by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Marketing
It is time for our 2018 Embroidery Business Wrap Up! We are about to say goodbye to 2018 and welcome to 2019! This is the time when we need to look back on the old year and see what worked and what did not work! What do you need to do in your personal life or business to make the necessary changes in the areas that did not work? Is it time to let go of some of the things that did not work?
2018 was a year that was very good and yet it was a challenging year for me! There have been so many changes in my life and I have felt like there have been so many new beginnings from those changes and I am happy to say that in 2019 I expect to see the fruits of the labor from all of those changes.
I have always done a lot of planning and I try to work my plans but sometimes our plans just do not work out the way that we expect no matter how hard we try!
When you find an area in your life or your business that is not working the way that you think that it should, it is time to stop and take a good look at the situation and find out what you need to do to make the necessary change or perhaps you need to let it go.
This was one of those years for me. I had many changes that took place in my life that I had not planned for, but there were three changes that were major that affected both my personal life and my business in ways that I would not have imaged. I would like to share these with you.
- I had cataract surgery on my eyes and I can see so much better with my new glasses. It is truly amazing what a difference that has made. I have struggled for so long and this is like a whole new bright looking world for me!
- I started another group in my Inner Circle and they are all progressing amazingly. Each of the embroiderers in this group is in a different place in their business but all are really making great strides with their businesses.
- I started The “Embroidery Coach Training Academy” program training new embroidery coaches. At the present time, I have one that needs to have one more onsite on the job training with me and she will be qualified to be sent out on her own to help other embroiderers. This is really exciting for me and for her also!
Reviewing 2018
At the beginning of November, I started going over my entire business and I made a list of what I wanted to do more than anything and another list of all of the things that I did not want to continue doing. Some things were not helping to move the business forward, so I have decided to drop them. I created a new plan for my business and it is called my “Embroidery Business Growth Plan!” It has really helped me to focus more on what I really want to do with my business that will help us move forward and be able to help more embroiderers. That is my goal, to help as many embroiderers as I can to have profitable embroidery businesses! I have my Marketing plan all set for 2019 and I am very anxious to get this process started.
The 2018 Embroidery Business Wrap Up!
You want to be on the training so that you can learn about the new training coming up and what is happening here at The Embroidery Coach! This Embroidery Business Wrap up will be on December 27th at 8 PM Eastern. Make sure you get signed up for that training.
To end this old year and to help get more embroiderers ready for 2019, I am offering our Lifetime Gold Plus Program again, for $1597 or 3 payments of $549.00. This is the last time that I will be offering it for this price. I am not even sure at this point if I will be offering it again, but if I do, it will not be at $1597.00. My business coach and my accountant have been after me to raise the price of my Lifetime program for the past 2 years but I have not done that. This last time for the offering of $1597 is starting today and will be gone forever on December 31st!
Kicking Off 2019
To kick off 2019 I am going to start teaching my new program, call the “The Embroidery Business Growth Plan.” This is going to help you plan your business for explosive growth for 2019. This is going to be a Growth Business Plan for your entire business, not just a Marketing plan. Many times we create a business plan when we first start our business, but then it sits in a desk drawer never to be looked at again. That is not this type of business plan. You are going to be focusing on the areas that are going to help you grow your business and letting go of areas that do not really help you. I am going to show you how to do that. We are starting on January 3rd.
It is going to be open for free to all of the members of The Embroidery Training Resource Center that are Gold Plus or above. If you are not a Gold Plus member, you can purchase access to the course for $97.00 during the month of January.
This course is going to sell for $197.00 when it is completed at the end of January. We are going to be meeting 4 Thursday nights in January to complete the entire course and then it will be uploaded into the training center in the Gold Plus level and above. Don’t miss out on your chance to really grow your business during 2019. This is going to be an amazing course. I have already gone through it and it is really going to make a difference in my business.
If you are not a Gold Plus Member and decide to purchase this course for $97.00 you will have access to it forever at that price.
Registration for the course will begin on December 27th! I will send out an email and let you know where to go to get registered if you are not a current member of The Embroidery Training Resource Center, Gold Plus and above! I will be sending out a link to attend the training for the Gold Plus, the Lifetime members and the Inner Circle members!
Plans for 2019 At The Embroidery Coach
I have so many plans for 2019 and I am going to be sharing them on our training on December 27th. Make sure that you sign up for that training if you are not a member of The Embroidery Training Resource Center. All of the current members will be receiving a link to the training, they do not have to actually sign up for it.
It is time for you to start creating your plan for 2019. Take a few minutes and reflect on 2018 and write down what you enjoyed about it, what you accomplished and also write down what you did not enjoy. This is very important. You do not want to continue doing things that do not make you happy or a profit. We are in this business to do something that we love and to make a profit! That is the bottom line. If you are not enjoying one of your processes or a particular area within your business, it is time to stop it and work on something that you enjoy!
