I have a website to promote myself as a teacher, but for the last several years, I haven't done much - I have been too busy finishing up my sons' education. Now that I am a few months into my retirement from that, I am ready to get reorganized and pick up those threads again. (or I might have to go get a real job. :wink: Ewwww....)
When I teach a class, I make at least one or two samples, plus prototypes for drafting the patterns. I usually try to make my samples from fabrics representative of what is available to my students. If I am teaching in a quilt shop, for example, I don't use Walmart fabrics but instead promote the sales of the shop's fabrics and tools. If I am teaching a ladies' church group or other workshop event outside of a shop (or not sponsored by any shops), I have more flexibility. In general, teaching is much more profitable than making quilts to sell. It does, however, tie you to a schedule. Often, the classes are in the evenings or on weekends. When I am done teaching a class, I usually sell the samples. Then I usually regret it, when I have to start new samples next time I teach it! LOL
So if I have already made an income from teaching a class, I don't mind not making a profit when I sell the sample. If I used expensive imported fabric, I am really lucky to break even.
My bread-and-butter sales are on ebay. I do baby quilts, wall quilts, runners, etc. A couple of larger quilts, but not many ready-to-ship. EBay and also etsy.com are my best advertising. Most of my special-order clients found me on ebay or etsy. For those online sales, I usually use less expensive fabric. Not CHEAP fabric, but the more reliable American brands - VIP, Cranston, etc. I also shop at fabric warehouses when I visit my mother in Minneapolis. There, I can get imported calicos (and dressmaking fabrics, too!) at very low prices. I have to look over each piece carefully, because sometimes there are flaws, but often these are so minimal that I can use them anyhow. Usually, the fabric is there because it is outdated. That may be of interest to the cutting-edge world of quilters, but most shoppers don't care. They want to keep their quilt a long time and don't care that the fabric was printed three years ago!
JoAnns is a good place to get cotton batting in large quantities. Even non-longarm users can use the big rolls of batting if they have a place to store them. If you use a coupon or get them on sale, that saves you a LOT of money.
No matter how carefully you shop for bargains, though, you won't make money quilting if you don't do it fast enough. Set up your storage and work spaces for efficiency and comfort. Organization is SOOO important. I keep my computer in my studio/sewing room, too, because it has become very integrated with my sewing!!
Keep accurate books! I use Quick Books Pro, and since most of my sales are online, people usually pay me through Paypal. They make tax time very easy, because you can download the entire year of income and expenditures in a csv file, to open and edit in a spreadsheet. I use my Paypal debit card for all of my business expenses, so I don't need to sit down with a year's worth of faded cash register receipts. It's all on the Paypal site!
Periodically, I get a Wisconsin sales tax license, but I always end up letting it lapse. I just don't sell locally, and I was very bad about keeping up with the quarterly reports. We file a regular 1040 federal return and I have a couple easy self-employment forms to attach. It doesn't take long at all.
Don't underprice your work. Promote it as GOOD work, and charge accordingly. If they want cheap quilts, they can buy Chinese imports at JCPenney.
Oh, and be sure to charge adequately for shipping. If you are buying boxes, tissue, cello bags, tape, etc. , remember to work them into the cost of shipping. For special orders, get 50% of the fee up front and payment in full before you ship it. (Or 100% before you start, depending on the client. For strangers, I often require 100%.) I almost always just ship by USPS Priority mail. They provide nice clean sturdy boxes that are self-sealing. I print the mailing label online at the USPS website and get free delivery confirmation that way. I could even pay for it and just hand it to the mailman at my doorstep if I had a scale, but I don't. Delivery Confirmation is very important.
I hope that helps!