by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Marketing
I would like to announce that we have opened our new embroidery training site, “The Embroidery Training Resource Center”.
When I first started my embroidery training business in 2006 I called it Embroidery Tips and More. It has evolved and grown into so much more than embroidery tips so I thought that it was time to grow up and create a site that was the ultimate in training for the embroiderer, The Embroidery Training Resource Center!
This new site has everything in it that the old Embroidery training website had, but now we have more training and videos plus you will have more opportunities to learn from and connect with The Embroidery Coach.
This new site is organized in Membership Levels and has a much faster download speed for the videos. I am really excited about this new training site. I have been working on it for almost a year and I think that you will find it to be more user-friendly than the previous site!
We Now Have Four Levels of Membership!
- Silver Level – Embroidery Basics, Embroidery Techniques and Monthly trainings
- Gold Level – Everything that is in the Silver Level plus Design Basics
- Gold Plus Level -All of the programs inside of the Silver Level and the Gold Level plus Business Building Strategies
- Gold Plus Lifetime Level – All of the programs inside of Gold Plus level plus Embroidery Business Bookkeeping System and all of the programs inside of The Embroidery Training Resource Center.
No matter what level you are in your embroidery business, we have the right training just for you. I have been online and have trained hundreds of embroiderers since 2006. I want you to view me as your friend next door that is here to help you in every aspect of your embroidery business! Are you just thinking about getting started in the embroidery business or have you been in the business for quite some time?
No matter where you are in business, you always need help and guidance to move to the next level! If your embroidery business stays the same day after day, year after year, and even if you have a good profitable business, you soon become stagnant and your business starts to move in the other direction! You do not want to see that happen!
Even though I have been in business for over 30 years, I still have a business coach that helps me reach new heights every year!There are times when I would be tempted to just sit back and be satisfied with where I am at this stage, but that is not possible! I am very grateful to her for the extra push that I sometimes need!
If you are someone that is not familiar with me or my training, we now have a free training each month.
This new website has been months in the making and is going to be the Complete Embroidery Training Center for of your Embroidery Business Training needs! This Embroidery Training Resource Center will be the place to go for any type of training that you need as you are starting and growing your Embroidery Business!
Join Us Today for the new more robust website TheEmbroideryTrainingResourceCenter.com!
by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Management
Do you have an Inventory Tracking System For Your Embroidery Business? Do you ever have extra shirts, jackets, caps or other products left over from your orders? Are you in the habit of ordering extra stock to get FREE shipping? Do you have any idea as to how much money you have tied up in all of those extra pieces of inventory?
You may currently have inventory that you have acquired through the years to be eligible for free shipping, that is a subject for another time. All of a sudden you have boxes or bins of all of these items and you really do not know what you have in total or how much money you have tied up in all of this. I have worked with several private clients that had in excess of $10,000 worth of inventory and it was just sitting all over the place in bins!
The only reason they had it was because they always ordered extras in case of a mistake and to avoid shipping charges. Many small business owners fall into this trap and all of a sudden, they have a huge accumulation of products and a lot of money tied up in them that they could be using for other expenses. This has eaten up a lot of profit for many small embroidery businesses!
Now the big question I get from so many embroiderers is, how do I keep track of all of this stuff? To keep it simple, create a Spreadsheet for your entire inventory. Keep track of it as you use it and add to it as you bring in more pieces, but the important thing is, you must know what you have and what your cost is that you have sitting in all of that inventory.
Inventory Tracking System For Your Embroidery Business
Here is a simple 10 step Inventory Tracking System for Your Embroidery Business that will work for keeping track of all of your Inventory. It is simple and easy to put into practice. It will take you a little time to get it together.
- Create a Spreadsheet with Columns for Quantity, Description, Size, Color, Cost Each, Total Cost.
- Sort all of your pieces. Put you T-shirts in one area or stack, your Sweatshirts in another, Caps in another, etc.
- Place them in Color Stacks by Size
- Count them
- Add them to your Spreadsheet
- Place them into clean plastic See threw bins and label the front of each bin so that you know exactly what is inside by Color & Size. Do not add Quantity to your label because it is going to change as you use them or add to them.
- Total all of your Columns of the spreadsheet so that you know how many pieces your have and how much money is tied up in this total Inventory.
- Print out a copy of your spreadsheet and place it in the same area as your Inventory.
- As you pull from your Inventory, add a Minus of pieces in the Quantity column. As you add to your Inventory add a Plus of pieces in the Quantity column.
- At the end of the month, Go to your computer and update your Inventory Sheet and print out a new one and place that new one in the Inventory area.
Take a weekend or two and get it done. When you have it completed, you are going to feel so good and know that you have really accomplished a huge task and it has taken a lot of weight off your shoulder
Once you have your QuickBooks set up, you can add your Total Inventory Cost to an Inventory account in your Chart of Accounts. When you are creating your Invoices for your customer, you will then pull from this Inventory account the amount for your products instead of your Cost of Goods account. I talk about this in my Embroidery Business Bookkeeping System program.
