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Embroidery Business
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Starting And Growing Your Own Embroidery Business
Thinking of turning embroidery into your business instead of a hobby? Or maybe you have already started an embroidery business and are looking for some help on how to make it bigger?
Here you will find articles to help you start or improve your business, whether it's a brick-and-mortar embroidery busines, an online digitizing service, or even outside the embroidery sphere, these articles will help you grow your business!
We have also made DVD videos about building an embroidery business that you can watch at home on your DVD player and TV set. In our store you'll find a two-DVD set of videos called "DVD Video Set: Building A Successful Embroidery Business". It covers topics like... "Home-Based versus Commercial/Retail Locations", "Choosing An Accountant", "Marketing Your Business", "Pricing For Profit", "The Best Machine For Your Business", and much more.
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Effective Online Advertising
One of our members recently emailed me with a question about advertising on Google's Adwords program. She has just set up her first website and is now wondering... "How do I get people to come to my site and buy from me?" . . . Continue...
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Business: "WGIYBIWCO"
In this business article, I discuss a concept called "WGIYBIWCO" which means "What Goes In Your Brain Is What Comes Out". For those who desire to open or grow their own business, it contains crtitical information to move you along the right path . . . Continue...
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Removing Old Embroidered Lettering?
Here's a from our forum... "I run a small embroidery business from my home and have had a couple instances where people have asked about having an embroidered name removed from a coat and a new name stitched in it's place. The first time, I was able to just cover up the current name with a design and stitch over that. Now, someone else has asked me about the same thing. What should I do?" . . . Continue...
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A Digitizing Business
I get emails every week from people who are interested in becoming a professional digitizer. Some of them have already started digitizing as a hobby and are thinking of turning their hobby into a business. Others haven't started digitizing yet but are considering it as a business. This article is a guideline for what you'll need to do next and includes links to previous articles on related topics. It is a comprehensive look at what it takes to make money as an independant embroidery digitizer. Includes an in-depth look at all the steps and has links to detailed articles covering all the facets of doing everything it takes to make a business of digitizing. . . . Continue...
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Getting More From Your OnLine Store
From a member... "I have my own online store where I sell my quilts and things. I sell on ebay mostly. I was told in order to get traffic to my own online store I would have to start marketing and that it is really expensive. I am totally confused on what i should do. I was told that it would cost about 2,000 to market my store to search engines in order to get more business. I really want to sell more from my site versus ebay and their fees. Does anyone have any information or advice on where i should begin?" -- Of course I have some information! In fact this article is a great guide to getting your . . . Continue...
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Questions About Building Your Own Website
Part 2: The Shopping Cart
I see that some website owners are using zencart and some use oscommerce and some use another shopping cart that I can't think of... What do you recommend for a shopping cart? I want something that . . . Continue...
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Are You Selling On Ebay?
Do you own a business? Are you selling on ebay? You should be! If you're not yet then read this article! One of the realities of life is that there's never enough time to do everything we want or "should be" doing. In fact, . . . Continue...
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Getting Going Online
How do you get customers to find your website? That's the $64,000 question! What would someone search for if they were trying to find your product? Make a list of those key words . . . Continue...
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What Sells?
When starting an embroidery business, we're confronted with a huge pile of questions, but the one most commonly asked is "What sells?" "What Sells" is literally the $64,000 question. . . . Continue...
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4 Tips For Increasing Sales
Linda set up a craft mall booth and has been doing very well with her sales. Here's some advice she gave on making sales... "Some of the vendors at the market are having a hard time se . . . Continue...
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Brother SE-270D Embroidery Machines At Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart currently sells the Brother SE-270D embroidery machine. What does that mean to the future of machine embroidery as a hobby? How many people buy their first embroidery machine at Wal-Mart? And Vanna, can Goofy buy a clue? . . . Continue...
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Business Lessons We Have Learned
Nancy's recent post about a customer that placed a custom order then didn't pay for it made me think about what lessons people have learned about running an embroidery business when they went to "the . . . Continue...
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5 Tips For Better Craft Show Sales
Thinking of doing craft show sales? Maybe you're already selling at craft shows but your sales aren't where you want them to be? Here are five ways to make your sales take off! First the que . . . Continue...
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Business: "The Partnership"
Here's a silly little story: Mr Norton and Mr Cramden are both mechanics and they work on side jobs at their homes as well as working together at the local bus garage. One day Mr Cramden i . . . Continue...
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Business: Your "Numero-Uno" Asset
Steve is our chiropractor. One day I noticed a USB flash-memory stick hanging on a cord around his neck. When I asked him what was on that memory stick, the answer he gave may surprise you! " . . . Continue...
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Search Engines & Your Web Site
I was recently asked by someone starting their web business about search engine optimizing their website. They had an offer from a company that would optimize her existing site for he . . . Continue...
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New Thread Matching Software
Here's a program everyone doing machine embroidery will find very handy! When our members were talking about EasyThreads in our discussion forum I checked out their website and found their... P alig . . . Continue...
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Need Help Building A Website?
I have been building our websites for over four years now. One of the secrets to building a successful site is really the same as one of the secrets to good embroidery... use the right tools and . . . Continue...
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Business On Target!
An Interview With Amy Ainsworth
Amy is one of ATW's members and owns an embroidery business. The following is an interview I conducted with Amy recently. Her userid on ATW is "Veridianmind" and Amy has bee . . . Continue...