If you are struggling in an area, but want to conquer it, reach out for some help. That is the best way and easiest way to stop the struggle and start enjoying what you are doing. It is time to look back on 2018 and do a complete 2018 embroidery business wrap up in your embroidery business! Move on to 2019 and create a whole new growth plan!
I want to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and an extremely Successful New Year!
by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Planning
Evaluating my current business plan and creating a new plan is a task that I look forward to at the end of every year. This is the end of the year, 2018. It is hard to believe that another year has passed so quickly but here we are. At the end of every year, I like to take some time to reflect on what I have done within the past year and see what changes I need to make in my business plan to make some improvements for this new upcoming year.
Napoleon Hill says The majority of men meet with failure because (they don‚’t create) new plans to take the place of those that fail. I have found that to be very true. It is extremely important to evaluate what is working and what is not!
This has been a great year for me. I have accomplished a lot more than I had planned at the beginning of this year and it really is a wonderful feeling. I have also not been able to finish some of the projects that I had started, but I am continuing on with those projects into the New Year. They will be finished.
This is going to be another exciting year of growth for me and my business! I am really looking forward to all of the new opportunities that are still awaiting me!
Make sure that you take the time out to really reflect on what you have been able to accomplish this past year and update your business plan for the New Year. If you have not yet created a Business Plan, let me help you get that process started. I have created a Business Plan Template for you to help get you started. If you purchase my book, “7 Elements to a Highly Profitable Home-Based Embroidery Business,” this will help you even further to get this process started quickly!
If you have been in business and have already created a business plan, it is time to update that plan and create a plan to help you grow your embroidery business. I have a course called “Embroidery Business Growth Plan” where I teach you how to evaluate your last year for efficiently and create a new plan for this coming year, one that is going to help you grow your business the right way!
by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Marketing
Do you find yourself frustrated when you have to stop to wait on a customer? Is your customer ordering process taking up too much of the time that you need to spend on your production? Helping customers make quick buying decisions can sometimes be very frustrating. I want to talk about how you can cut back on the amount of time that it takes you to help your customers make a final decision. My Inner Circle students know how important this is and it is a priority in setting up your business to run properly!
As embroiderers, we want to be able to offer our customers a full range of lettering and design options but in the process of doing so, we sometimes have the tendency to over complicate the process causing us and the customers unneeded frustration. There are 5 simple ways that will help to save time and speed up your customers ordering process.
- Embroidery Design Layout Options
- Limited Lettering Style Options
- Samples Tagged With Ordering Information
- Thread Chart
- Organized Ordering System
Embroidery Design Layout Options
Create several Design Layouts Options for your customer to choose from. By giving your customer choices of different layouts for him to look at before he places his order, you prevent him from asking you to create his logo with several different options for his approval.
These Design Layout Options save time and instill confidence in the customer that you know what you are doing and know what the best option for him or his logo will be.
Limited Embroidery Lettering Style Options
In each of the embroidery software packages today you have many lettering styles to choose from and it is very 
tempting to want to show our customers all of the lettering styles that we have available.
By limiting the embroidery lettering style options, you not only save time working with your customer in their selection, but you also save time in the setup of your lettering designs. If you are only working with a few lettering style options, you can have templates made ahead of time with all of the style settings included in the template. This is a huge time-saving process when you are creating your customer’s design setups!
Sample Tags With Order Information
Your showroom should be complete with high-quality embroidery samples that are tagged with all of the order information that is applicable to that product sample.
Having all of your samples tagged ahead of time with the appropriate information will save you a lot of time and prevent you from having to look up the information in the catalogs. As your pricing changes, so do your Sample tags. Always keep them up to date with all of the correct product and ordering information!
Your Own Company Thread Chart
Creating your own company thread chart is very important. You should never offer to show the customer the thread 
chart from the company where you purchase your thread.
Many embroiderers order the thread that their customers want and end up spending their entire profit for the job or more just because they do not have that particular color in stock. The thread then sits on their shelf and very often rots because no one else is going to use that particular color.
If they are not happy with your selection, offer to order their custom color but make sure that they understand that there will, in fact, be an additional charge for this service. You will need to charge for the thread as well as the shipping into you.
