The end of an era...

Why I closed my business and what my plans are for the future.

Hi, I’m Sophie and I write about how to slow down and live a simple more calm life. I’m passionate about slow living and I truly believe that we don’t have to live busy stressful lives. I’d love it if you could subscribe and join my community, it really is a beautiful space to be.

A few weeks ago I sold my printer and closed my print shop for good. I’ve been stuck ever since. 

If you didn’t know, for the last 7 years I’ve owned and run my own print design business called The English Print Co. 

I opened my print business in 2016 as a way to not only be creative and decorate my own house, but to also allow me to go part time as a nurse and bridge the gap in my income. 

The thing I wanted from my print business the most was freedom to work from home, around my children. And it did just that. 

The first few years were amazing. I learned SO much about running a business and I loved all the back end admin that came with it. The bookkeeping, the spreadsheets, the stock take, the customer emails, everything. 

Designing the prints was so good for my creative brain, and selling the prints was the cherry on top. Being paid for something that I loved doing, it was wonderful. 

During the covid years, my Etsy shop boomed. I’d sold more in those years than I did in the entire 7 years I was open. I sold that many prints that I stopped home schooling my children and focused on earning as much money as I could while I had the chance. 

So, why have I closed my print business if it was such a success? Well, because things (inevitably) changed after covid, and now my life is going in a different direction. 

Firstly, you need to understand that running a business is hard work. It’s a job that requires you to be constantly ‘on’, and I found myself replying to customer emails on Christmas Day (holiday delays were NOT fun!). 

It’s also hard to keep pricing low for customers, but still be paid for your work. Not to mention factoring in all the expenses that come with running a business such as software and design programs, card stock, packing and shipping supplies, as well as the ever increasing fees that came with listing on Etsy and running a website. It’s a lot, and I didn’t want to increase my prices any further, meaning I was earning less and less of a profit. 

Then comes social media. Instagram allowed me to grow my business quickly in the first few years that I was open. This was a time that Instagram was an amazing place to be - it’s heyday if you like. It was pre-algorithm and growth and connection was something you came across daily. I was able to pop a post on my grid and my customers saw it, interacted with it and headed over to my Etsy shop to buy. I truly knew my followers, I knew what they did for a living, what their children were called and how they liked to decorate their homes. This made it super easy to design new prints and create a new collection. Id create a print and knew it would sell, and it did. 

And then Instagram changed. I wasn’t reaching my audience, and I was lost as to what they liked. I found creating new designs difficult and I kept getting it wrong. My sales slowed and I lost touch with my customers. The only people who bought from me now were strangers who shopped on Etsy and who’d discovered my prints through Etsy search. This was fine, but it felt… disconnected. 

In this time I’d started working as a virtual assistant for a company. I’d accrued so many skills whilst working in my own business that it made sense to use those skills to help others in need, and make money in the process. 

I stopped creating new designs for my print business as I was working full time as a VA. I didn’t have the time to work on my own business for such little return, and so I stopped working on my business entirely. Slowly my designs expired and my sales reduced even further. 

The final nail in the coffin was when I went on maternity leave in February 2023. I switched all of my physical prints to digital downloads so I didn’t need to ship anything out whilst I was on maternity leave. This quickly saw my shop dry up, and my listings were expiring all the time due to going unsold. 

Before I closed my shop, I had 3 active listings. A far cry from the hundreds and hundreds I’d previously had. Going from earning (sometimes) thousands of pounds per month, to £3.47 being deposited into my bank was the reassurance I needed that closing the business was a good choice. Luckily I’ve always managed to make a profit in my business which is a brilliant achievement. I feel like I’m leaving on a high because of this. 

So I listed my printer on Facebook marketplace. I’ve donated my boxes and recycled my used stock. But when my printer sold and was collected, I just felt empty for a few weeks. I’m never going to create or sell prints again. It’s the end of an era. The end of a time that gave me so much. I’m genuinely sad and my head has been foggy for the last few weeks. I haven’t been able to write anything meaningful here since as I’ve just had a cloud hanging over me. It’s not grieving, but it’s processing that this part of my life is now over. For good. 

I’m proud of the business that I grew though. It enabled me to leave nursing and go fully self employed. It showed me that it was possible to make money on my own terms. It gave me 7 beautiful years with my children where I saw every school play and sports day. It made me realise that I am creative, something I had no idea I was. It taught me skills that I’ve now used to create my own VA business which I absolutely adore!

I’ve closed my Etsy shop and posted on Instagram to inform my followers that I’m no longer selling prints (I’m not sure if anyone will see it 😅), and I’ve changed my name over there to @simpleandcalm_. Firstly because I have a lot of memories over in my Instagram archive and I don’t want to delete my account permanently. And secondly because I may get back into posting there as more of a family diary instead of trying to grow a business. Who knows? I surely don’t right now. 

Now it’s onto the next chapter of my life. I’m ready to start writing here regularly again (I know it’s only been a few weeks, and you’ve probably not even noticed I wasn’t around). I’m thoroughly enjoying working with my VA clients on their incredible businesses. I’m sad that my print business is now closed, but I’m excited to grow my Substack and my VA business. It’s time to move on now. I’m ready. 

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