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Start Small But Think Big
One of the hurdles to growing a small business into a large business is changing "systems" to allow your work to happen on a larger scale. The catchword is "Scalability" and you hear it constantly in . . . Continue...
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Business: Choosing A Machine
by Larry Pike
Here's a question posed in our Discussion Forum recently and my answer. This is a question that everyone starting an embroidery business asks so it's worth repeating here! P a . . . Continue...
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Marketing Your Embroidery Business
Building Your Customer Database Instantly!
Looking for keys to Marketing Your Embroidery Business? You want your business to get moving F-A-S-T and you know you need to build a potential customer list to advertise to in order to mak . . . Continue...
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Business: The KEY To Getting Customers
by Larry Pike
Your #1 job as a business owner is getting customers. But HOW do you do that? This morning I talked with an embroidery business start-up owner. I will call her "Miss D." She was FRUSTRATED that he . . . Continue...
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Digitizing Software
One of our members asked this question about digitizing software... "I think the only thing left that I don't do is to start digitizing. How do you know what digitizig program to start wit . . . Continue...
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Craft Show Business Tips
Often members ask "I have rented space for an upcoming craft show. What should I make and how do I price items for the craft show?" Craft Shows take some time to figure out. With experience you wi . . . Continue...
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Selling In A Craft Mall
Here's a question posed in our discussion forum about how to increase sales in a craft mall booth and a few tips from a lifetime of sales and marketing experience... "I took pictures of my craft b . . . Continue...
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Designer's Gallery Review
We use Designer's Gallery software every day at Artistic ThreadWorks. In this review we will tell you the pluses and minuses that make up this program. While we commonly call it "Designer's Gallery", it is really a suite of plug in modules that allow you to do a lot of things with embroidery designs. The entire suite includes modules for color sorting, changing design sizes and density, quilting, hooping, and lettering... . . . Continue...
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Name Designs Added Today
6/23/05
We have added a BUNCH of name designs this week. Look in the Design Library under NAMES for the updated list. The new update will bring the name lists to over 1,600 designs. We are trying . . . Continue...
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Cleaning Up Graphics For Digitizing
One problem with digitizing has always been cleaning up graphics for digitizing. Any time clipart has a break in an outline, dithered shading or other little problems, it can be difficult to digitize, . . . Continue...
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A Formula For Making Sales
by Larry Pike
I have been working with a friend on building her embroidery business. Her concept was to market to a business niche and offer embroidered ready-to-wear items. The email today from this person said sh . . . Continue...
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PRIZES: For Top Ten Responses to "How much?!"
May 1st, 2005 Drawing Date
The 48-Hour Contest! I am looking for the "TOP TEN" most creative responses to Paula's "friend" problem in the forum post below. If you haven't read the posting yet... look for the one called... "Frustrated" Only about a million times in my life somebody has said something stupid to me and I have come up with the perfect response... 3 days later! So - what's the perfect response when somebody tells you they want you to do an embroidery job for them, they describe the job from h-e-l-l (70,000 stitches / 12 color changes / design editing required / etc) then get huffy when you quote them a realistic price... . . . Continue...
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eBay Verified Rights Owner Program (VeRO)
What to do when your copyrighted works are being stolen and sold by thieves on eBay. Every few days we get an email from a member telling us that somebody on eBay is selling copies of our designs illegally. We always look at the auctions and most of the time determine that the person has simply used the same artwork that we have to digitize from. We thank the member for telling us and file the email... . . . Continue...
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So You Want To Digitize!
by Ron Bynum
I personally know a lot of folks that own one or more embroidery machines. Whether they use them for business or hobby, they all have one thing in common - they love embroidery. They spend countless hours at their machines embroidering anything and everything in sight. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? . . . Continue...
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How to get the Media to talk about YOU!
By Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C.
I'm a media person. I don't know much about embroidery but I do know a business from a hobby. A hobby isn't really something to give media time to. But a thriving exciting business is. How will YOU show me that is a thriving exciting business that I should put into my newspaper or magazine or talk about on my radio or TV show? . . . Continue...
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Embroidery Machines For Your Business
What embroidery machine do you use in your business? Our survey of over 300 embroidery business owners has revealed tons of usefull information, especially usefull for those just starting out in t . . . Continue...
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The Dream of Word of Mouth Marketing Part 2
By Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C.
Publicity is the method of stretching your advertising dollar. When people see your ads and then see articles, TV and radio interviews that match what your ads say, people will find you believable and want to buy from you... . . . Continue...
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What Makes Machine Embroidery So Expensive? Or Is It?
By Ron Bynum
Understandably most of our customers have no concept of what it takes to get a “good” design into the machine and ready to sew on their garment. But that’s OK. How would they know unless someone explained it to them? Let’s face it, if they could do it themselves they wouldn’t be in your shop in the first place. . . . Continue...
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The Dream of Word of Mouth Marketing Part-1
By Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C.
You love embroidery. You have turned it into a profitable business. You don't place ads or get booths at events. You don't have to, people hear about you and come directly to you for what they want. You have all the business you need. The money is flowing to you and none of your overhead goes to newspaper or magazine ads. Happy customers come to you and buy a lot. Then something happens... . . . Continue...
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