Christmas is coming - time to promote your business

If you are not aware of it by now, the Christmas season is the biggest time for retail sales in almost any sector or industry. You had better start now with promoting your sewing business and items to get a step ahead on the rest of the crowd.

of course one of the easiest ways is by having business cards made so you can hand them out to people you meet. Always keep a few of them on you. Another way is to have t-shirts made to promote your business. Vista Print is having a Special Sale on both of those items right now.

I want you to think about the image you want to promote for your business. Should it be cutesy? That's good for a business that makes and sells items for babies and toddlers but not good for those sewing businesses that cater to wedding dresses. Remember to project an image or saying that will attract clients not make them think your business is a bit strange or slightly "off".

More free sewing and embroidery patterns

What I really love about sewing and being a customer of some companies is that they have lots of free sewing patterns for you to download and enjoy. This week at the Embroidery Library Projects they have one project that I really like the idea of - a shopping tote.

A few of our local grocery stores are now thinking about adding a 1 or 2 cent charge for each plastic or paper grocery bag that they use to pack your groceries in. This is not for them to make money but the state is talking about issuing some type of tax or surcharge on grocery bags to combat landfill and energy issues.

Now if your local government is considering the same thing then fabric grocery bags will become the norm and there will be a demand for strong decorative ones.

Sewing leather and suede

One of the hardest materials to sew is leather and suede, not because of the actual piecing together and sewing but because of the problems that rise should you make a mistake. The sewn holes remain and can be very unsightly unless you find out how to work with leather for sewing. Here is a link to an in depth article about how to measure leather skins for sewing.

Business essentials

An essential element of business is having a business checking account. The IRS wants to see that you are keeping your personal accounts and business accounts separate. It proves to them that your business is for profit and not just a hobby that you are using as tax write offs.

One bank that I can recommend is WaMu. They offer a free online Savings Account as well as free business checking accounts. What you will need to open a free business checking account is to supply proof of a business such as your business license, resale permit or whatever document would be considered a legal business declaration in your state.

You can save bank fees by linking several of your accounts together within WaMu. That action will help you avoid many of the required minimums on the various smaller types of accounts they offer. The online saving account can help you avoid many of those fees and it has a very small minimum balance requirement.

I also keep a separate account on my computer for purchases and sales that are business related. This comes in handy when it is tax time. I use Microsoft Money, but any accounting software will do the job.

A free stuffed animal pattern

The teddy wolf is a pattern that I found here. The instructions are a bit rough and you have to print out a grid and pattern pieces but the result is worth the effort. The instructions assume that you know more than just basic sewing techniques.

June weddings are fast becoming passe'

There was a time when June was THE wedding month of the year. More and more people are getting married in other months and June is being pushed aside. This is a great advantage to those businesses that cater to weddings and Bridal Showers. I personally believe that the straying away from June for many brides was the mere fact that places that held weddings were already booked for the month of June. As a sewing business I am no longer in a rush to get items ready for June weddings. Many of the weddings that I make an item for (mostly elaborate ring pillows with names and dates embroidered on them) are now in late summer and around the winter holidays. Just because June is gone for this year does not mark the end of wedding planning or purchasing for many brides.

Here are a few ideas for things to make for weddings and bridal showers:

• The all important vale (AKA "vail") for the bride
• wedding favors
• any embroidered item with the date of the occasion such as towels
  
• banners announcing the occasion - sewn of course
  
• the ring pillow
• wedding gifts that are unique in some way

Because of the varied seasons of wedding and bridal showers the colors of the items does not have to be bright and summery. The winter weddings can utilize plaids and darker earth tones for color themes. That also gives rise to the growing trend in fantasy weddings such as medieval and scfi. A wedding is no longer in June nor is it just white anymore.

China might be out as a fabric producer

The tide has turned and the USA might well be on top again for textiles and fabrics. The story is below.