by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Marketing
How do you figure embroidery pricing for multiple locations on the same garment is a question that I have received many times. Do you add all of your logos together for that same garment and charge them for one design? The answer to this is NO you do NOT!
When a customer asks for embroidery in several different locations on the same garment, you should treat each and every one of those applications as a new embroidery. You are rehooping your garment, you are uploading a new design and you may even have to change some of your thread colors on the machine. This can be a lot of work. Many people think just because it is on the same garment that you should add all of your stitch counts together for the price of one logo. If you do that, you are losing a lot of money and time and it may turn out that you are actually doing the job for FREE!
This same scenario goes for the price of the setups or digitizing for all of those different designs. Each one of them is different and needs to be charged accordingly! You have the same amount of time setting up each design for one garment as you do for 100 garments and you need to be paid fairly for your work.
Many times a customer will come into your shop with one garment, such as a race car driver that has several sponsors and he or she wants to have the logo for each sponsor created and embroidered onto their fire suit or crew team uniforms. They are not expecting that the price is going to be very inexpensive because all of the logos are embroidered on one item.
At one point when I had my large embroidery shop, we made a lot of crew uniforms, both shirts and pants and embroidered them in many different locations. I have a set of uniforms in the picture to the left that I made for a company that sold concessions when it was the Winston Cup series.
The shirt to the right is a Cyclone racing shirt that was provided by Stella Apparel in Southborough, MA. They did a great job on it. As you can see it is embroidered in 5 different locations. It may also be embroidered on the back as well.
Your customer has no idea as to how long it takes to actually create each one of these designs and of course, it is all computerized so it surely cannot be much work, Right?
This type of customer can sometimes be very hard to deal with but they need to be educated about the process. Figuring your embroidery pricing for multiple locations is not hard but you have to remember, each logo or embroidery is separate and you need to figure the embroidery pricing for multiple locations as all individual designs! They cannot be combined as one embroidery unless you can combine them into one hoop. This cannot usually be done unless it is a name that is added to a logo.
If you are not sure of your pricing or if you are not making a good profit, check out my course, How To Price Embroidery!
You will be glad you did! It will help you to avoid many mistakes that so many embroiderers make and it will help you create a profitable embroidery price list!
by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Marketing
I have worked with clients that have been looking at the possibility of merging with another business to increase their business, to add on to what they have to offer and even to increase the workforce, but you need to take a long hard look at make sure that you are solid in what you really want and are looking for. Many times we get into situations on a hand shake and believe me a hand shake is not enough. We soon find ourselves disappointed in the end result.
I was working with a client this past week that was in the process of buying into a business and after taking a real hard look at the inside of it, he decided that it was not a good investment and reading this article really made him realize that it may not be a good investment of his money or time!
I also want to say a little bit about you as being on the inside or the person that is looking to find an investor, make sure that EVERYTHING is in writing including all of the promises made by the investor! I was in a position at one time where the buyer of my business made me a lot of promises, but after the sale had taken place, I found out it was all just a lot of talk to make sure I was on his side! He did not make good on any of his promises and I DID NOT have those promises in writing! A hand shake is not enough, it does not work!
I learned much of what I teach today and the bad experiences that I have gone through by experience and it was not all good experiences! PLEASE learn from my mistakes and do not make your own! I definitely learned that a hand shake is not enough!
I want to share an article that I found that I want you to read over and over! This article is extremely important and how you should be structuring your business as it grows. When it comes time to sell your business or look for an investor to help you grow your business, these are the items that are vital to a buyer or an investor! I am including it word for word from the author, Mark Morgan Ford!
4 Rules About Business
If you read financial writing for any length of time, the jargon and acronyms will overwhelm you. Consider the many tools used to value a business: P/E ratios, enterprise value (EV), free cash flow (FCF)… The list is endless and confusing.
Fortunately, there is a real-world, common-sense method for evaluating businesses. Use it the next time you consider an investment.
These are the only four rules I follow when evaluating a business.
Rule No. 1: I must understand and be comfortable with the way the business works.
First and foremost, I have to understand and be comfortable with how the business acquires (or, in the case of startups, intends to acquire) new customers. I need to know what media it will be using, what kind of advertising campaign, what sorts of offers and copy approaches it will be using, and what all this will cost on a per-customer basis.
And all of that needs to make sense.
Next, I need to know and be comfortable with how it plans to optimize those customers, what sort of additional products and services it will offer them (at what price points), and the timing.
I’m looking for an estimated value of each customer, depending on media and advertising strategies, in the first and subsequent years. I also have to understand the product, why there is a demand for it, and how the company can sell that product better than its competition.
Rule No. 2: I have to understand the industry and believe it is trending up.
This is as important as the first rule maybe more.
