Sewing Business Blog » business tips

Have You Considered Specializing In Maternity Wear?

Sarah J. Doyle — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:34:27 +0000

Considering the number of pregnant women I see whenever I’m out in public places, AND remembering how difficult it was to find any type of maternity clothes or maternity patterns when my daughter was pregnant with quadruplets, I’d say specializing in making maternity clothes could be very lucrative!

I see pregnant women that are plus sizes, as well as some who would be considered “average” or even smaller and more petite sizing. The majority of what I see, however, are larger sizes, and I can assure you that they are having a very difficult time finding clothing, patterns or somebody to do some sewing for them.

By far the easiest way to get into making maternity clothes is to see if your customer has some type of basic pattern that she’s had made before and that she knows will fit properly. You can take that pattern and convert it to maternity styles. Converting store bought patterns into maternity styles is very easy and you can make a wide variety of maternity garments for your customer, using just that one basic pattern.

If the customer is new and you’ve never sewn for her, and she doesn’t have any basic patterns for you to convert into maternity styles, you can always make maternity patterns for her by using her own personal measurements. Pattern making for maternity will require a little more effort and time than simply converting a commercial pattern that is already available, but your customer will greatly appreciate your going the extra mile for her.

Look around the next time you’re in the mall or a restaurant or any other public place to see how many pregnant women there are. Put some flyers or informational brochure at places of business that allow you to post such things, and you might be surprized at the amount of new business you get.

Are You Retired, But Need Extra Money?

Sarah J. Doyle — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:00:44 +0000

We realize that not all of our readers are currently active in the sewing / crafting / alteration businesses. Some of you are doing other jobs, or have NO job, and are looking for information about starting your own business. In addition, there are some who are retired, but thanks to the economy their retirement nest eggs have disappeared, so are now looking for ways to supplement their loss of retirement income.

The internet is a great place to start looking for extra income. If you DO have your own business you can begin to promote it online with a blog or your own website. For those just looking for extra income, a blog can be a perfect way to begin. We’ve previously had posts relating to blogging and some of the places you can set up a blog. You don’t even have to have anything immediately to sell on your new blog. Do some searches for things you’ve always enjoyed and find affiliates for items you can put along the sidebar of your blog. Many companies have affiliate programs for items they sell, such as the affiliate program for CouponClutch.com — you can find items all related to sewing for example, or if you’re a dog lover, you can find affiliate programs for pet related items.

As you write your own posts on the blog, your readers will also be looking at what else you have available, and perhaps be clicking on those affiliate links, and when they purchase the item, you’ve just made some money. All affiliate programs pay differently – some pay a few cents per click, some pay a dollar or more per sale, and some, such as CouponClutch.com pay a certain percentage of the total sale (Coupon Clutch pays 7% of every sale to you).

If you are a writer, you could write your own booklet on information you’ve accumulated over the years – make that information into a downloadable ebook, then offer your own information for sale.

If you are a retired teacher you could check out the schools that are offering online classes, and perhaps become affiliated with them as an instructor.

Regular full-time and part-time jobs in most towns and cities are pretty slim, and not too many businesses are hiring right now, so perhaps the internet could be the answer for you extra income needs.

I would like to make one thing clear about affiliate and internet marketing, whether you’re marketing your own items, or those from somebody else — there is never a guarantee as to how much money you’ll be making. That part time job may pay $8 / hour and you may work 15 hours a week to equal a certain amount of net income. Online marketing usually starts out slowly as word gets out about your products, your blog and/or your website, then starts to grow over time. All things considered, the time spent with your online marketing could generate a very nice amount of extra income for you.

Six Success Tips for Sewing Businesses

S. Denise Hoyle — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:34:05 +0000

1) Find Your Niche

Some people think that focusing on a niche is thinking too small, but having a niche product line is actually a wonderful thing! If you really want to compete with Sears and Toys ‘R Us, you can do that by offering better customer service or by providing more guarantees, but it is much easier to compete in a specialized niche. Plus, when you focus on a niche you encourage repeat orders and referral business.

