Category: craft business

Watching costs improves your bottom line

February 9, 2016

I love quilting and often create things for the sheer joy of it.  Lots of time, love and extra special fabrics go into quilts for loved ones without considering the cost. Moving from hobby to business quilter required a change in mindset.

My goal is to provide a quality service for my customers at fair price for both of us.  So far, so good, but materials costs are rising and I am afraid I’ll lose some of my customer base if I raise my prices too much.

Basically, I have two ways to improve my profitability – cut costs or increase prices. (Remember, the purpose of being in business is to make a profit?) Cost cutting can include buying supplies at cheaper prices or investing in equipment that will save production time without sacrificing quality.  I do have some wholesale suppliers, but the fabric wholesalers currently have minimums that are out of my reach.

What’s a micro business owner to do?  
(1) Limit customer options.
(2) Shop retail on sale and stock up.
(3) Some combination of 1 & 2 with upcharges for certain things clearly spelled out.

I choose option #3.

I limit customer options with regard to:
(a) overall design (grid, wonky or mosaic)
(b) machine quilting (straight line at 1″ intervals, simple meander or loopy meander)
(c) thread color

Upcharges:
(a) Fabric above a certain price point. This allows the customer to use any fabric they want, but means I don’t have to absorb the cost of the fabric they must have and can only be found at the LQS for $13.75/yard.
(b) Fancy machine quilting or anything over a twin size. Most of my orders are for lap size quilts (roughly 50″x66″), so anything over a twin automatically goes to the local longarm quilter. Customers are told this when they first inquire about my services. (Note: I now have a mid-arm machine and am practicing my quilting designs).

My interfacing and batting come from the big box craft stores when they are on sale and there’s either an additional 20% off the purchase or I use my 15% teacher discount.  If I find a backing fabric that I really like at a quilt shop or the big box craft store, I may buy the entire bolt if it’s at a really good price.

Cost comparison for a 3 x 4 grid t-shirt quilt (50″ x 66″)

6 yards of interfacing, 6-1/4 yards of fabric and a twin package of batting from Joann:
Full retail:  $130.00  Carefully shopped: $86.00

THIS MEANS $44.00 more in your pocket by watching how/where you shop.

You might even save a few more dollars if you hit things on sale at the right time. 

In my area, the going rates for a 12 t-shirt grid style quilt with sashing and a border range from $195.00 to $380.00.  That’s a pretty wide range of prices. The person at the high end is rumored to have to turn away business. I’m somewhere in the middle. I’d really like to see how the company that charges $195.00 makes any money. Are they able to save on supplies, have super speedy construction methods or are they paying themselves $3.00 an hour at the end of the day?  Yes, there are times when I’ve probably averaged $3.00 per hour on some projects in the beginning stages, but thankfully, not anymore. 🙂

 

Looking ahead

December 25, 2015

I’ll admit it.

I’m a list maker and a planner. 

I derive much pleasure from crossing items off my to-do list.

My plans are not necessarily super detailed, but they do give me an idea of where I’m heading.

My major goals for 2015 were simply:
(1) Take an awesome 25th anniversary trip with hubby.
(2) Move the day job closer to home (or change jobs if necessary).
(3) Develop other revenue sources with my business.

All three goals were met, but not quite in the way I imagined. 

Quite frankly,  I never dreamed the job transfer would literally shut down my craft business for nearly four months. Everything (and I mean everything) came to a screeching halt as I poured all my energy into my new job. My wake-up call came when I missed the visitation for a dear friend’s husband who had unexpectedly passed away.  I was planning lessons and lost track of time. I felt so bad. That won’t happen again.

So what’s on tap for 2016?

(1) Lose weight the doctor told me I need to lose.
(2) Expand class offerings for kids and adults.
(3) Network/collaborate more with craft business owners in the area.
(4) Redo the school library after an unexpected sprinkler flood right before Christmas break.

What’s on your list for 2016?

Refining the biz a bit

October 22, 2015

It’s pretty safe to say that the new day job has moved the sewing biz to not just the back seat, but the THIRD row seat, if you knoBdayw what I mean. Honestly, I underestimated the time and energy that the new job would require. I am literally wiped out by the time I get home from work.

The art teacher helped put things into perspective – I see about 225 kiddos a day for classes and extended lunch. That’s a lot of kids to remember, behavior to manage and lessons to deliver. Add check-out on top of that and helping them find a “just right” book. Yikes!

Realistically, I can only devote 8-10 hours a week to biz projects right now. (That’s 1-2 evenings a week plus a weekend day).  Anything that can be done on a computer or while seated has a better chance of getting accomplished at this time.  Pattern editing, instruction/project planning for camps/classes/articles, and sample-making are my focus until things calm down a bit a work and my left foot heals. I am almost finished with two t-shirt quilts (good news for Enger & Robin, I’m sure!) and that will be it on the t-shirt quilt front. I enjoy making them, but they require a great deal of standing and I can’t do that right now – not especially after standing on a hard tile floor most the day. Shoe inserts have helped, but I need a better pair of supportive shoes.

A visit to the New Balance store provided some much needed relief. I stood on their foot analyzer machine that recommended a 1/2 size larger shoe than I normally wear, plus a special kind of insert. I purchased a light gray walking shoe that doesn’t scream tennis shoe so I can wear it to work. The magic happened when she put in the NP400 orthotic insole. OMG, that was the first time I’d walked pain free in about 4 weeks.  1/2 days at work this past week also helped me rest my feet and I’ll see how things go Monday with a full teaching schedule and the new shoes.  I am also doing some stretching exercises that seem to be helping. I’ll post with an update on Friday.