Should You Start a Home-Based Animal-themed Gift Store?

Home office with horse picture

By Paula Fitzsimmons

Have you ever seen a darling pair of dachshund earrings, a must-have giraffe tee-shirt, or a hand-crafted cat toy, and thought, I could sell that or I could make that. Selling your wares online may seem straight-forward enough (and in some regards it is once you gain experience) but there’s much more to the process than slapping a few products on a website and hoping for sales.

It’s imperative to know what you’re doing – not just in order to succeed, but to avoid losing your money – or sanity – in the process.

The Best Animal Lover Jobs . . . for Introverts, Independent Spirits, & Idea People

ButterfliesBy Paula Fitzsimmons

I love alone time. Having the personal space and time to devour a good book, think, create, and daydream is part of who I am. According to research, including that performed by the mother-daughter team of Katharine Briggs & Isabel Briggs Myers – creators of the MBTI® personality inventory – my temperament leans towards the introverted side.

Introverts tend to be independent spirits. We’d rather be – and are often more productive when – working solo or in smaller groups . . .this is when we’re in our element.

This isn’t a data-backed statement, but I suspect the animal welfare community, as a whole, gravitates to the indie side.