Guess, I got my first customer ...

[andriko]

by chance. Saturday I went to a workshop for machine embroidery. Weeks before I just mentioned to the store manager that I bought a LA-machine. Yesterday she asked me when I will have that machine? She is interested in seeing how it works as she has some tops and no time to finish the rest. She is running the Bernina shop nearby (meanly) and two other shops as well. All three shops are selling the fabric for clothing, quilting stuff (not sooo big) and other things. They do have their customers coming from far away as their support is great. They also do some Quilt-Workshops from time to time.

An attendee of the workshop heard our talking and was also interessted in, although she lives a 2-3 hours ride away. Quite a distance for Switzerland.

They will wait for my service until I am ready to (after a lot of pratice )

Now I have a question: How do I set my prices as I have no reference? Should I compare with lets say a plumber, electritian, a ??? I have no glue.

Has anyone a sample of flyer they used? LA is not very well known here and I guess I am able to place some in the stores mentioned abve.

I am just working on my business card and can not decide (eg. landscape vs. portrait, simple white background vs pattern....) but I will finish that by tomorrow I guess. What was the main intention of yours and how or with what kind of symbol did you express it? Did you also let the colors you choose work for? Like clean, fresh, vivid ...

Have you placed more information then name + address + phone number?

I read a lot of the tipps given on this forum and the related links. All very usefull with a lot of aah. Thanks a lot to all who have already shared their tipps.

Thanks a buch for giving me any idea and all of you: Take care!

[ckirk]

I would strongly recommend that you read Carol Thelan's book, Professional Machine Quilting. It is a wonderful resource and will help you place a value on your time and skills. Linda Taylor's book also has business information in it.

In my area, the general price range seems to be 1 1/2 cents per square inch to 3 cents per square inch of quilt top size for quilting. The amount charged depends on the type of quilting chosen by the customer. Simple pantographs and all over meandering are less expensive than a quilt with borders, block work, stitch in the ditch, etc. Often there is an extra charge for thread, pressing, seaming backings, and binding.

I think a business card should have contact information and an attractive logo. It should be simple and easy to read. Be careful when using color. Sometimes it makes it hard to see the information!

Your brochure should have more detailed information about your service and pricing, as well as educational information for the customer about the requirements for long arm quilting. Many quilters do not know that they do not need to baste a quilt prior to long arm quilting, or that the batting and backing need to be 3-4" larger than the quilt top for proper loading on the machine.

Good luck with your endeavors!

Happy quilting,

Cathy in NC

Millennium

[diane Bevans]

I found the best way was to start with longarm people in your area, the web is great place to research this kind of thing. Some list their price or give you a price caluculator and then set your prices accordingly. I have two long arm quilters that are within a 10-30 minute drive with a long establish customer list, and one has her prices listed in her quilt show the other does not. I set my prices just slightly below theirs in order to capture some of the business.Which I might say I am doing,also becuase I don't have a huge backlog. And I won't stretch myself out any more than six weeks. People might tell you they don't care when they get their quilts back "no Hurry", but they do and they tell others.