This article was originally published on April 22, 2008. We are reviving it as part of the Best of the Storque series. Enjoy!

How do you measure success of your Etsy Team? Well, if you define success as meeting or achieving your goals, then it looks like your Team should be sure it has clear goals! Each Etsy Team is different. While Teams can be similar — for instance, two Teams formed of sellers working in the same craft or medium, or multiple Teams within the same state or location — all groups of creative people are going to be as unique as each person in the group. Since each Etsy Team is different, it only makes sense that Teams will have any number of different goals.

It's probably safe to say that most people join Etsy Teams ultimately to improve their Etsy experience — this might mean through garnering more sales, improving their skills or their Etsy shop, networking or simply meeting people to share common interests. These are all excellent reasons to join a Team and really great overall goals for Teams to have.

Let's get a little more specific, though, and consider some attainable goals an Etsy Team can pursue. Your Team might strive to have a really useful, well-read blog, like the Eco-Etsy Team's blog, which features different helpful environmentally friendly tips weekly. A Team might decide upon a mission to educate shoppers on the value of handmade, like the EGCG Team's mission to show people that handmade bath and body products are amazing. Perhaps the Team decides that they'd like to participate in local art fairs as a group, as the Plush Team decided to do when they applied to participate in the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this summer. If you're a local Team, maybe you can organize a handful of events, like classes, shows or workshops to engage your real life community in learning about local artists and the value of handmade work.

No matter what your Team's goals are, you should be sure that you've spelled them out clearly and that all Team members are not only aware of the goals, but can participate in helping the Team actively achieve them. Having a mission statement is great, but it's also important to determine how you will achieve it and what that means on a weekly or monthly basis. For example, if your Etsy Team's goal is to support one another, perhaps meet in chat once a month to do a group critique on one aspect of your Team's shops or share links to one anothers' shops on your personal blogs, social networking sites or even give them a shout-out in your Etsy profiles. The possibilities of goals and ways to achieve them are endless!

For more Team Tips, please check the Teams Resource page.  Also, we discuss the Team Tips, news and ideas in the Etsy Teams email list! Keep up the great work, Etsy Teams!