Come Stitch With Me

Hancock Fabrics is no more.  The location near me finally closed its doors. 

I fondly remember many a Saturday morning spent as a kid with my mom as we made the rounds to Cloth World and Hancock’s to look for fabric. You see, Mom made just about all my clothes until I reached sixth grade. When I got older, we made the trek to Buckhead for special fabrics at Sew Magnifique. Sadly, Sew Magnifique closed many years ago and the only place left to get quality dressmaker fabric in Atlanta is at Gail K’s.

With Hancock’s closed and it being a Sunday (Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday) it meant a trip through all of the construction traffic to Joann’s to pick up a few items I needed and to use a gift card I’d received for my birthday.

I had a stack of coupons with me (and on my phone), which the cashier dutifully scanned during check-out. Be aware: Joann has changed its coupon policy! Books are no longer eligible for coupons, die cuts are not allowed…read the mice type…and my 15% teacher discount which used to good be on EVERYTHING is also now restricted. The recent sales flyers have also featured 30% discounts instead of the 40-50% discounts as in the past.

Is this lessening of discounts and a more restrictive coupon policy because Hancock’s has closed (no need for as deep discounts to be competitive) or is it because the sewing/craft market has changed?

Yes, online sales are increasing, but according to one industry source,  80% of sewing/craft shopping is still done locally either at a brick & mortar location or a “pop-up” shop (like at a guild meeting).  People go to a particular location because of relationships they develop with staff at the store or because the shop has the tools/supplies they need at fair prices. Hancock’s was my go-to place for general fabric needs and if I needed help when I got stuck on a sewing project (NOT quilting). The staff at my local Hancock’s had a depth of sewing knowledge that is sadly lacking from most big box craft stores.

So now, I have to hunt for other places to meet the sewing needs that Hancock’s used to cover. Inconvenient, yes, but I am beginning to see an opportunity for me to fill some of the void – at least on a local level.

Unfortunately, there is a no one-size fits all answer to that question. It really depends on your personal situation.

I’m a member of 3 very different craft business development groups (ICAP, Craft Industry Alliance and Make Sell Grow).  The leaders are quite knowledgable and while yes, they do want to sell you their services, they really want to see your business grow and succeed. Quite often, you are encouraged to take your business full-time and the group leaders introduce you to individuals or provide case studies of those who have done exactly that. Always keep in mind, however, that these examples are the exception, rather than the rule. 

Most people with a craft business have a day job or another source of income – savings, retirement income or spouse/partner. I found this article mentioned on the Fractured Atlas blog to be quite enlightening, even if it discusses theater rather than the craft industry.

Examples just from my local quilt/craft community:

• A former teacher colleague bought a well-known LQS 5 years ago. She has several p/t employees and she works f/t; yet her husband is still working f/t a large company because they count on the income and benefits from his job.
• One of the t-shirt quilt companies (the competition) has p/t employees, but she still works f/t as a nurse.
• Another quilt shop owner worked f/t as a nurse until recently. She has several part-time employees and a now retired husband.
• A pair of fellow quilters recently started an online quilting show. One works f/t as a manager for a large IT company and the other is between jobs (but her hubby works f/t).

  There are several other examples I could give, but the common thread is they don’t rely on their craft businesses as their sole source of income.

According to this article that appeared in Forbes, two-thirds of all small non-employer businesses (sole proprietor or single member LLC with $1k or more in annual revenues) reported less than $25k in revenues in 2011. That’s revenue, NOT profit. The average revenue for all companies in the non-employer category was $44,000.  Chances are your “take home” portion of that will be about half. Will $22,000 provide you with enough income?  Only you can decide that.

Perhaps you are in a situation where the day job disappeared and you don’t have a choice but to take your craft biz full-time. Another LQS owner did just that – complete with SBA loans, biz plan like no other craft biz I’ve ever seen and knows exactly how much revenue per square foot she needs to be profitable.  She started her biz from scratch four years ago and I have a feeling it will still be in biz a decade from now.  Her husband recently retired and she has stepped back some and turned over the day-to-day running of the shop to someone else, yet she remains on top of things.

This time last year, I seriously considered leaving teaching to roll out my after school craft clubs 3x a week with a day spent teaching at a homeschool co-op. I would make up the rest of the needed income by doing loose-leaf filing at downtown law firms 2 mornings a week. This would wouldn’t replace my teacher salary, but it would keep me busy, which was hubby’s primary concern. Fortunately, a job transfer came through at a site closer to home. I haven’t hung up my school librarian hat just yet, but it is definitely getting closer!

So, if you want to run your craft biz full-time – get out there an do it! But don’t feel like a failure because you choose to run your biz on a smaller part-time scale. Relax, you’re in good company.