2) Skills & Abilities

You don’t have to be good at every aspect of business in order to be successful, but you do need to be realistic about what your abilities are. If you’re not very computer literate then take an online class or buy a book, if you’re not very good with numbers and records then hire a part-time bookkeeper, and if you’re not great at writing ads or other sales materials then hire a freelance writer online at Elance.

3) Use Technology

You don’t have to be a technical wizard to benefit from advances in technology. Make it easy for your customers to contact you via email, create (or pay someone to create) a website that works for you 24/7, use Google Calendar to keep track of your life on the go, use a fax to email service so you can keep digital copies of everything, and use the Internet to learn about how to enhance your skills and market your business.

4) Create a Website

Since you can get a domain name for about $10 a year and a website for around $5 a month, there is really no excuse not to have your own website. Many word processor programs will create HTML pages from documents you’ve typed, and lots of good domain name registrars (we use and recommend GoDaddy) supply website templates that literally allow you to setup your own site over night, without the need for any web design skills.

5) Positive Thinking

Napolean Hill wrote the all time best-selling business book “Think and Grow Rich” during the Great Depression in 1937. Over 30 million copies have been sold because of its powerful message about how our thoughts control our successes and failures. Simply put, whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right! So look at any setbacks as learning opportunities, be persistent, and stay positive and you will be successful!

6) Build Relationships

Advances in technology like cell phones, handheld games and the Internet tend to take the focus off of people, for example you can order a pizza online or use a board at a fast food restaurant to order then pay with a credit card without ever speaking to a person. On the other hand, consumers like to feel that they’re being heard. Build relationships with your customers by giving them the ability to communicate with you through a variety of methods such as via email, through your website, Facebook or Twitter. By genuinely listening to your customers you will build bonds of loyalty and trust with them, which will only increase the success of your business.

501 Tips, Strategies & Professional Secrets for the Home Business Entrepreneur

S. Denise Hoyle — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:53:00 +0000

We’re very proud to share with you, our valued readers, our new 90 page ebook “501 Tips, Strategies & Professional Secrets for the Home Business Entrepreneur!” The ebook is yours free when you subscribe to our weekly emails, just type your name and email address in the box at the upper left of this page and hit submit.

The ebook is packed full of information on starting and running a small business, how to take advantage of business tax deductions, email marketing, advertising, reducing expenses, increasing profits, how to stay motivated when you work for yourself, and much more.

Once you’ve nabbed your free copy, please come back here and give us your review or post your comments. So hit the button and enjoy!

Of course you can unsubscribe anytime you like, but we hope you’ll find the weekly digests of our posts useful, informative and entertaining and decide to stick around.

Time Management Important To Business Success

Sarah J. Doyle — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:10:00 +0000

In the past we’ve talked about organizing your sewing time in order to be more productive in your work (organizing sewing projects so you’re using white thread for several items before changing to a different color thread, etc). There are many ways to actually be more productive while working, therefore getting much more work done.

The question is, what about “time management”, in order to cut down on stress and frustrations in your daily life? We’re talking about your “sewing / working” life as well as regular “family” life.

I remember in past years, with six kids all needing to be in different places, AND my sewing / alterations piling up, I could feel the frustration building. Even if you have only ONE child or two children, and trying to shuttle them around while customers are trying to make appointments, pick up work (that perhaps you haven’t done yet) – stress can be a killer for the business. Just try working under this kind of stress and see how many mistakes you make — or work on something that isn’t even due out to a customer for a week, while something due out today sits on a shelf! YIKES!!

The best solution that I found in these working conditions is to do everything systematically! I KNEW what time the kids had to be at various places, and I KNEW what work needed to be done before they got home from school. Sooooo, cut down on the telephone chit chat, turn off the tv, and quit procrastinating about that “difficult” alteration that you agreed to do. JUST DO IT! In most instances, the “difficult” alteration isn’t nearly as difficult as your mind wanted to imagine, so the longer you put it off, the more behind you got, until the stress of starting the alteration job was near a boiling point.

By organizing the workload in daily increments —- get up half an hour earlier in the morning to get a job out of the way; plan the amount of sewing/alterations/craft work that you can handle before the kids get home from school; and if you’re overloaded on work at the moment, perhaps you could work another half an hour or hour after the kids go to bed, rather than watching tv. That would be “just for tonight” – not every night, and would be so you could get enough caught up to prevent stress and frustration tomorrow.

