i really feel for those who go into debt thinking they would be making money hand over fist as soon as they get their machine set up, one friend of mine was so optimistic that she even had about 20 quilts from (customers) setting there waiting for her when her first machine arrived...3 weeks later when she had not managed to quilt a whole quilt successfully without puckers, stitch issues, wonky sides...she was so frustrated! she expected way too much and really thought she had been sewing for years, this should be easy.no one could tell her it wasn't going to be a simple put an add at the lqs and be in business..quilting on a long arm is different than any other sewing you do, you move the machine around while the fabric stays stationary,, that in itself takes a little getting used to. it takes practice, practice practice. and after you have quilted a dozen or so of your own (after lots of practice quilts) you might feel relaxed enough to work on someone elses quilt. it takes time to build it into a business. and remember, the busier you are quilting for everyone else the less time you will have to ever make a quilt yourself. if you love the designing, piecing of quilts you will miss it later...you can very easily become a slave to your machine.and never make another quilt. also around here at least there is definite quilting busy season...i tend to be swamped from about mid-september/october through about february then business drops off, and if i get 6 quilts in between march and september it is pretty amazing...so that's when i get to get my own done :) but if i were depending on this for my income i would be in big trouble, there is not enough to pay the bills during the off season. and i do not accept work if i am behind. i try very hard to stick to a 2 week turn around. once in awhile life happens and i get behind, but i just wont accept any more until i catch up, and if i'm behind i do refer people to other quilters i know if they want to get it done before i can accept it. i believe we should be a very helpful group. just like at the lqs, if they don't have what i need, they tell me where to go to find it.