Understanding an industry is a challenge. Every industry has its own dynamics.Retail, manufacturing, and wholesale businesses all operate differently from one another. And within each industry, each sector has its own rules.
Clothing stores and bars, for example, are both retail businesses, but they require very different approaches. Inventory (what you have in stock) is a complex and critically important decision for clothing stores. But, it’s a rather minor and obvious factor in running a successful bar.
Here‚’s the thing about industry knowledge: You can‚’t find the most important factors in spreadsheets or in books on business. (Not even in For Dummies guides.) You have to have experience actual experience in the industry.
That’s why I very seldom invest outside the half-dozen industries I know. And when I do break this rule, I almost always lose money.
If I understand the industry, it’s relatively easy for me to know which way it’s trending. I will already know the major players and be aware of how they are doing. I will have an idea about what new products and companies are coming into the market and what older products and companies are moribund.
What I want is an upwardly trending industry or sector within an industry.That‚’s important because, as the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats.
I don’t rely on data compiled by analysts for this. It‚’s often created and paid for by companies with a vested interest in the results.
Rule No. 3: I have to understand the financials, and they have to be solid.
If I'm comfortable with the business plan and the industry trend, I look at the profit and loss (P&L) statement, the balance sheet, and the marketing data/projections.
Since I have no formal education in finance, I’m not particularly adept at analyzing numbers. But, if they are related to businesses I know, I feel comfortable looking at them because I know what to look for.
If, for example, I‚’m looking at an Internet marketing or publishing business, I have a very good idea about what the revenues, expenses, and profit margins should be. I will also have a good idea of what normal growth looks like… and where the dangers may be lurking.
For example, with a subscription-based publishing business, something called deferred subscription liability will show up in the balance sheet. This is a very important number. An accountant may have no idea whether it is an actual liability or a hidden asset unless he or she knows the business and industry.
If I’m looking at a company from another industry, I won’t understand. And if I don’t understand, I’m likely to overlook something.
Another thing I look for is cash and cash-flow. I want to feel sure the business has sufficient cash to sustain itself while growing. The first few years of any startup are always a challenge in terms of cash flow. And what is needed often exceeds what you believe you will need when you begin.
I don‚’t believe in over funding startup businesses. I like when the leadership team is very careful about its spending. But I don’t want the business to fail simply because it runs out of cash too soon.
Rule No. 4: I have to believe in the people running the business and believe they will allow me to have some input into their key decisions.
The business plan can be strong. The industry can be trending up. And the numbers can be solid. But, if I feel even the slightest bit unsure about the principal players, I will pass.
This is a very important rule. It’s also a rule I have broken in the past. Every time I’ve broken it, I’ve come to regret it.
I‚’m looking for proven experience, emotional intelligence, healthy ambition, and, most of all, good character. For me, character counts most because, as an investor (rather than a controlling partner), I need to trust these key people to develop the kind of business I can be proud of.
Also, I want a say in how they are going to build the business. I don‚’t want to be the boss,but I want to know they would at least listen if I felt they needed my advice about product development and marketing. In the early stages, especially.
These rules have worked for me as an investor on the private side. And so, I was happy to learn from my reading that they were similar to the rules Warren Buffett used in making decisions about investing in public companies.
About the Author: Mark Morgan Ford was the creator of Early To Rise. In 2011, Mark retired from ETR and now writes the Palm Beach Letter.
by The Embroidery Coach | | Embroidery Business Marketing
I hear over and over from people that have purchased their embroidery machines with all good intentions to start building their own home-based embroidery business but they just get stuck. They soon discover that there is so much to do but they really do not know how to get started. They have no plan and all of a sudden, the feel like they do not have the time to get their business started.
Are you one of those people that believe that you just don’t have the time to get your home-based embroidery business up and running? You‚’re not alone. Many people I talk to claim they have too much to do and not enough time to do it. They wind up defeating themselves and their business loses momentum and suffers.
A job outside the home, running with the kids or taking care of other family members, maintaining your health and too many other distractions are the main reasons for not building momentum in your business. You end up feeling that your entire life is spent catering to everyone else‚’s needs. However, I have some good news for you! You can find and maximize time to start building momentum in your home-based embroidery business right away. All you need is to find time and commit to use that time wisely for your embroidery business only. Try the following strategies to make your home-based embroidery business flourish.
Document Your Daily Routine
The first thing you will need to do is find a quiet place and write down your daily schedule. Document the start and end time on events like getting ready for work, driving your kids to school, your commute to your day job, gym time and any other weekly commitments you presently have. Don’t forget to include weekends and family time (this is very important).
After completing this exercise you should have a good visual of what your work week really looks like. You may see openings in your week that you can use to start building your embroidery business. Make your goal easy to reach: try to find two hours you can commit to spending on your business. You may be able to find some chores or events that you can delegate to someone else. Do not hesitate to ask a family member for help! It may also be a matter of re-prioritizing some activities in order to create a new schedule.
