The Embroidery Coach, Author at Embroidery Industry Expert

Be Creative During Slow Periods In Your Embroidery Business

by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Marketing

Be Creative during the slow periods in your embroidery business is a great way to add new materials and do some extra planning that will bring in more sales. These slow periods are good times to develop new sales materials and samples. This is a time to be creative designing your new sales materials to use in marketing your embroidery business.

I embroidered new designs on white felt, cut out the design samples with pinking shears, and glued them onto card stock. I put these samples into 3 ring binders to distribute to my dealer customers during these slow times. I also embroidered all of the lettering styles that we offered onto the white felt using the standard thread colors that we had in stock. I labeled each lettering style the font name and the thread color. The dealers were always very impressed and thrilled to get their new sales materials from us. This was a way to showcase our work to our dealers and it gave them a way to show their customers the quality of work that they were offering.

I also embroidered coasters to give away as samples. I created a design with my logo, added my contact information and embroidered these on white felt. This is an excellent way to showcase your embroidery and a great leave behind when you are visiting a customer. This can be done for wholesale and retail customers alike.

You can also create new samples to give your showroom a fresh new look.

If you do not have any slow periods in your embroidery business, you need to block out some spare time to accomplish these little profitable, sales creating tasks.

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

Create a Log In Form To Log In Embroidery Orders

by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Management

To expedite your checking in process, create a Log In Form and check list for your employee to use when they are logging in the orders for your embroidery business. Logging in the orders is very important in order to keep complete control of your production process and know exactly what you have in house at all times.

By creating a check list, you can speed up the process and make sure that each step of the logging process is complete and there are no missing pieces within your system.

The check list should include the following:

Date order was placed
Customers Name
Customer PO number
Job Name or Number
Quantity of Items in order
Description of goods ‚Äìshirts, caps, jacket, etc.
Date Due
Other information that is necessary for the nature of your business

As the order is being checked in, it should be the responsibility of the employee to make sure that all of the information on the Log In Form is complete and the order is ready to be placed into process. If one piece of the information is missing, the employee should contact the customer to obtain the missing information. The packing slip that was received with the goods must match the PO from the customer.

This Log In Form is then placed into a 3 ring binder for quick reference. Should it be entered into the computer, absolutely, if you have a system for entering in all of your orders. I have found that having a printed log in form available to view at all times is a simple way to see what you have in house, ready for production at all times.

Whether your order has been input into the computer on a Log In form or written in by hand on the Log In form, a printed copy is very important. When your order is shipped, a line can be drawn through the Customer order on your Log In form to signify that it has been shipped or picked up. This is an easy way to check and see if the order is still in house or has been shipped.

Using a simple system and creating a check list for logging in your orders will help to organize your paper work flow and the production process. You can download the Embroidery Log In Form that I have used for my embroidery business or you can create your own.

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

How To Control Production Spoilage In Your Embroidery Business!

by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Management

I go into many embroidery shops to do on-site training and I am totally amazed at the amount of spoilage that I see in boxes. These boxes of ruined garments are very costly to the business owner.

Learning how to control production spoilage in your embroidery business is an important step in reducing the total cost of operating your embroidery business. Operators should be required to show the amount of garments that were lost or ruined. This should be part of the production form that they are required to fill out at the end of each completed job. You must also know why the loss occurred. Keeping tracking the causes and the operators can help to reduce the loss and avoid them in the future.

Keeping a chart on a weekly basis of these losses is very valuable. This information can be reviewed at the end of the week and used to help retrain the operators in the areas that they are apparently lacking information. When operators know that they are being tracked, they have a tendency to be more careful and pay closer attention to detail.

Many people say that this is part of your Production Cost! I do not agree with that at all. This is a cost that can be almost eliminated if the employees are trained to pay attention to all of the details. Yes, there is some spoilage when a person first starts to be trained, but they must be trained from the very beginning that this is not acceptable.

Embroidery Industry Standard of Loss

There has been an industry standard for many years of a 2% loss. Many claim that a 2% spoilage rate is acceptable. You may have that in your contract, but many people will not do business with you if you have a spoilage rate that high. If you properly train your operators to be aware of all of the factors that can happen and how to avoid them, your spoilage rate will be greatly reduced.

I created a simple Wastage and Spoilage Report that you can download, print out and use to keep track of the production spoilage in your embroidery business. Just fill in the form below and I will send you over the Spoilage Report. Even if you are a one person shop, this will help you keep track of the costs that your errors create. This is a huge eye opener to everyone!

How To Save Time Using Computer Keyboard Shortcuts

by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Management

Using Computer Keyboard Shortcuts is a huge time saver. If you are like me, I spend a lot of time on my computer and every second of my day counts. I am either writing an article, creating a program, writing emails or working on a design for someone and I am very grateful for whatever time I can save.

Basic Computer Keyboard Shortcuts To Save You Time

These Computer Keyboard shortcuts are helpful also if you find that your mouse does not seem to be working or if you are on a laptop with limited space and cannot use a mouse. Here are eleven of the most commonly used Computer Keyboard Shortcuts for changing and editing text.

To select text shift + arrow left/right
To select an entire page of text shift + page up/page down
To copy text control (CTRL) + C
To cut text control (CTRL) + X
To paste text control (CTRL) + V
To undo your last action control (CTRL) + Z
To close a program ALT + F4 or ALT + F + X
To open the task manager control (CTRL) + shift + escape (ESC)
To tab between applications ALT + tab key
To return to your desktop Windows key + M
To lock your workstation Windows key + L

My Favorite Computer Keyboard Shortcut!