An Organized Ordering System
An organized ordering system is simple to put into place. This is true when you have all of your information computerized and even if you are using paper forms to be filled out while you are waiting on the customer. You can create Sales Order Packets with all of your forms included so that you do not have to look for your information forms while you are working with your customer. Inside of this Sales Order Packet, you should have:
- Customers Quote form
- Your Order Form
- Form of Payment
- Production Timing Form
- Artwork Production form
- Packing Slip
- Checklist
I have gone over 5 ways to help customers make quick buying decisions. You want the order process to be a pleasant experience for both you and the customer. When you offer your customers so many options they only get confused and it takes longer for them to make a final decision and sometimes that final decision is no decision. Reducing the number of choices you have to offer will save you and the customer a lot of time and will help customers make quick buying decisions!
To get started with your Embroidery Sales Tools click here!
by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Management
Have you said to yourself: I am running out of time in my business and I cannot do it all myself anymore. I think that I need someone to help me with my work, but where do I begin and when should I hire someone to help me?
Before you decide to hire someone to help, you need to take a really hard look at your business to see if you have everything set up properly and efficiently and are actually ready to hire someone. Ask yourself these questions first to help get this part figured out.
- Is my accounting system set up properly so that it only takes me a couple of minutes to create an invoice and I know that it is all going into the right accounts?
- Do I have a logging in system so that I can easily keep track of all of my jobs and I know when each and every one of them is due?
- Do I have a system for scheduling my work so that it flows easily?
- Do I have written instructions for every step or process in my business?
If you cannot answer yes to all of these questions, you are not ready to hire someone to help you. If you hire someone before you have all of this in place, you will not get the most for your money and you will be spending many long hours training someone and fixing mistakes because you have not had the time to train them properly and still keep up with your own work!
I know about this, been there and done that! This is a big step and if not done properly, you absolutely will waste your money.
First of all, the first person that you need to hire is someone to help you with your accounting and if it is set up properly, this would be someone that is very part-time. By that, I mean maybe one afternoon a week at max.
The next person to hire is someone to train to do the finishing of your garments. This is someone that pays attention to detail and is good with their hands.
DO NOT try to hire someone to do your customer service for you. You are the face of your business and you need to stay the face of your business for a very long time. I have seen other people make this mistake thinking that they can do the production part better and faster and someone else can take care of the customers.
Trying to decide when it is time to take on employees can be a very tough decision but after you have the first set of question answered yes and have everything in place that is necessary, the next set of questions to ask yourself that might help you make this decision.
- Do I have so much work that I cannot get it all done within the time frame that I have promised my customers?
- Am I not answering the phone because I already have too much work to do?
- Are the simple tasks that I am currently doing bringing in the amount of money that I need or am I wasting my time doing them when I could be paying someone a lower wage than what I want to make per hour?
- Am I not getting my invoices out on time and that is at the very completion of each job?
If you are answering yes to any of these questions then it is time to hire someone to help you.
What Can You Offer The New Employee?
Now that you have established that it is time to hire someone, you want to take a look at what you can offer someone in the way of compensation and benefits. This is very important and you must have it totally in place before you start talking to potential employees.
If you are not financially in a position to offer a high paying wage when this is a requirement for the position, then you must be ready to offer some extra benefits to compensate for the loss.
Determine what you can offer in the way of benefits.
- Are you in a financial position to pay a good or competitive wage?
- What type of benefits are you willing to offer to attract the type of employee that you are looking for?
- Do you offer any vacation time with pay? If so, how many weeks?
- Do you allow sick days off with pay? How many?
- If they do not take all allowable sick days or vacation, do you compensate them at the end of the year for this time?
- Do you offer or provide health insurance? Is this deducted from their wages or do you provide it free of charge? How much is deducted? What type of plan do you offer?
Where to find a Good Employee
If you are looking for a part-timer to help with your accounting, talk to your accountant. He or she may know of the perfect person for you. You may have to pay them a high dollar per hour but you are looking at very few hours per month if you have your QuickBooks set up properly.
If you are looking for someone to help you with your production, Word of mouth is the best way to find a new applicant but this does not always work out. Current employees may know of someone that is looking for a job. Tell your friends and family that you are looking for a well-qualified employee. A word of caution: Do not hire more than one person from the same family. I have found through experience that this can cause issues.
I have had an excellent response by running ads on Craig’s List. However, this does not work in all parts of the country. This is something that can be done for free and it is simple to do. I created a simple ad that has worked in the past. You can place the ad on Craig’s list and see how it works for you.
Title: Embroidery Machine Helper!
Body of ad
- Some sewing knowledge required!
- Must pay attention to detail!
- Must be able to understand and use a ruler!
- No embroidery experience required!
- Part Time but may work into Full Time
Respond to:
|Reply at 455-555-5555 or email to help@youremail.com
One of my students hires only Graphic Artists from the local college. He starts them out on an internship to see if they are going to work out before he actually hires them full time. They have a very good understanding that this is only a trial period and they will get hired if they can do all that is expected and is a good employee as far as attitude and his or her ability to work with others.
