Blog Post!
Details about my second month into my embroidery business.
Busy, but Not Making Money.
So, it’s been awhile since my last blog post. I’ve been busy using my machine so that’s a good thing. There is a lot that goes into trying to get an embroidery business off the ground that has very little to do with actually embroidering.
On the embroidery side I’ve found that even when you get a beautiful stitch out you could have hooped it wrong so it’s not in the right position. Or you used the wrong stabilizer and the stitches look awful after a wash. I’ve been adding a fusible soft backing when I do baby bodysuits and I found after I did a couple of shirts for my kids that they don’t stay on well after a trip through the washer and dryer. Now I have to wonder if my clients will feel like it’s not a quality product if that starts falling off after a single wash. So many things! All of this and I’m still down to three paid orders. I’m hoping that some marketing I am doing with new moms is going to produce some new clients.
Another fun surprise is apparently I can’t buy the right size shirt for my daughter. Twice now I’ve gone to Wal-Mart to pick up some blanket and ended up hooping a plus side shirt and not realizing it until after the job had started. At that point I have to commit to letting it run so it won’t be a waste of a shirt, but my very slim daughter can’t wear the plus size shirts. That means I have to wait for this run to complete and then hoop the right size shirt and start all over. Mind you it’s 3:17 in the morning right now. Sleep is not for new business owners. Maybe that’s why I’ve been trying to find ways to market to moms.
A second size issue I’ve encountered is that I thought I was buying an adult large shirt for myself. It ended up being a youth large. I put it on and was like hmm, maybe I shouldn’t have eaten that extra roll at dinner. While that is still probably true, the roll had nothing to do with me not fitting into a youth large shirt. I never would have thought the size of the garments I was picking out was going to be the challenge it is turning out to be for me. It’s the little things.
Up to this point I have now completed a structured hat (snap back baseball style), a bucket hat, sweatpants, notebooks, baby bodysuits, baby blankets, hand towels, placemats, T-shirts, tote bags, pencil bags, and drawstring bags. I failed at an attempt to embroider on the ear of a stuffed animal and haven’t bothered to try that again yet. While that may sound like a pretty solid list. I think only a handful of those would meet my standards to actually sell. I’m still enjoying the process though. I am proud of the things that I have sold. Hopefully that darn backing stays put on the baby bodysuits for a few washes. The misadventures continue, as the spool spins.
On the embroidery side I’ve found that even when you get a beautiful stitch out you could have hooped it wrong so it’s not in the right position. Or you used the wrong stabilizer and the stitches look awful after a wash. I’ve been adding a fusible soft backing when I do baby bodysuits and I found after I did a couple of shirts for my kids that they don’t stay on well after a trip through the washer and dryer. Now I have to wonder if my clients will feel like it’s not a quality product if that starts falling off after a single wash. So many things! All of this and I’m still down to three paid orders. I’m hoping that some marketing I am doing with new moms is going to produce some new clients.
Another fun surprise is apparently I can’t buy the right size shirt for my daughter. Twice now I’ve gone to Wal-Mart to pick up some blanket and ended up hooping a plus side shirt and not realizing it until after the job had started. At that point I have to commit to letting it run so it won’t be a waste of a shirt, but my very slim daughter can’t wear the plus size shirts. That means I have to wait for this run to complete and then hoop the right size shirt and start all over. Mind you it’s 3:17 in the morning right now. Sleep is not for new business owners. Maybe that’s why I’ve been trying to find ways to market to moms.
A second size issue I’ve encountered is that I thought I was buying an adult large shirt for myself. It ended up being a youth large. I put it on and was like hmm, maybe I shouldn’t have eaten that extra roll at dinner. While that is still probably true, the roll had nothing to do with me not fitting into a youth large shirt. I never would have thought the size of the garments I was picking out was going to be the challenge it is turning out to be for me. It’s the little things.
Up to this point I have now completed a structured hat (snap back baseball style), a bucket hat, sweatpants, notebooks, baby bodysuits, baby blankets, hand towels, placemats, T-shirts, tote bags, pencil bags, and drawstring bags. I failed at an attempt to embroider on the ear of a stuffed animal and haven’t bothered to try that again yet. While that may sound like a pretty solid list. I think only a handful of those would meet my standards to actually sell. I’m still enjoying the process though. I am proud of the things that I have sold. Hopefully that darn backing stays put on the baby bodysuits for a few washes. The misadventures continue, as the spool spins.