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Need to Make Business Changes


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I've been quilting for others for 6 months and feel like I need to make some changes. For instance, I only want to offer edge-to-edge panto quilting and I do not want to offer batting anymore because I don't have the room to store it. What I have discovered over the last 6 months is there is no money in this and because of that, I want to keep things simple. Am I being unreasonable? Any input will be appreciated.

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Are you being unreasonable. NO....its whatever works for you. If having batting doesn\'t work...don\'t, if edge to edge is all you want to offer your customers...that is totally okay.

There are no rules that say that you have to be a full service stop. Gable its whatever works for you. As you go you may change your mind, and if you don\'t COOL. If you are up front with your customers and lay it out that this is all you are wanting to offer this should be cool. But I would have a name of someone else should they ask for someone who does custom, or heirloom quilting and just go from there.

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I think you are making a very wise business move.

I have been in business for over 2 years now, I have offered batting, backing, custom, ETE, and embroidered quilt labels. a couple months ago I too decided that I needed to make some changes in my business for the new year.

For instance I am not going to be offering batting or backing anymore, there is a lot of money tied up in it and since I don\'t have a quilt shop and can\'t buy the stuff at bulk/ low rates I would hve to raise my prices up too high just to make a profit. Plus like you said it takes up too much room.

I am also not going to be offering custom or semi custom (panto with a seperate border) anymore. These services take twice as long to do and the money is just not there (the people who have the computerized machines can do a better job with these than I can anyway so I will just leave the fancy stuff to them). I have always loved doing pantos and I am good at them, I have a lot of them to choose from and I can do them quickly so it is only good business sense that I stream line my business to reflect my stregnths and not highlight my weaknesses.

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Gable,

You have to do what works for you, otherwise you will recent your work and then it really won\'t be fun! LOL I\'m just starting and I already know that I won\'t make any money! I love to do sid and custom work. I always underestimate how long things will take but for me that is what I enjoy so until I don\'t enjoy it I\'ll do what I think works.

Heidi

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Gable, thanks for asking this. I didn\'t realize until today, that some of what you mentioned had been bothering me.

I just did a donation quilt with 13 borders, of which I only handled 5 or 6 separately. the others were too narrow to mess with, in my opinion. I found doing the side borders without turning the quilt, is a pain in the patooty I don\'t want to mess with.. for myself, others, or donations. too many threads to tie and tuck in, and it takes too long, too.

Anyway, By your asking, I\'ve found relief, and know more about what I will or won\'t be doing with my end of things..

Make the decisions that make you most comfortable and just like other businesses, people can either use it or go to another.

Makes total sense to me.

Thanks, again,

RitaR

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Gable, I think all of us have gone or are going through the same thing you are. I have a quilt shop along with the quilting service. The quilting does a lot better than the selling fabric and I don\'t have the expense, other than the machine, tied up. I have been contemplating closing the quilt shop but my customers keep telling me that they are so happy I\'m here. I have fabric bills I need to pay and selling a 1/4 to 1 yard here and there doesn\'t cut it sometimes.

By the way do any of you want a great deal on some fabric? Thinking of putting it on e-bay just to move some.

Hang in there Gable sounds like you\'ve got a plan.

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It is YOUR business and YOU decide what works for YOU. If YOU change YOUR mind later and would like to add on other services, types of quilting, etc., then YOU will do it.

For what its worth, don\'t give up on custom work entirely--but you might want to develop your skills on your own time. As you become more proficient, the time it takes you to do light/medium custom work will drop dramatically. You will become way better at handling your machine and way better at doing things more efficiently.

I\'m not a panto person. I can do pantos, but I hate to do them, so I don\'t. There are many things that I do now that I classify as light/medium custom work that I can do faster than pantos! I know that sounds crazy, but it\'s true. The more you can practice, the better and faster you can work.

The bottom line is that you have to do what works for you. If you find out that what you\'re doing is NOT working for you, then you need to make changes to make it work.

God Bless and keep plugging away!

Jill Kerekes

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I think that YOU get to decide how to run YOUR business.

I know batting takes up space but it can be profitable to offer it to your customers. It is really convenient for them, too. I have simple pricing for my batting, I charge the same thing that the LQS charges. And that is about a 100% markup.

