Newbie needs your opinion

[Prairie Quilter]

For all of you professional quilters ...

If you were a newbie starting a quilting business today and could:

EITHER buy a retiring quilter's existing business (including clients, an older but well maintained non-stitch-regulated machine, and lots of training)

OR for about the same price start from scratch with a brand new stitch-regulated machine (but no clients) ...

which would you do?

Thanks in advance for giving me your thoughts.

[LinneaMarie]

I would start from square one! You can get all the bells and whistles; and believe me; the clients will come. I think a lot of our customers move around anyway. I know mine do. Some stay with me, some come back and some I never see again. (mostly those who thought I was too high) One lady couldn't believe I'd charge her .02psi to do a Circle Lord big board. She said, "It's not like you have any overhead! I mean, you're in your studio anyway!!" WHAT??? Excuse me. I guess she thought the machine and all the goodies that go with it were free.

As for training, you get that as you go along and practice. Some people practice for a year before taking customers.

I see this is your first post. Welcome to the nut house..................oh, I mean family!!!!:P:P

You will love it here, and please continue to join us no matter what you decide. :D

[Deb2bie]

I agree with Linnea Marie. There is no guarantee those customers will be "yours". They will want you to do practicing before they give you a try. If you don't get any other Bell or Whistle you will never regret having a stitch regulator on your machine. You will be able to quilt for $$ much sooner than without it. Quilting with a regulator make for one less thing to pay attention to while you're learning. Having consistent size stitches is a biggie!! Your local APQS dealer can let you test drive the machines with and without the regulator on and you will see what I mean.

Yes, welcome to this big, crazy, family of quilters and lurkers (harmless ones)!!!

[Quilting Heidi]

I agree with Debbi and Linneamarie. Yes getting a new machine will mean that you start fresh and clean. For me I really wanted a SR so that would be high on my priority list. customer list is nice but no guarantee that you will get their business. Now for training. I've invested a lot in my training and it has made it worth it to be able to jump right into quilting for customers. Remember there is a learning curve so you will want some hands on classes so you don't have to learn things the hard way. You will get a free beginner class if you get a APQS so that is a start. Do your research in your area and know what you are getting into. It takes a while to get your reputaiton out there.

[Stagecl]

I agree with everyone above. I would start new.

[ffq-lar]

I will echo the great advice here. Buying a list of customers is not worth much. It's similar to cutting hair--if an established, well known stylist sells their business to someone untrained in styling hair, what would you do if you were a former customer?

Get the most/best machine you can afford, train and practice to acquire the skills you need, and build your own base of customers.

Remember also, unless the retiring quilter can talk someone else into her deal (doubtful) all those customers will need to find someone new anyway. It could be you! Without a shadow of the former owner standing beside you.

One thing you can do, though, is to offer her $50 for her customer list. It may be invaluable as a newbie--have a postcard-size information sheet printed which introduces you, lets them know you are available to accept quilts needing overall designs (the easiest type to start out with) and that you are offering to give them a 20% discount on the first quilt they send you. Mail them out a few at a time when you feel comfortable with your progress.

Welcome to this friendly and encouraging place! Good luck and post often!

[LibbyG]

I love my stitch regulator because I can slow down or stop and think about what I want to do and where I'm going. It's really great when you're starting out.

You can buy a few books and DVD's and you'll be able to quilt in no time. When you have a chance take some classes and you'll gain more confidence.

Do you know this lady's pricing? She may be very cheap and her customers would expect you to charge the same amount. I'd start fresh. But good luck with whatever decision you make.

[Zora]

I agree that buying a new machine is the way to go. Your quilting style will be uniquely yours, and the customers may or may not stay with you. Others will migrate to other quilters during your learning curve. The bells and whistles on the new machine are well worth investing in, and will make your quilting much more pleasant.

[gaildrake]

Gp with a machine that has a stitch regulator and a warranty and you will not be sorry. Clients will come and you get one free class when you buy new,

[Anne from Guam]

HI, I'm relatively new here too and I'd like to give you my two cents.

When I was quilting on my regular sewing machine (dsm) I did NOT think that getting the SR was worth it. I taught myself how to machine quilt at my kitchen table and my stitches became consistent over time. No big deal.

