The thing I wish someone told me before my first big weekend

Hey,

I’ve been thinking about you this morning.

Not in a weird way—just in the “I remember what it felt like right before my first really big sales weekend” way.

That mix of excitement and mild panic. The mental checklist that keeps growing. The feeling that you’re probably forgetting something important (you are, but we’ll fix that right now).

Here’s what I wish someone had told me back then:

The makers who have great weekends aren’t the ones with perfect photos or the fanciest booth setup.

They’re the ones who spend a focused 90 minutes handling the boring operational stuff that nobody talks about.

So let’s talk about it.

Take 90 minutes this morning. That’s it. Just handle these four things and you’ll be ahead of most other sellers this weekend.

Thing One: Your Response Speed

You know those five questions you answer constantly? Write them out once, save them somewhere you can copy-paste from anywhere—your phone notes, a Google doc, wherever.

The questions are always the same: shipping times, custom requests, gift wrapping, size availability, delivery dates.

Having these ready to paste means you respond in 30 seconds instead of 5 minutes. That speed difference? That’s what closes sales while someone’s still excited instead of after they’ve moved on.

Thing Two: Your Follow-Up System

Most people add your stuff to their cart and then... nothing. They get distracted, their kid needs something, they mean to come back but forget.

Set up one simple message you can send them. Just: “Hey, still thinking about this?” with the product photo. That’s it.

On Etsy, there’s an abandoned cart feature. On your website, most email tools can do this. On social platforms, save it as a template message.

One message. Huge difference in how many sales actually happen.

Thing Three: The Supplies Check

Walk through packing one pretend order right now. With a timer.

How long did it take? Multiply that by however many orders you’re hoping for this weekend.

Now check: Do you actually have enough boxes? Enough tape? Tissue paper? Labels? Is your printer working or will it die halfway through tomorrow?

The people who run out of supplies mid-weekend lose actual money sitting around waiting for deliveries. Don’t be that person.

Thing Four: The Profit Check

This sounds boring but it matters: when did you last check your shipping costs?

Carriers changed rates back in early November. A lot of makers didn’t notice and now they’re accidentally losing money on every order.

Take five minutes. Compare what you’re paying now to what’s available on something like Pirate Ship or whatever service you use. Update your numbers if needed.

One person I know was losing over four dollars per order because she hadn’t checked since last year. She was literally working for nothing.

That’s it. Four things. 90 minutes total.

Everything else—the fancy graphics, the perfect descriptions, the aesthetic flat lays—all that can wait. This is the foundation that separates a decent weekend from a really good one.

I know some of you have been asking about connecting with international wholesale buyers or suppliers—the boutiques in Europe, the craft suppliers in Mexico, that kind of thing.

What caught my attention is their AI conversation feature—seems designed for actual business conversations rather than just tourist phrases. Could be helpful if you’ve been thinking about reaching out to international contacts but the language thing has been holding you back.

Here’s where you can see what’s included if that’s something you’ve been considering.

Alright. Go handle those four things. Seriously, close this and go do it.

Your weekend depends on having this stuff sorted before tomorrow.

Cheering for you,

Fede & Jane

P.S. — Once you’ve knocked those out, maybe screenshot your setup and tag us? I love seeing makers who actually implement instead of just reading about it.