By prioritizing your workload and not postpone things for tomorrow when you could easily do them today, you will have a much more stress free and relaxed lifestyle.

26 Ways To Defeat Your Home Business Disappointments

Sarah J. Doyle — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:01:00 +0000

We all have disappointments and setbacks in our businesses. How we deal with them will actually tell the tale of how our business will survive. John Fortner, in his article, gives some outstanding things to think about, as well as to put into action regarding our home businesses.

Disappointments follow success like fatigue replaces exertion. It is unavoidable. When the idea to create a home business first enters your mind, the goal for success becomes part of the vision. Along the journey you will face frustration, discouragement and disappointment before your efforts are rewarded. The key to fulfilling your dream is to not give up when failure arrives (and it will). Print out these 26 tips. Read them aloud EVERY day. Make them personal. Believe in them.

Don’t let the disappointments of creating a work at home business get you down. Learn from them. Making money online can happen if you have the right mindset. After all, everything comes down to your perspective.

26 Tips For Dealing With Disappointments

Achieve your dreams. Avoid negative people, things and places. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Believe in your self and in what you can do.

Consider the obstacles from every angle and aspect. Growth comes through learning. Dealing with disappointment requires the ability to learn, adjust and adapt.

Don’t give up and don’t give in. Thomas Edison failed once, twice, more than thrice before he came up with his invention and perfected the incandescent light bulb. Make persistence your steering wheel.

Enjoy. Work as if you don’t need money. Dance as if nobody’s watching. Love as if you never cried. Learn as if you’ll live forever. Enthusiasm takes place when people are happy.

Family and friends are life’s greatest treasures. Don’t loose sight of them.

Give more than what is enough. Success can come through the extra effort you exert in doing things.

Hang on to your dreams. They may dangle for a moment but these little stars will be your driving force.

Ignore those who try to destroy you. Don’t let other people get the best of you. Stay away from destructive people – the kind who hate to hear about your success.

Just be yourself. The key to success is to be yourself and the key to failure is to try to please everyone.

Keep trying no matter how hard it is. When a person stays motivated the road to success begins to materialize.

Learn to love your self. Very important

Make things happen. Goals are reached when your dreams are put into work clothes.

Never lie, cheat or steal. Always play a fair game.

Open your eyes. Focus on how you want things to be and how they should be. Find the balance.

Practice makes perfect. Persistence is about learning and discovering how we can recover from our mistakes.

Quitters never win and winners never quit. So choose your fate: Are you going to be a quitter or a winner?

Ready yourself. Success comes through preparation. Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.

Stop procrastinating. Do! Don’t wait!

Take control of your life. Self-discipline is linked with motivation. Both are key factors for facing disappointments.

Understand others. Learn how to listen. Purpose to understand first and be understood second.

Visualize it. Create a vision of success in your mind and have a laser beam focus on it

Want it more than anything. Dreaming means believing. Believing means trying. Trying means pursing. Pursing means attaining.

X-Factor is what can make the difference. Don’t allow the disappointments to bury you. Resolve to renew your effort. This will help you develop the “extras”. Extra time for family. Extra effort at work. Extra care for friends and so on.

You are unique. No one in this world looks, acts, or talks like you. Value your life and embrace it.

Zero in on your dreams and don’t allow the disappointments to create a detour.

“None of us can be free of conflict and woe. Even the greatest men have had to accept disappointments as their daily bread.”

About The Author: John Fortner lives in Oregon and works from his home through his online pursuits. He is the owner of Best-Income Opportunities which offers free information and proven opportunities for creating work at home businesses. To learn more about this topic please visit his website at:
http://www.best-incomeopportunities.com

If It’s To Be, It’s Up To Me

Sarah J. Doyle — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:44:00 +0000

“If it’s to be, it’s up to me” is one of my favorite quotes! I have it tacked to the wall in my office along with a few other quotes. This is a reminder to me that it is NOT a favorite employee that’s gonna make my business what it needs to be, neither is it going to be a friend, a mentor or a family member — it’s UP TO ME!! I’m the one that needs to set the goals for my business, then work toward those goals with all the focused action that I can muster.

