On Etsy, Perry's vintage-style necklaces and stationery are highly popular. She's had more than 575 sales this year and said this is the first time in 15 years she is actually making money doing what she loves. Her advice to people looking to start a Web-based business is to test a few items, see if they sell, then keep tweaking their strategy to see what interests the public.

"If you keep at it and find out what people like, it should work out," said Perry. "If I were to give advice, I'd say to research what other people are doing in the same craft you want to do and then try and come up with something unique."

Some tips she has for people include setting up a lot of inventory, creating tags so items are searchable on the Web, and also regularly posting items for sale.

Michael Phipps — phippsart.etsy.com

During the daytime, Michael Phipps works as an artist and an illustrator. His shop on Etsy is a side business he uses to "fill in the gaps" when work is slow at his regular job.

As a man, Phipps is a minority on the site. Etsy did a survey last January that showed 95 percent of people on the site are women.

Phipps said he loves the fact he is unique. It helps him stand apart from other sellers. He sells graphic T-shirts and other "wearable art" created in a small studio in the master bedroom of his home.

His advice to people is to find a way to stand out on Etsy. The site, by itself, brings in enough traffic that you can be successful if you just market and position yourself right," he said.

"Just putting a shop up there and placing items on there won't amount to a lot unless you get down and try to promote it and list items regularly," Phipps said.

Ashley Giessing — isabellsumbrella.etsy.com

Ashley Giessing has always dreamed of creating her own stationery line. And Etsy seemed a perfect way to test the market and see if people were interested in her designs, the West Jordan mom said.

Her work on Etsy is both sweet and whimsical. The designs are simple, but Giessing said she has had great success since opening her shop. She credits the Internet for bringing her work to a global audience.

Starting on her own would have been much harder, she said.

"I just think this is a tool that's made it a lot easier than it would have been normally," she said. "It definitely would have been possible, but I don't know if I would have taken the opportunity."

Her advice is for people to find something they're good at — something they love — and then sell it.

Janie Young — clutterbags.etsy.com