Quilting Business?
Do any of you have a quilting business that you run from home? If someone asks you to make a quilt, how do you determine what your time is worth? How do you keep track of inventory? (IE, I bought 6 yards of this fabric, at $X price, used only 2 1/2 of it for the customer quilt, will have 3 1/2 yards left over for another quilt, etc.)
Do you use a computer program or software to keep track of it all and generate a detailed invoice? Do you list line by line the fabrics used and their price, along with a labor line for your time? (think car mechanic; parts and labor) How do you account for shipping you paid for fabrics ordered online? And if someone asks you to make a quilt from scratch, do you charge for time planning out the quilt? Do you count electricity used to run your machine and thread as some % of overhead in the final price?
I have a long arm, and so this quilt will literally be start to finish, in my control. She left it up to me to pick design, colors and how to quilt it. The only thing she specified is that if be Queen size. I am thinking if I document every step of the way and put it is some formal program, I will have a template to use for future orders, since this seems to be what others keep asking me to do. Originally, I just wanted to do the quilting part with my Avante. This is going a different direction than I had planned, and it's throwing me for a loop. But, I am willing to roll with it.
I would love to hear what tools people use to manage their inventory and time, how they figure out what to charge people, and any links that have good references to people wanting to start a home business that is specifically quilting/sewing related. The SBA has a lot of questions for beginners that aren't really relevant to this line of work, since it's geared to be generic for all businesses, and I keep wading through a lot of irrelevant information there. I figured this forum would be a much better place to ask, since I imagine many of you sell what you make.
Shelley