It makes no difference if your business is an online website, blog, brick & mortar store or a business in your home – the same principle applies — it’s up to YOU to ensure that your business goes in the direction YOU want it to go.

I once read about a man who would take 30 minutes a week to just sit and reflect on what his business could be, and what steps he could use to take the business to the next level. I found that very interesting, and have quite often stopped to think about what could be done in my business to gain new customers, make more sales, add additional products, etc.

Please understand that “reflecting on what the business could become” is not daydreaming, wishful thinking or hoping for good things to come —- it is to be clear on what the purpose is and setting worthwhile and realistic goals. Map it out! Write down specific goals and dates for those goals to be completed. Believe in your goals, and believe in your abilities. Visualize your success. Dismiss any distractions and difficulties – keep your eyes and your heart on your goals.

By reminding yourself of the ”if it’s to be, it’s up to me” principle, you will be surprised at how much you can accomplish toward realizing those goals, and watch your business grow.

Is Your Business In A Slump?

Sarah J. Doyle — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:27:00 +0000

Nearly every business, whether brick and mortar store, online store or home business experiences a slow down or slump at certain times of the year. Many businesses see this slow down right after school lets out in the spring when families are only thinking about vacations, summer camps for the kids, etc. Others may see this slow down right at the time school starts – school clothes, school supplies, new this and new that really do take a chunk out of the budget, so other areas of spending have to be cut back.

The thing to remember during these times is to recognize that these times DO COME, so to get down in the mouth, consider quitting the business, give up the website, or close your doors is nonsense! This is the time to get PROACTIVE and use the little bit of extra time to do some business promotions, get the word out about your business and prepare for the onslaught of business AFTER the slow down ends. I’m going to give you a few ways that you can become PROACTIVE to keep your business on the right track.

** Check out and join some sewing forums, such as SewTalk or SewForum. Read through the categories and posts that are listed in the forums — you may be able to answer some of the questions posed by other readers, or have something special that you can post in one of the categories. As you do your postings, your “profile” and “signature line” will be available for others to see. This is a wonderful way to make new friends, help someone with a question they have, or pose your own question that you might have and promote your own business at the same time.

** Do you have a blog (Web log)? If not, this is a good time to get one started. You can write about anything you want – from talking about your personal life – letting others know how you manage to get to that stack of sewing or alterations and still take care of your family. Or you can do a sewing/personal blog to mix together what you’ve been working on as well as cute pictures of your children or grandchildren and perhaps some snapshots of your latest projects you made for the little ones.

** Do you have something unique in your business that could be newsworthy? Have you just started a new sewing niche? Write up a press release to send to your local newspaper — they are always on the lookout for new material for their paper. Who knows – you might make the first page or even the headline of the “local” section of your paper. Think about how much this could increase your business.

** Are there some products or services that you’ve been wanting to start, but just haven’t had the time to get involved with? Now is the time to take a second look at them, write down what additional things you could add to your business, and get started now while you have the time.

I would say that while you’re considering and doing any or all of the things we’ve just talked about, you’ll run out of “free” time before you know it, and you’ll be looking for an extra few minutes here and there to do another post on the sewing forums or add posts to your own blog, etc.

Does Your Ad Contain AIDA????

Sarah J. Doyle — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:17:00 +0000

Advertising can be a small classified ad in a magazine, a full page display advertisement or a website consisting of several pages of “copy” and related material leading to the same end – the selling of your product or service.

A good ad, regardless of what type it is, must have four key elements, which we refer to as the AIDA principle: (A) get their ATTENTION, (I) hold their INTEREST, (D) arouse DESIRE in the potential customer to want your product, (A) make them take immediate ACTION to order from you.

(A) Get the customer’s attention. The first few words must get the attention of the reader. It must make the reader open his eyes and make him really want to know what you are offering. The most famous come-on attention getters are the words “GET RICH!” And you must admit, it does get your attention. I wouldn’t advise using those over-used words, but other words that work equally as well are words like, NEW, EASY, FAST, FREE, AMAZING, HOW TO, PROVEN, SAVE, MAKE MORE MONEY, GET, ONE OF A KIND. These are key words and phrases that will draw attention to your ad. Think about how these or similar type words can be worked into your ad or website.