Now that I have my longarm, my viewpoint is much different. I love that stitch regulator, it really lets me concentrate on learning how to move the machine and I don't get that panicky feeling of being out of control because with the SR on, you can stop to think and the machine pauses while you plan your next move.

Also, if you plan on doing pantographs, you have your eye on the laser light and the pattern and you don't even look at the needle going into the fabric as you sew.

So my advice is to buy new or buy a demo machine (cheaper) and practice practice practice!

[iedquilts]

I agree, buy new. Practice, then do some charity quilts,

soon the word gets out and you get your own customer list.

Great advise and tips from all who replied.

Irene in BC

[RoseCity Quilter]

Welcome! I know for a fact, that despite what the retiring longarmer told you, you can never buy clients! As a shop owner, I have seen this type of transaction happen. As soon as word gets out that the buisness sold, the new owner starts over building a client base.

[meg]

GO WITH THE STITCH REGULATOR!!

i am a newbie and couldnt imagine how hard it would be to learn without it.

and if you are thinking apqs - i just read a post about what a good deal the show demos are in the last day or 2.

[Guest Linda S]

Go with the new machine with the stitch regulator. You can't really buy someone else's customers. If a local quilter goes out of business, her customers will most likely start with the most experienced quilter around. If you get a good machine and practice and do well -- they'll take notice and start coming to you.

Linda

[mrsbishwit]

Welcome Prairie Quilter!

Everyone has already given you great advice, just wanted to say welcome to chat

[shelleywa]

Welcome to the forum! I thoroughly agree with all that's been said above. I started with a non-stitch regulated machine and taught myself to quilt, and I did get quite even stitches after a LOT of practice! ( I've now got a Millenium and I admit I do usually use the SR!). I definitely needed to just practice for a year - I wanted to do all sorts of quilting, freehand and custom, so I invested heaps of time in practicing techniques. It is a huge learning curve.Doing charity quilts is a great idea - it helps the charity or guild you're quilting for and gives you a 'free' quilt to borrow to practice on. It can get quite expensive even just doing mock up quilts. One cheap solution to getting enough practice samples ( apart from the charity quilts) is to buy doona (continental quilt covers) covers when they are on special, cutting the seams and you have a back and a front . Just add some wadding and you have a practice piece! I used to get them for $10 sometimes! Remember what Linda Taylor says, "Allow yourself time to be a beginner." That helped me no end when I first began. Enjoy the process too!!

Shelley

[Sandra Darlington]

I agree with the rest of these comments, too.

I could not afford to buy the top of the line, brand new machine, so I bought a factory refurbished, 3 year old machine from APQS (stitch regulated). It had a 1 year warrenty, too.

I took lots and lots of classes over the last 2 years, took quilts to "sew & tell" every month, and people in my guild started to ask me to do their quilts and so, after 2 years, I started a business, just this month. So far I have only done one quilt and it was for the President of our guild. If all goes well, it will be in a book that is scheduled to come out in 2011 by Linda Hahn. It is a New York Beauty - lots of SID. I finished it Thursday and the gal, Chris, picked it up at my day job yesterday. She loved it...whewww! I'm hoping to get business from my guild members and a few friends.

I would suggest not rushing into a business. Word of mouth travels at the speed of light, if you know what I mean. Someone just starting out will not be as good as someone with more practice and that opinion will travel through the old gals network very quickly. On the other hand, once they see your work improve over the months when you do their charity quilts, that word will spread, too, at least that was my situation. I don't think you need to wait 2 years, but I would think 6 months to a year would be reasonable. If you work full time at another job, your learning curve will be longer, but if you are home all day and can get in lots of PPP (practice), you will have a shorter learning curve, according to the calendar, but the hours will be about the same.

Of course, this is just my opinion, and others will offer theirs, as well. See what works for you, but keep in mind that you will have a learning curve and customers will often hop around, so forget about buying her business.

[Prairie Quilter]

Thank you all very much for your advice. You have been a tremendous help.

After reading your posts DH and I have pretty much decided that new is the way to go. Now ... which machine?? This will be the fun part.

[Butterfly]

I think you should start with the new, stitch regulated machine. I also don't think that the other woman's clients are a sure thing. I don't think they will trust you with their work until they start seeing what you can do.

Welcome to the group.

Jessica

[lindasewsit]

Welcome and I agree with everyone else!! You'll have a blast!