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Recommended Home Sewing Business Books

Home Based Sewing Business

The "Business" of Sewing: How to Start, Maintain and Achieve Success

Things To Consider Before You Start A Home Based Sewing Business

Planning The Start Of A Home Based Sewing Business

Good sewing skills can be the basis of a profitable and enjoyable home based business but, like any other type of business, starting a home sewing business needs research and careful planing. Before you attempt to launch your new home based sewing business, you should write a business plan. This will help you to set your goals for building your business and will help you to identify steps you need to take before the business is launched and any possible problems relating to the setting up of the business or its day to day running.

Home Sewing Business Regulations And Permits

Your first decision is what type of sewing business you intend to start as this will affect what further preparations you need to make. Some types of sewing business might necessitate enquiries to find out whether you need permission to run that sort of business from your home. Sewing is a pretty private kind of occupation and carries no hazards to neighbours involving dangerous chemicals etc but it can impact upon your neighbours. Your neighbours could be adversely affected if your business involves numerous visits from clients (for example to have fittings for garments). Excessive noise or parking problems could be caused by the comings and goings related to your business and this could get you embroiled in an action for nuisance. It is far better to anticipate these kinds of problems and make sure you plan to avoid them and get any necessary permits so that you can start your home sewing business on the right foot.

How Much Space Will A Home Sewing Business Need?

The type of sewing business you decide to start will determine the amount of space you will need to operate the business efficiently. The occasional small sewing jobs can be performed quite comfortably from a temporary place on the corner of the dining table but a home sewing business will benefit from a more permanent location. It will also require some storage space for paperwork such as orders and financial accounting documents needed for tax purposes as well as for fabrics, works in progress and completed items. A dedicated sewing room might not be available but, with a little ingenuity, a sewing business can still be operated from home even if you have to work at the dining table and pack up your tools at the end of each working day.

Money, Money, Money!

The next consideration should be your home business budget. Before you start your home sewing business, you must have a realistic business plan including a detailed budget. If you don't have sufficient savings to get your business started and to cover expenses until your business becomes profitable, you will need facts and figures to back up an application for a business loan. The amount you will need as a budget for ongoing expenses will depend upon the type of sewing business you plan to start. If you are making items to order, you can minimise your out of pocket expenses if you take a deposit from the customer to cover the cost of any materials you will be providing. If you are not making items for specific orders, you will obviously need a budget to enable you to continue to buy materials until sales are made. This could mean short-term budgeting but, if you are making seasonal items (eg Christmas themed goods for sale at an annual craft fair), you will need to budget for the whole time between purchasing the materials and actual sale of the goods.

If sewing is your hobby, you might not need to spend much, if anything, at all on tools for your business. The main thing is to ensure that you possess a strong and reliable sewing machine that is capable of performing all the functions you will need to operate your sewing business. Buy the best quality machine you can afford; a second-hand sewing machine made by a reputable manufacturer is a safer bet than a new machine of unknown pedigree. Sewing machines can cost anywhere between $150 and $6000 and above. Opt for a sewing machine that will do everything you need but does not offer loads of other functions you won't ever use, there's no point in spending cash on unnecessary extras. A serger (overlock) machine is essential for most types of sewing business and a good one can be obtained for under $200. Like sewing machines, there are many models of serger with additional functions, so you should decide whether you are going to need basic overlocking functions only or whether you would want to use the features that will enable you to create decorative finishes. A pressing machine could be a useful tool but it is certainly not essential. If cash or storage space is limited, a presser is something you can easily do without. The other tools you will need are small inexpensive items such as pins, thread tape measure, spare sewing machine needles, paper patterns etc.

Still at the planning stage? Recommended Further Reading:
Choosing Your Home Sewing Business Niche
The "Business" of Sewing: How to Start, Maintain and Achieve Success Pricing Without Fear
The "Business" of Sewing: How to Start, Achieve and Maintain Success, Vol. 1