Beverly Lowe

Hello guys,
Quilting is my favorite hobby and I love to quilt pillows, blankets, and crafty things. Last day my friend visited my home and was pleased to see my designs. She is encouraging me to start a business in our hometown and would like to support me as a partner. My husband and I liked the suggestion and would like to go ahead with it. He is a high school teacher and we both don't have any idea regarding the business. Though excited about starting the business I'm little worried. When I searched for some business marketing strategies, I came across few interesting ideas from the google (http://www.grassrootsadvertising.com...he-off-season/). Like it is said in the article, I am thinking of creating facebook and twitter pages for my company. Can anyone suggest some tips and ideas that I should follow before starting the business? Any suggestions and ideas related to this are welcome.

Cotton Mama

Many universities have small business development centers through which they provide advice and guidance to small businesses and start-ups. If you're near a university, you may want to see if anything's avaialable. Best of luck!

lots2do

I know someone who sells her knitted goods and some sewn items through Etsy. She seems to do quite well. It seems like a safe way to sell items. She doesn't have to lug a bunch of things to a craft fair. Maybe do some research on this option?

Geri B

Some towns/cities have a chamber of commerce that offer information seminars on small business start ups.......

tessagin

A friend of mine does this through Etsy. She has a good eye and picks things up at estate sales then sells for a small butprofitable gain. She invested in a scale purchased from an office supply store for shipping.

feline fanatic

There have been many topics on this subject on the QB. Here is one link.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...g-t286205.html

I couldn't find others but mostly because I wasn't using the correct search criteria. The general consensus is it is very difficult to make any money at quilting. Those that are successful have found niche markets such as high end baby quilts, T-shirt quilts or memory quilts. The other way some quilters have done well is longarm quilting for others for pay but that requires a considerable investment for the equipment and supplies as well as training. I suggest you go on to ETSY and see what quilts are going for. Hardly enough to make your cost of materials let alone pay for your labor efforts. The problem is most consumers are conditioned to the pricing of overseas, sweatshop labor quilts that sell for $50 or less. Of course these quilts fall apart in less than a year but very few people care or think about that and even less want to pay $500 to $700 for a custom made quilt. (and that is a low ball price!) The hand quilted Amish quilts prices are much higher.
https://www.amishcountrylanes.com/Pa...New1List.shtml

Other things to consider are what patterns you use. In order to avoid copyright issues you need to use either public domain patterns or make up your own. Most published patterns and books you need the designer's permission to sell for profit.

finally when you turn your hobby into a business it can quickly kill your love for the hobby.

I am sorry to be such a downer but it is a hard cold fact that most crafters and quilters don't make much money from their crafts.

cashs_mom

This is exactly the reason I've never made things to sell. I like to make things because I love working with the fabrics and putting them together in what I consider a beautiful way. I don't really want to "have" to make things whether I like them or not just because that is what sells. I also don't like doing the same thing over and over. If you enjoying making things just to produce, then you might enjoy it. I enjoy the creative process and doing something new every time. It just depends on what you like the most about quilting.

My husband also went thru this. He's very mechanical and in his younger years considered working as a auto mechanic. He quickly discovered, he hated working on dirty ill maintained engines for people with unrealistic expectations. He decided to stay with drafting and has never been sorry he did.

You might try it at a craft show locally and see if you really like doing production type sewing.

Garden Gnome

Depending on the size of your community, there may be an opportunity to put your creations in a shop on consignment. Or you might rent a booth in a craft/antique mall.

sewbizgirl

Crafts are a real hard way to make money...

quiltingshorttimer

I think you will find it hard to make much profit once you consider the costs of supplies, machine, and your TIME. I do long arm quilting and also make t-shirt quilts for others--neither earn me a "liveable" wage. It does support my quilting "addiction", which is what my goal was with retirement. If you can find a niche to fill (i.e. baby quilts and bedding; memory quilts, etc) you may actually make a go of it. You also need to check out what your state's laws are regarding home businesses, charging sales tax, etc. I've also had to increase my home insurance to cover customer quilts in a disaster, etc. Definitely work with someone who knows about small businesses--sometimes your local chamber of commerce can help with that.