By Elijah Westbrook
It’s safe to say in today’s society that going to college is not cheap. Most students here in this country have to either apply for scholarships, financial aid or even get a part time job on the side to pay for school.
But what if there was a way could stay in school by selling something you love? What if you could make a hobby out of it? A pen, paper and an idea is all Katie Uricchio needed to start her own online business, an Etsy shop to be specific.
“Someone suggested that I open an Etsy shop and that’s kind of where it all got started,” said Katie Uricchio.
As Uricchio puts it, she is making enough money to “not be known as a broke college student.”
Since the start of her business in 2013, she has sold close to 650 designs and creations to over 40 states around the country. She even has a map in her room where she highlights the states she has sold her products to.
“I’m really trying to sell to some of the hard states like the Northwest. I’m really trying to sell to Hawaii,” said Uricchio.
Uricchio is a full time nursing major and has to balance her class schedule with managing her own website.
“If I have midterms and finals coming up, I don’t want to be having to chit chat with all the different people about orders. So I’ll just put my shop on vacation,” said Uricchio.
She determines her prices based on the raw materials needed as well as the time it takes to make the item. She promotes her items through a business Instagram page that she has found to be very successful. The page itself has over 4,000 followers.
“This is something that I want to continue to do. I can continue to paint on my days off. It’s kind of like that little bit of extra money that I can use for whatever I see fit and I can still do what I love,” said Uricchio.
