. But getting clients wasn't as easy as they hoped.