It is very important to know your numbers, to know what you have sitting in Inventory and then you can create a plan for it. If your inventory does not look fresh and new, you may want to consider having a sale to get rid of it, but before you do, you need to know exactly what you have and your cost is so that you do not lose money when you are creating your sale. Sell it at cost if you have to, just to get the money back that you have invested in it.
I hope that this will help you take care of a huge problem that plagues so many embroiderers. If you do not know how to create the Spreadsheet, I show you that in my program inside of TheEmbroideryTrainingResourceCenter.com membership site. I showed you how to create the Inventory Spreadsheet in one of my Basic Business Building training inside of the membership site.
Get that Spreadsheet created and get started creating your Inventory Tracking System for Your Embroidery Business! You will be so glad that you did!
by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Management
If you want to have a highly successful business, there are 5 Golden Rules you need to follow when you build an embroidery business that will help your business sustain the test of time. Whether you are just starting out with your embroidery business or if you have had your business for a while and it is not where you want it to be, I highly advise all embroiderers to live by these 5 golden rules.
Rule No. 1 – You are in business to make money!
Do not forget this! That is the most important rule to remember when you build an embroidery business. You have a business just like any other business person has and the main object is to make money and provide a living for yourself and your family.
Rule No. 2- Always require a 50% deposit plus the design fee before starting any job!
Far too many embroiderers use their own money to work with and then when the order is picked up, they hope that they will get their money in 30 days. DO NOT WORK LIKE THIS!
This is the fastest way to fall behind and run out of money. You are not a bank and you cannot finance people’s orders. If you are working with large companies or doing contract embroidery, they will generally not pay upfront, however, they must pay within 30 days or you do not start the next order until they are paid up in full. If they drag out their payments, drop them as a customer, you cannot afford to work like this under any circumstances.
Rule No. 3 – Do only Corporate or Retail Embroidery!
Do not do contract embroidery unless you have several multi-head machines and have at least 50% of Corporate or Retail work coming in to help build up your profit! Corporate is when they are paying a higher price plus you are selling them the garments as well as the embroidery. Retail is when the customer such as a small business, club or organization bring in the garments to you and asking you to embroider on them. Retail is your highest priced customer.
Rule No. 4 – Create a price list that you know you are making money with.
Make sure you have all of your expenses covered, a paycheck for you plus profit built into your equation. Creating your price list is not hard, but it does take a little time. Create different price lists for different scenarios. The corporate customer, or the customer that purchases the garments from you as well as the service should not be charged as much as the retail person that brings in the garments to you to add the embroidery or whatever service you are providing. Charge the retail person at least 25% more for the service than the corporate customer.
Rule No. 5 – Always Complete the Customers Orders On Time!
When you start an embroidery business or if you have had a business for awhile and you are struggling with trying to get repeat customers, this may be an issue for you. On time delivery is extremely important if you want to have a profitable embroidery business. All orders should be completed on time or ahead of schedule. If you run into a situation where this is impossible, you must let your customer know what the circumstances are and be honest with him or her. If you have a good scheduling system, this should not be a problem.
When you start to build an embroidery business, if you will remember that you are in business to make money, always require a 50% deposit, focus on Corporate or Retail embroidery, create a profitable price list and always complete your orders on time, you should be able to build a very profitable embroidery business! Print out the “5 Golden Rules You Need to Follow When You Build an Embroidery Business” and review them every morning before you start your day!
To receive some help or guidance in starting or building your own success embroidery business, please Click Here to reach out to me. I am always anxious to work with embroiderers and help them reach the success of their dreams!
by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Marketing
Are you lacking enough customers or clients to reach the goal that you have set for this year? Are you confused on how to get new clients or customers without spending a lot of money on advertising? Are you lacking time to be creative in trying to come up with ways to get new clients or customers? Here are three easy ways to increase your customer base dramatically!
- Create a Business Card with an offer
- Add an Email Signature to all of your outgoing email messages
- Start a Referral System
Create A Business Card With An Offer
A great business card with a message will bring in new business. On the back of this card, give them a reason to shop in your place of business. On the front of your business card have the Name of your business, your company logo, your tagline, website address and your contact information. The contact information is going to depend on how you want people to shop with you. This could be your street address and phone number, it could be your email address and phone number or just your web address.
If you choose to use your web address and email address, then you want to make sure that your phone number is on your website. You need to have a way for people to talk to you personally. If you do not want to answer the phone, create a great message on voice mail with an offer and tell them that you will return their phone call as soon as possible, that you are looking forward to talking to them.