Dream Puff wholesale Queen

$8.61 + $2.50 (shipping) = $11.11

Retail = $24.00

I store 2 or 3 rolls on a bar under my 12 ft machine.

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Maybe just have one choice of batting..like a low loft..then tell them that if they want something else. to please bring it...I dont order the batting wholesale anymore...the local Ben Franklin carries the same thing I did...at the cost of wholesale plus just a little more... life is getting tough out there...

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What a great idea!! I was just thinking if you want to make changes - it\'s your business - do what works for you. Then the thought came to me....I ordered batting and it took forever to get here because there was a problem with the shipping company and Hobbs. I finally got it and I guess they had to find a different company to ship it and try to find the least expensive pricing...any who, the shipping is still too high and you have to raise the price of the batting to help with the cost of shipping...what a great idea to stop stocking batting!!! Thank you...why didn\'t I think of that!?!

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I don\'t have much space to store batting either...but I do like to offer it. Most of my quilters buy their batting from me and, for me, that means less chance of inferior battings coming my way.

Now, if only I can resist some of the more unusual battings...my clientele are definitely not into the more pricey stuff. So, I\'m glad I just got a couple of the alpaca batts in and not the big roll of it!

Sandra

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi, I\'m new to the forum. Your posting was a little confusing to me. Did you mean that you are not making money on having the batting available or that you are not making money on the quilting business. I am very close to purchasing a long arm machine to begin a business from my home. I would appreciate any advice, warnings, etc. from any of you more experienced quilters. I have made my own tops for a long time and quilted a few smaller ones on my regular machine. I want to take things to the next level and quilt my own but I have to do this as a business in order to pay for my quilting hobby/habit. I look forward to any comments.

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RYF,

First, welcome to the forum. You will get lots of help and encouragement here.

I\'m sure that you will do research on the marketability of a quilter in you area. Some stay busy all the time and then some just don\'t. An edge-to-edge quilting job in Iowa would probably not be priced the same in New York. Research is a must.

If you are thinking about starting a business, you will want to investigate the legal side of it in your area. Do they require a business license; what about taxes?; What about insurance? Lots of things to consider.

I have a business license so I am eligible to buy business-related things, like batting and prewound bobbins, wholesale which is a great savings. I also must collect tax from my customers to send in to the state tax board. I quilt part-time. Just like my regular job, I must report my earnings from quilting to the IRS for federal income tax. :o

I don\'t much like the tax side of it but it is the way I chose to run my business. It is a choice that you will have to make, too. It is YOUR business.

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I don\'t have room to store a roll or rolls of batting. But every few months I order a few packaged battings from Quilters Dream. I try to keep one King size, two to three Queen and Double size, three twin, three crib, and a couple of throw size. That will fit into a box under my machine I add the cost of shipping to the batting and then double that amount. That is the amount I charge for the batting. It is usually within five cents of our local quilt store prices. I don\'t want to compete with them, but I find that most of my clients do not bring batting. Having the batting on hand saves me from having to make a trip to a quilt store. My nearest quilt store is probably fifteen mile away. Stopping my work and driving to a quilt store isn\'t productive for me. Especially since I usually have a shopping frenzy when I hit a quilt store!

I tried selling backings when I first started, but that didn\'t work for me.

If you are comfortable doing E2E, that is great. Work with your strengths. There isn\'t a thing wrong with that. I like to do a little bit of everything, so that is what I offer. I\'d be miserable if I just did E2E,

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Since Walmart closed it\'s sewing/quilting department, the batting selection for us is very limited.. One carries the cheapest.. one carries a good but sort of pricy batting.. I will try to carry one in the middle, and ask the customers to bring what they want me to use, except NO craft battings..

Our closest quilt shop of size is now 35 miles one way, so having the batting by the package may prove to be a good idea, but I won\'t know until I have customers going thru, and learn what they want.. One shop is willing to share info, the one with a LA.. another LA er isn\'t willing to share the air and the only fabric shop is more sewing and not so knowledgeable about quilting, batting, etc.

So, learn what\'s available, if you can use the Joanns 40 or 50 % off coupons.. or try to join with other quilters to order wholesale, and make sure the money is there before the orders are placed.

RitaR

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