Making money with logos

Logos are how a company helps people identify it easily. Not only should your sewing business have your Logos on business cards, address labels and on t-shirts (embroidered too if your company does embroidery) but you can also make money by promoting other companies logos too.

Now we have all seen embroidered ball caps and t-shirts with company logos on them but what about appliquéd items? If you are handy in designing artwork that can be transformed into a sewn item then you can do company logos. How many times have you been to a company picnic? Did you see the company banner or flag there? They are either sewn or silkscreened. Company banners are used in their office to been seen by customers coming in the front door.

Small companies are great to start catering to in making one of a kind promotional items like flags and banners. Some of the best customers you will have will be animal related businesses like dog breeders that show their dogs. The banners and flags are displayed at dog shows. the same thing for horse trainers and breeders they identify their barn at shows with banners and even custom made tents and stall covers.

The logo business can even become the sole support for your business if you have good salesman qualities and can talk to people about letting your company design something for them.

More free embroidery patterns

I just love it when companies give things away. This month Embroidery Library has 2 new machine embroidery patterns to drool over. In fact if you get to the link below before August 30th then you can grab the 2 free patterns from August as well as the September ones. Besides the tree in the photo above there is a pattern for a lawnmower. Not a big deal unless you are doing custom embroidery for landscaping companies. Here is the link:

• Free embroidery patterns
  

The biggest block to a successful business is....

...your family. Yes it will be the people around your that will make or break your business. I speak from experience when I say that you should ignore what people think of your business while you are just starting out. I actually started a wonderful business years ago that I really loved. My husband was the one that felt threatened by it in some way and always found a way to put it down. I struggled with the put downs for 4 years before finally letting it get to me and gave up. I had customers that were sorry to see me close my business (it was a service related business) and I had to find someone else that they felt was as good as me to refer them to.

Four years later my husband grew up and realized that I had a growing and successful business that he mentally sabotaged. He has tried to encourage me to start the same type of business back up again but I still see that jealousy still in him. My sewing business on the other hand has his full approval and he was the one that suggested I go into the professional embroidery field. He was the one that bought me my Baby Lock Esante to the tune of $4K so I know that he backed me up on this business. Strangely enough I have made more money with my sewing than I did with the prior service business. I have now been designing and selling my items for 2 years now with no ridicule from any family member.

You will have much better success with any business you choose provided you have the emotional backing of your family and friends.

Getting web traffic to your blog or website

One the most frustrating aspects of online selling is setting up a website or blog and no one, and I do mean no one, ever visits. You work hard just to get the website set up just right. You have all your products displayed with really nice professional looking photos on there but still no one visits.

Now you have to advertise you website but advertising a website is more than just plain paying someone to put up a banner on their website. You need to know about SEO. SEO stands for "search engine optimization". It is a way to develop your blog or website so the search engines will find you and display your blog or website when people conduct searches on the internet.

You can either learn about it yourself or hire someone to do it for you. There are many kinds of companies that offer that service. Some are generalized and others are specialized, for example a company that specializes in California Search Engine Optimization. If I didn't know that much about SEO already I would definitely look into finding a company that not only helped with website SEO but one that deals with eCommerce sites as well.

Autumn is almost here, time to think about back to school and football

Autumn means football season if you live in the USA. Football fans can be fanatics when it comes to their favorite team and team colors. Those of us that make money from our sewing can really make out like bandits at this time of year. I have bought onesies for babies at the dollar store and embroidered a team logo on it and sold it on eBay for $25.00. That's a profit of at least $10.00 above what I charge for my time @ $10 an hour. Since the onesies only cost a dollar and the actual set up and sewing time on my machine is about 10-15 minutes, that totaled about $3.50 in time and money. I am not factoring in the cost of the sewing machine or the sewing pattern but I do have to spend more time in taking photos of it and putting the item on eBay. When the item sells I still have to package it up and ship it. I try to do several of them at once so my time will cost less in the long run.

Baby blankets in football team colors are also a big seller. Think of the other possibilities you can do to make money this Autumn.

Sewing for charity

I just came across a story about a doctor that sews beds for animals in shelters. She has made over 900 beds so far. The story is so heart warming that people are asking where they can start making beds too. This is a good example of how to get the word out about your sewing, start by giving.

Creating art from fabric

I have seen many masterpieces of art that were made from textiles, fabric or scraps of cloth. Sewing can not only take the form of clothing or home decor items but also artworks. Abstract art, wall hangings and even sculptures can all be sewn.

Several centuries ago, wall hangings in the form of tapestries, were not only art for the wall but also acted as a form of insulation for the cold stone walls. Those ancient works of art often depicted lifestyles of the day, mythology and stories. Modern day wall hangings are often abstract to add a touch of color or texture to a room. They no longer have to tell a story but add something to a room.

Some sewn pieces of art are also from the colonial days. Often they are quilts that can be over a 100 years old. Those art items have to be preserved in such a way to prevent molds and mildew from damaging them. They are not the type of item that is just put in a cedar chest but needs a special type of Art Storage, the same type that is used by major museums.

If you produce works of art with your sewing hobby then you should look into the different ways to store your work to preserve it for future exhibits.