(I) Hold the potential customer’s interest. A good sales pitch gets the prospect involved at once. A few persuasive words can motivate people to order from you, if used correctly in the course of your advertisement or web page. These words will arouse more desire and interest on the part of the prospective customer. Make your sales pitch so inviting and exciting that the customer can’t quit reading.

(D) Raise the desire level of the potential customer in a way that he/she simply can’t live without your product or service. A good premium incentive, such as something FREE, to go along with your product or service will certainly increase the desire to order your product. However the incentive must indeed be “free” or something useful, or it may backfire on you, causing the potential customer to think they are being tricked.

(A) Lead the prospective customer to ACTION! Right now, while the desire is the greatest, tell the customer how to order the product or service. Give an 800 number for them to call, or if this is an item on your website, make sure to have the “BUY NOW” button very visible! If the product is to be ordered, give the complete address, double checking BEFORE you place the ad that the address is written right. I have personally sent for information only to have my letter returned “no such address”. The individual I ordered from had a great sounding advertisement and a great sounding product, and the only problem was that the ordering address was WRONG! How much money was wasted on that advertisement??????

How To Establish Yourself As An Expert

Sarah J. Doyle — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:57:00 +0000

We all know a little about a lot of things, and I would venture to say that we all know a lot about a few things. It is those “few things” that we could learn even more about and truly become an “expert”.

There are almost unlimited opportunities awaiting anyone who desires to become an expert in his or her sewing field. It just takes some preparation, a bit of imagination and effort to get started. It is so easy to become an “expert”, one would wonder why people would want to know “just a little” about a subject they’re interested in and trying to earn a living from. The following steps can get you started.

1. Realize that what you already know is valuable to others. Many times we believe that if we know something, everybody else must already know it. What you know in your field of crafting, sewing, pattern making, alterations, etc may be second nature to you, but others that are wanting to learn find those things hard to figure out. Sometimes it’s the minor things that we know that others would never think about.

2. Research your topic to find more information in order to broaden your knowledge. Do some research on the internet or go to your public library’s reference section and get all the information you can on your desired subject.

3. Generate visibility and publicity. Volunteer your services to groups in your community. If your expertise is in the area of crafts, for example, you could volunteer to be a guest speaker at various club meetings, presenting general information, or by giving instructions on how to make a certain item. By becoming known in your own community and later branching out into other areas, your name and face will become known, which will bring additional opportunities for you, as well as an increasing amount of profit for your home business.

4. Share your knowledge with others. All the information in the world is of no value if not shared with other people. Be generous with what you know. Realize that by investing your time and talents now, you will reap the financial rewards and recognition later. Fall in love with your subject and share your passion.

5. Write a pamphlet, tip sheet or booklet about your subject. Take a piece of paper and make a list of important thoughts and ideas relevant to your subject. Don’t worry about sentences right now; just phrases and thoughts. After writing all the important points, lay the list to one side for a day or so, then come back to it and add any additional thoughts you may have.

The next step is to organize those thoughts and ideas into categories. You may have a category “supplies needed”, “getting started”, etc. Arrange your categories into a “how to” sequence starting from the very beginning to a closing where the whole thing is complete. You’ll find that all the words, phrases and thoughts you’d listed will just about do the “writing” of the pamphlet or booklet. All that’s necessary now is to make complete sentences and paragraphs from the ideas and thoughts you’d previously written and presto! your pamphlet is written.

You can use the pamphlet or booklet as a handout to increase public awareness about your business, or you may want to consider putting the booklet on the market to sell. You could also put the article (pamphlet) onto a website, if you have one, as “free content” for those who visit your site. If you have enough ideas and thoughts that you could come up with two or three different articles to add to the free content on your website, you will see visitors coming back to see what is new on the site. It is a definite fact that whatever area you’ve become an expert in, is an area where other people are looking for information.

Success in your area of expertise is yours for the taking. Begin today to “establish yourself as an expert” in your field.