It is very common for me to have several windows open at the same time and I just want to find something simple on my desk top but I do not want to have to go through and close everything down in order to reach it. I just hit the Windows key + M and it instantly takes me back to my desk top. I find this such a huge timesaver! This is my favorite computer keyboard shortcut!

If you have some favorite computer keyboard shortcuts that I do not have listed, please share it with us and I will expand my list to include it!

3 Tips To Help You Prepare To Make More Money In The Coming Year

by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Management

We all need to start thinking about how we can prepare to make more money in the coming year! I have been working on my new marketing plan and during this time I have come up with 3 Tips that may help you as you are preparing to make more money in the coming year.

Create A Great Mindset!
Set Your Goals!
Start The Year Off With All Of Your Financials In Order!

Create A Great Mindset!

This is the very beginning and most important tip of the 3. That is why it is No. 1.
Do you have a great or positive Mindset? Many times our thoughts, especially the negative ones, are what hold us back from succeeding at what we want to achieve and may really be hurting our chances of having a successful embroidery business. I thought that I had a positive mindset but I discovered that I had fallen victim to a negative mindset and it was all of my own self-talk and negative feelings.

I wanted to charge higher prices for my embroidery work when I first started my business but then the negative talk started. I had been told so many times that there was no way that I was going to be able to make a living with an embroidery business that I actually started believing it.

We second-guess ourselves and we have doubts when this happens. With all of the negative thoughts and other people‚’s opinions, we soon tell ourselves that we aren‚’t good enough, smart enough, talented enough, or whatever to be able to charge the prices we want or need to for our work. So we end up just settling for what we think we can get and really create a tough struggle for ourselves.

This was a huge struggle for me when I first started my embroidery business and it lasted for almost 15 years!I was determined to have the highest quality embroidery of anyone that I knew of that was in the embroidery business and I was told many times that I had accomplished that. I was offering this very high-quality embroidery at a price that was as low or lower than the embroidery businesses that were offering low quality. How stupid was that!

I thought that my customers would not pay the prices that I really wanted to charge and I found that the secret is not to project your thinking & feelings onto your customers! This mindset held me back for 15 years! Since everyone else was charging low prices, I thought that I had to stay in line with them or charge less to get the customers. That mindset almost cost me my entire business!

I did not realize that what I had to offer was a product that I could have priced much higher right from the beginning of my business but my mindset had blocked my ability to see that. It took my accountant practically batting me in the head to get this point across.

It was a struggle for me to change that mindset but with his help, I was able to do so. I guess you would say, he was my first business coach. When I changed my total mindset and started promoting my quality product and excellent customer service I had plenty of work! Most of my customers were already coming to me for my quality and service and when I raised the prices, they were OK with that.

I would love to be able to convince you and all embroiderers that you need to charge for your expertise. We are not or should not be struggling artists! We are highly skilled professionals and should be paid accordingly and you need to develop the mindset of a professional!

Set Your Goals For The New Year!

Now is the time to start thinking about the new goals for the coming year! This year is already half over and we need to be prepared to get the new year started off on the right foot! Are you on target to reach your goals this year? If not, how far are you from reaching them? What is the obstacle that is in the way that has prevented you from reaching your goals?

Sit down with a pad and paper and look back over each month of this past year and see where you were and think about what you could change to make this next year a more profitable year.

Now is the time to set your new goals for the coming year. Do not wait until January gets here. You need to get prepared months in advance so that you can start January off with the right plan to reach those goals.

Setting your goals is the very first step in creating your plan for the coming year. Do not set goals so high that you cannot reach them and do not set them so low that they do not mean anything. Set your goals a little out of your reach so that you do have to stretch in order to reach them.

Write down your Goals. I have found that if I commit to them on paper, not just on the computer, but actually writing them down they mean a lot more and I am more apt to follow through and reach my goals. You must create a plan for each one of your goals in order to be able to reach them.

Start The Year Off With All Of Your Financials In Order

Do you know how where you will stand financially for your year end? I know that the year has not yet ended and we are few months away, but you should be able to anticipate how your year is going to end.

Are you happy with the results of where you are presently? Can you run off a quick report and see where you are today? You may or may not be happy with the way that your year is going to end or where you are today, but knowing exactly where you are financially is the first step in being able to make a change.

Without the knowledge of your current status, it is impossible to create a plan that is going to help you reach your goals and make the necessary changes in your business to do so for the coming year.

If you cannot run off a quick report to find out where you are, you need to start preparing to get all of your financials in order and be ready to start the new year going in the right direction. By the time the year ends, you need to have all of this information gathered.

All of your expenses, month by month
Your credit card purchases
Your Bank Statements
Loan information

Your next step is to see if you are making a profit. If not how far are you behind? Do you know your break-even point? This is exactly how much money you need to be bringing into your business each day, week or month in order to pay all of your bills, including a salary for you! You need to be rewarded for all of your hard work.

You need to know which area of your business is profitable and which area is not. This is the only way that you can realistically make the right course corrections and start your plan for next year. If you find an area in your business that is not profitable, get rid of it. It is not servicing you well and is costing you money.

Change your mindset, Set your goals and get your financials in order. This is the beginning of creating a great plan to help you make more money during the remainder of this year into next year!

If you will do some serious thinking about what I have given you in this article and start applying these tips, it will help you to get prepared for the coming year.

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