How to start a sewing business?
Nowadays, home business are gaining more and more popularity each day. It’s not because people don’t like the plain old jobs and going to the office or a workshop or any other kind of work area and spending a third of the day there, earning for a living day in and day out. Actually, the reason why most people decide to start up a home business is believe it or not. efficiency. Some people would say that home business owners are lazy or unmotivated, so they don’t have the capabilities to work a normal job. But that’s not the case at all, in fact it’s the complete opposite.
When you work at home, you get to enjoy various benefits that allow you to gradually grow and improve as a business runner. First and most noticeable positive side of becoming such an entrepreneur is, as mentioned before, efficiency. No traveling to work, no strict work hours, no naggy and jealous supervisors and a relative flexibility all allow you to be more productive and by focusing only on your task, finish projects quicker and better.
And amongst all of the home business kinds, sewing is perhaps the one with the highest potential for long term success and profit. You can start with a very simple and easy type of services, only to slowly and gradually learn new things which will allow you to expand your customer base as well as your skill level.
But how can you start making money sewing at home? What should you know before starting such an adventure? What should you be prepared for? And what exactly do you need for it? Let’s find out.
What you should know before starting a sewing business?
Professional Orientation
Obviously, sewing is a craft with many different fields of work. From embroidery to embellishment, repairs to restorations, designing to improvising and so on and so forth. Since your home business won’t have a vast workforce of many people, you won’t be able to perform all types of projects, not in the beginning at least.
That is why it’s important for you to first determine what your focus will be. Therefore, let’s take a look at some of the basic options laid out for you.
Modifications & Repairs
This kind of sewing work is probably the best choice for those who are new in the home sewing business gig. Since it’s the most basic kind of work, it’s not demanding and it doesn’t require a lot of time. On top of that, it’s the most sought out service with a very broad customer base. This means that if you decide to focus on this kind of work, you’ll be having plenty of customers and will rarely be without a task. The money you’ll be making after each individual project won’t be a lot but due to the fact that they won’t use up a much of your time and they’ll be available almost always, you’ll be able to pile up a decent profit long term. You could also up your price and work less for more money but this is a risky move because you may end up losing some customers along the way.
One thing important to keep in mind is the fact that this type of work requires a fair skill level from you, as well as a versatile sewing machine. You’ll have to manage dealing with all kinds of fabrics, clothing types, and various other fashion accessories and that’s why you’ll need all that.
The tasks you’ll be receiving will range from fixing up some tears or rips, changing the hemline or sleeve length to some decorative alterations and more. A lot of brand new pieces of clothes require these repairs so you shouldn’t run out of work for a very long time.
Custom Sewing
If you have a knack for creating pieces of clothes from scratch, you might want to consider this kind of sewing work. If you choose this specialty, you’ll be making various clothing for your customers, according to their needs and desires. You can decide to focus on men’s wear or women’s wear only or even more precisely, on dresses or pants or jackets only and so on.
One thing you should keep in mind is the fact that you’ll be spending quite some time on making arrangements with your customers. Listening to their ideas and wishes and trying to make them come true if possible. Unfortunately, a lot of people who seek custom sewing works don’t really know what’s doable and what’s unrealistic. Which means you’ll need some nerves of steel, patience and good communication skills
Designer Work
This is reserved for the most creative and most persistent sewing enthusiasts. If you choose this specialty, you’ll be creating your own unique fashions and pitching them on the market. This is a very difficult and risky road but it’s also one which potentially leads to world fame.
Profit and Investments
We’ve already briefly mentioned the profit attainable with this kind of work so we won’t waste much time on it. Restorations and repairs will bring you up to twenty bucks for a task. Dresses will bring you up to a thousand, while gowns and wedding dresses will bring you up to a couple of thousands of dollars.
Now let’s talk about the most relevant question here.
How much would it cost to start a home sewing business?
Obviously, first you’ll need to buy the appropriate equipment. The most important piece being the sewing machine. They are pretty affordable these days but even so you’ll need at least two hundred bucks if you want to buy a new one. You can also opt to buy a used machine for less but that machine won’t come with a warranty so it might bite your wallet if it breaks down.
You’ll also have to buy some appropriate needles, various threads for different fabric types, different presser feet for sewing more demanding tasks, some accessory applicators and more. If you choose to do custom sewing work, you’ll have to either buy the fabrics required by yourself and then increase the price or have the customer buy it and then lower your price a bit. You’ll also need to dedicate one entire room in your home for tryouts and tests with your customers. For designing work or alterations work, you’ll cover the material costs yourself.
Bottom line is this, if you want to start your own home sewing business, you’ll have to invest from half a grand to seven or eight grands in it. Will it pay off? Yes, surely, but it will take some time, hard work and dedication.