On the back of your business card, you want to give them some type of a free offer or a discounted coupon. If you want to drive traffic to your website, create a Free Report or a discounted coupon that the customer or prospect would have to sign up to receive. By doing this, you now have a way to continually market to this prospect.wit
By creating a card with an offer on it, your card will stand out and you will be remembered. I also have my business cards printed in small quantities because I like the change the offer on a steady basis. This way your cards are always fresh and new!
Add an Email Signature to all of your email messages
Many of your contacts may be unaware of what you have to offer and by adding a message to the end of your emails you can create an awareness of your current offer, a new website or Facebook page. This can be done very easily, can bring in new clients and the best part is, it does not cost you a dime! You can create several different signatures and send out your messages with the signature of your choice for a particular type of customer or client.
You can add images along with your text in your signature. Here is an example of one of my Signatures.
I have received several prospects and some new coaching clients as a result of the message in this signature. Your emails with the signatures can be forwarded to other people.
You never know how many times your emails get forwarded to other people or who is going to see your signature. Make it one that will work for you. They can be powerful!
Start a Referral System
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 everyone that you know about your Referral Program including your employees.
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 for more information.
Simple Referral System ProgramIf you will follow these three easy ways to increase your customer base, you will be amazed at the end result!
by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Marketing
Does your business card leave a great first impression for your embroidery business? Have you really thought about your business card and what that first impression says about you and your Embroidery business? The first impression that you leave with your new prospect or customer is extremely important and if you do not leave the right impression or a positive impression, you will not have the opportunity for another chance. What does that first impression say about you and your Embroidery Business? That first impression is the lasting impression and you want it to be the one that they will want to remember you by and tell others about you. Here are some questions that you need to answer that will help you to create a good first impression.
- Do you look like you have an Embroidery Business?
- Does your logo give an indication of what your business is about?
- Do all of your Marketing pieces flow with the same look?
- Do you advertise your product every place you go?
- Is your appearance reflective of your workmanship?
- Is your Showroom neat and organized ready for customers at all times?
When you talk to your prospect or customer that first time, you need to have a marketing piece to hand to them. Most generally, this is your business card, but it can also be a brochure or postcard. What does your marketing piece say about you? Is it leaving the kind of impression that you want to make?
When you are creating or having your marketing pieces created you need to make sure that they gook great, let the customer know exactly what it is you do and how it is going to benefit them. What do your marketing pieces say about you? Are they leaving the kind of impression that you want to make?
You Must Tell Your Prospect What To Do!
What is it you want your customer or prospect to do? You must let them know by the marketing piece that you hand them.
- Do you want them to call you?
- Do you want them to visit your website for a FREE gift or coupon?
- Do you want them to come to your place of business to receive a FREE gift, coupon or discount?
You want to make sure that your message is clear and that you are giving them a call to action. You must give them a reason to come to you! Your business card is the first item to take into consideration. What does your business card look like? Is it one that they will remember? You want your marketing pieces to be items that they will look at and say “WOW! I need to check these people out!”
Many people overlook the importance of a high-quality business card, one that will actually leave a great impression. Remember, the first impression is the lasting impression Most people will buy the cheapest business card that they can, never thinking of what an impression that is actually leaving with the new prospect. Many have a standard logo or a logo from a company that is printing them on the back of the card. Do Not Ever Do This! A cheap business card with no real thought behind it says that your business does not pay attention to detail. Bad mistake!
What Does Your Business Card Say About You?
Thank about how your Business Card is representing you and your business. Here are the important components that need to be your business card.
- Business Name
- Logo
- What you do (Your tag line)
- Address (if applicable)
- The best way to contact you (email-phone or both)
- An offer on the back (You can send them to your Facebook Fan Page or your website for a FREE offer!)
Only have 500 Business Cards printed up the first time. You may want to make a change on it. You can then make the changes and have more printed. Give it some color. Use a color that you love and one that you are going to use in all of your marketing materials including your website.
Have a coating applied to the front side. Do not put a coating on the back. You may want to write a note on it. The colors that you choose should be part of your branding process. Yes, you will make changes. You may want to change your offer or your message. I did this several times until I came up with exactly what was working the best.
I get a lot of compliments on my card. You can see that I have all of the information on the front that is important and I have an offer on the back. This has worked very well for me and has brought in many prospects. I had my business cards printed online through a company that offered overnight service. I did not choose the overnight option, but their service was excellent and fast.
You can also have a postcard created with one lead product or some type of promotion on it that you can hand out at different functions that you go to. It can really work for you. Again, make sure that you have an offer on it, one that they cannot resist! It does not have to be expensive, just something that will make them take action. If you have a post created, make sure that it is 4″ x 6″. I have learned that people do not pay as much attention to the normal-sized 3″ x 5″ postcards as they do the larger ones.
Does your business card leave a great first impression for your embroidery business? Remember, that first impression is so important and if you want the opportunity to create customers out of your new prospects you absolutely must create a great first impression!
