Here’s my checklist to help decide:
1. You’ve reached a point of diminishing returns, or your sales are in reverse on your favorite platform. This is the case with many sellers in marketplaces like Etsy, due to the evolution of the platforms.
2. You suspect that you may be losing sales to your competition. Copycats are common in marketplaces, and because you’re sharing space with your competitors, shoppers may follow your link from Facebook or Instagram, but ultimately, they might buy from another seller in the marketplace.
3. You’re committed to growing your operation and can treat it as a business and not a hobby. Those two require very different mindsets.
4. You’re OK with investing the $15 to $50 a month required to maintain a separate website, and you already have the revenue to support your expansion because you're successfully selling in a marketplace. That’s called “proof of concept.”
5. You’re committed to driving traffic through your marketing efforts. The great thing about marketplaces like Etsy, is they provide the shoppers. If you build your own web store, no one will know about it until you tell them, so it’s important for you to commit to learning and mastering Google SEO, Adwords, or social media engagement via Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.
By building your own website, you will feel less vulnerable as an entrepreneur and will put yourself in the position to take your business further.