Place an ad on a bulletin board in a grocery store. Housewives or retirees are great prospects. They may not be able to work full-time but would work out great as a part-time employee and would usually give you their 100% while on the job. They usually have good organizational skills and work ethics. Housewives or home sewers usually have a lot of experience with bobbins and threading needles. Good dexterity is very important.
What questions to Ask In The Interview
Before you start your interview process with each applicant you need to know the right questions to ask. A new applicant does not need to have experience in the embroidery field but there are basic skills that are required before they can even be considered. As a matter of fact, I always hired people that had no experience. It is very hard to retrain someone that has learned bad habits. It is easier to train them from scratch, so to speak!
- Do you have previous sewing experience? This is not necessary but it does help. They would already have basic knowledge of threads, needles, scissors, thread tensions and possibly machine maintenance.
- Do you have any computer knowledge? Not a requirement but it also is very helpful and shortens their learning curve if this will be a tool that they would be using.
- Do you have small children? In some states, you cannot ask this question directly so you will have to be careful. If so, who takes care of your children when they are sick? This should not be held against them, but it needs to be addressed up front.
- Do you know how to read, write, count and use a ruler? This is very important especially if it is a person that does not speak the same language on a daily basis. They will be required to read and write to fill in production reports.
- Can you stand for long periods at a time?
- What are your hobbies? Let them explain this to you.
- What do you consider your strengths? What do you feel you are good at?
- What do you feel are your weaknesses? What do you feel you are not good at?
- Would you be willing to tidy up at the end of the day?
- Would you be willing to clean and maintain the equipment that you will be using?
- Can you carry boxes full of garments?
- Would you be willing to move at a fast pace when the pressure is on?
- You must be willing to learn, listen and take orders. Does any of this bother you?
- Can you take constructive criticism?
- Do you have specific work hours that work better for you than others?
- Are you looking for Full-time work or Part-time work?
- Are you looking to advance in your position?
- Are you willing to be trained on a continuous basis?
- Why did they leave their last job?
- How was their boss or supervisor to work with? (If they talk bad about their former boss, this may not be the type of person you want to have in your place of business. They could be poison for the rest of your employees)
Having an in-depth conversation with your applicant following these questions will tell you a lot about this person. These questions can be part of your application process on a questionnaire that they can fill out. After reviewing their answers and you feel that this is a person you would want to hire you can then schedule them for an interview. It will save you a lot of time in the hiring process. It is not necessary to keep bringing them in for a second or third interview. This is a waste of your time and their time.
If you have decided to hire someone to help, make it clear at the end of the interview, that this will be a 30-day trial and have a specific list of tasks or procedures that you expect them to master.
Give them a clear job description and let them know that they will be evaluated on this description and specific list of tasks at the end of that 30-day trial.
To get yourself organized, and set up your processes so that you can be ready to hire someone to help you, Click here to start the 9 Steps to a Profitable Embroidery Business! This is extremely important and will help you get on the right track! Without this, you are wasting a lot of valuable time!
by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Marketing
Setting up a Simple Referral Program for your Embroidery Business takes only a few minutes and it so worth it! Asking for referrals is one of the most effective, quickest and least expensive ways of gaining these new customers. Setting up a system to reward customers for referrals by giving them a discount on their next order is always effective. How do I do this? There are several ways of asking for referrals.
- Have Business cards Tucked Into Customers Pick Up Bags.
- Send Out Business Cards Or Brochures With Invoices.
- Ask For A Referral After Customer Has Placed Their Order.
- Tell Employees About Referral Program
Have Business Cards Tucked Into Customers Pick Up Bags
The easiest and most effective way that I found was to always give my customers business cards and brochures. When they pick up their order, make sure to add business cards or brochures to their package. Ask them to write their names on the back of the cards or brochures and hand them to their friends, family and acquaintances. When the person comes into the shop that has been referred, take their business card and keep track of the person that referred them to you. The person that gave the referral would then get a discount on their next order. Everyone wants to get something for giving out your name. As I said there is a small cost to it, but this is a customer that you did not have to go after.
Keeping Track of the Referrers
I set up a simple spreadsheet for my Referral program. On that spreadsheet, I put the Date, Customers Name, Name of Referrer, Amount of Sale, Date Referrer Purchased after Referring and Amount of Referrer‚’s Sale. This helps me to keep track of the amount of sales that are brought in by the Referrers and who the Referrers are. You can increase your reward for those that give you a lot of referrals. This is the best type of Salespeople that you can have!
Tell everyone that you know about your Referral Program including your employees. This is a simple way to set up a Referral program for your Embroidery Business that WORKS!
Click on the link below to get your copy of my Simple Referral Program Spreadsheet!
