Good advice here! I've had my LA since 2003. I practiced for a year before doing a paid quilt. I joined 2 guilds in my area, took show-n-tell every month and introduced myself. Then I started doing charity quilts for free, just for the practice. I mostly do pantographs (all-over designs)but a few customers want custom work and are willing to pay for it.
I live in a rural area, and there are no other LA quilters within 45 miles, but the local quilters were used to sending their quilts out. It was a hard market to break into. But I keep my prices low so that more people can afford my services. I rely on repeat customers now.
Also, most of my income goes back into supplies and new patterns. I don't have payments on the machine - if I did, I would have lost it.
It took me 3 years to build up a reasonable customer base. Now I do a fair amount of business, and my turn-around is 1-2 months most of the time. My customers are friends now, and they are loyal. That doesn't come overnight.