Welcome back to this week’s episode of Crickets to Cha-Chings. On today’s episode we’re talking with my college friend, fellow military spouse and sorority sister Alyssa Cowan.

Alyssa is the brains behind Stinkmuffin, and she’s done an amazing job of building her business with balance and grace while also raising two very young children (including an infant).

In this episode, we’ll talk about:

• How she got started on Etsy, the pull to have something for herself, and why that post partum period can be really tough for someone who is used to being a goal driven person
• How Alyssa has set boundaries around what she wanted to do in her Etsy business, and what she prioritized throughout it’s growth
• How she managed running her business, having young children, and having a deployed husband without completely losing her mind or having an Etsy business that wasn’t able to take off
• How she’s built a business in a crowded marketspace that still stands out by providing customized options and amazing customer service
• Why she doesn’t feel a pull to underprice her items, and how she’s built a successful business while being a more premium product
• How she separates what she likes to do as a hobby with what she puts into her shop to sell at a profit — and why that is so important to her and to the boundaries she’s set for the business
• How she would start over differently, and the things she’d do if she was just getting started now