Stick With The Schedule You Created and Re-Evaluate It
The next thing you need to do is stick to your new schedule. This can be tough because you are creating a new habit. Once you and your family get the hang of your new routine, you can re-evaluate your schedule. You may be able to find more time to spend on your home-based embroidery business.
Sticking with your new schedule means you need to discipline yourself to work on your business and only on your business during that scheduled time. This means that you may need to find this time after work, after little league games, after dinner or after putting the kids to bed. I know that this is a hard time of the day to start something new, but it is going to be a big benefit to you if you will discipline yourself to stick to it!
Don’t Forget To Spend Time With Your Family.
Spending time with my family has always been a top priority for me. When I had young children I tried to focus on my business when my kids were in bed. I found that using the evening hours was best for me to spend on my home-based embroidery business. It seemed to be the most quite part of the day and I could accomplish a lot in 2 hours.
If you have to use your family time to spend on your business, make sure your family knows what to expect along with what you are doing and why you are doing it. However, I would recommend that you set a time limit so you can spend as much time as possible with your family. This will help to provide balance for you.
Embrace Your Many Distractions
As we all know life happens and can throw off our whole schedule. Try your best to embrace that fact instead of fighting it. If your child stays up late, focus on helping your child quiet down and go to sleep. Try not to focus on what you could be doing. The work will still be there when you are ready and you will feel much better knowing that you could be there for your child!
If you have to stay late at your day job, then choose to work late. It is better just to focus on one thing at a time. You‚’ll be more efficient and effective on your job, with your family and in your business. Having a clear and guilt free mind while working on your home-based embroidery business is very productive.
If you get a new idea that can distract you while you are working, keep an MP3 Recorder or your IPad handy so that you can record it immediately or write down the idea in a notebook. You can always prioritize those thoughts at a later time. You will also find that you are using less energy dealing with distractions instead of fighting them.
Finding time to work on your own business is very doable! Don‚’t despair and don‚’t get frustrated. Just remember that you have total control of your time and you alone can change your habits to start building momentum in your home-based embroidery business! I have created a program to help you get started the easy way and be able to plan out your home-based embroidery business before you actually get started. Go to HowToStartAnEmbroideryBusiness.com It will help you organize your thoughts and keep you out of overwhelm while you are building your embroidery business!
I wanted to end this year of 2015 with a story about Howard & Amanda Potter, one of my most accomplished students! They own A & P Master Images of Utica, NY and built their business in 12 years from zero to $1,500,000 in sales in their decorating apparel business. I am so very proud of how they have worked so hard to build up a great business and of what they have accomplished in a few short years! Part of this story was written by me and part was written by Howard! I wanted to share this with you because many of you struggle so hard to even pay your bills or get to the point where you are making enough money to pay yourself a salary. I wanted you to see what is possible for each and every one of you!
wife Amanda Potter. Shortly after two years of dating, we bought a house and got married in the back yard on August 31st, 2002, at the ages of 21 & 18. Within the year of being married, we had our first child Angelena.
I worked over the next couple of years 80 plus hours a week to build the business up the right way. By the time I quit my job to work the business full time, I had closed out all of my retirement and paid off much of my personal debt to lower my monthly bills, and created a base of customers that could support my bills. That following year we did around $120,000 in sales from our home.”
All of the sales may not be embroidery, but embroidery helped fund buying the equipment to help grow the business. This process allows you to do more work with less people. I have two full time staff in the embroidery department and this year we have done at least $375,000 in embroidery in a 20‚’x15‚’ room, two single heads, and a two head embroidery machine. Once in a while we will send an extra staff member in to steam, fold, and box. Really think about how tiny that space is. It does not matter how much you have, but what you do with it. Always remember that.
expand next year. Our company employs 15 full time staff, covers 50% of the health insurance if they want it, and now started retirement plans for them. Our company has won over 6 national awards, done work on four covers of national magazines for our industry, and has been published over 50 times in articles for these magazines.
Howard‚’s business is a full in house source for anyone needing any type of graphic design work and promotional products. He offers everything from pens and cups with your logo on it to car wrapping! He offers it all!
has 2 children now and both of them have some duties inside of the business. Howard is a very devoted father and he and Amanda are raising their children right with a great work ethic and wonderful life values. He provides family vacations, and spends a balanced life between his decorating apparel business and his family!
than 2.10 inches high and if you are working on a low profile cap, make sure you stay within a 2 inch limit. You will have much less issues and a better result if you follow that rule!
really tightly tucked under the lip of the cap framing device and that the metal strap is tight and stays in place across the front where the brim and cap are sewn together.