Staying relevant in the embroidery business

 I was recently listening to a video where this person has ran embroidery for awhile now. She goes on and mentions that the embroidery market is stagnant. I disagree with her. No, not because I sell embroidery machines. But for the amount of calls I get per week on people looking for a good quality embroidery shop. They don't ask me for the cheapest, people are tired of cheap bad quality, they are wanting good quality embroidery.

In today's world consumers want a few things. One: real customer service. Not to cater to those customers who demand everything but want it for free. But to those who are willing to pay a good price for quality, they want to be shown they have value. They want a company who will talk with them on the phone or in person. They want a company who cares about the embroidery they are putting out and can take pride in their work. They also are looking for many who will do small amounts of work. Most of the big shops won't take anything less than 20 to 24 piece orders.

Another issue are that trends and fads come and go so quickly they are hard to keep up with. Don't over extend yourself on making too many products at once. This might not be as easy to do if you are going to a show, however a bunch of flyers or cards made up and a small (even free site) where they can go and purchase is often worth looking into. There's so many great online options these days. Take the free Square or free Paypal store sites. One option I have found is using GoDaddy free site with a free Square store and linking the items together where they can go purchase can be a great way to keep customers engaged.

Watching some vloggers,I have to say that their showing every piece of work they are doing makes a lot of people go and try to do the same thing. And an area can become inundated with the same work. Children's blankets had that happen. One vlogger did several videos on how much money she was making and then suddenly there were 300 others doing the exact same thing. The vlogger even gave advice on where they got their blank blankets, what threads were used, etc. In business, one should keep some things in house so as not to get taken over by everyone else.

If you want to work at home and make a real living with embroidery, which is easy, make sure you really know your bottom lines. Down to the smallest details. How much does the thread cost, the bobbin, how much will it cost you if you mess up one item? Regardless of brand of machine, at least once in a blue moon a machine might eat a garment. How much is your time worth? Are you needing to make 20 an hour or 25? 30? Know the amount of time you'll be spending on any item and know what your bottom line costs are and then add what you'll need to make that living you seek.

My last piece of advice is to stay open. I tell everyone who asks about purchasing a Blue Sky embroidery machine that staying open is the most important part of your business. Some who were doing children's bath towels switched to other fields and are still making a fine living. I'm not going to give their secrets away, but let us say, they (sometimes) ended up doing things they hadn't thought of and are enjoying themselves.

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Blue Sky embroidery machines