Anyone looking for
ways to make money working at home
should think about their skills and
hobbies to see if they already have
a passion or, at least, an interest
that could be the basis for a profitable
small business. Sewing is a good example
of how this can work. If you have
good sewing skills, you could easily
use your talent as the basis for a
home based sewing business.
In the past, home based sewing business
consisted mainly of women at home
working on industrial sewing machines
assembling ready cut garments as outworkers
for local factories. This was "piece
work" i.e. the woman was paid
per finished piece of work. The big
sewing machines were noisy monsters,
so it was impossible for a woman to
sew and listen to music or carry on
a conversation at the same time. It
was hard work but quite well paid
if you could work fast. This type
of working at home job is less common
nowadays because it is cheaper for
factory owners to send the work abroad
where wages are lower.
Starting home based sewing business,
does not involve a return to monotonous,
noisy piece work; there are far more
pleasant and creative ways to earn
a living with needle and thread where
you can be your own boss and not a
wage slave for a factory owner.
The first thing that springs to my
mind when anyone mentions home based
sewing business, is dressmaking and
wedding dresses obviously take top
place. The vast majority of brides
planning a white wedding want a dress
(and bridesmaid dresses) specially
made for their big day. If you have
a talent for dressmaking, bridal outfits
will certainly offer a good way of
earning a substantial income.
A less glamorous but equally necessary
service is in garment alterations.
Shops used to offer this service,
but nowadays it is usually only possible
to find someone to alter or repair
a garment by making enquiries of local
dry-cleaners. It is a sad truth that
we live in a wasteful society where
perfectly serviceable garments will
be thrown away because of a broken
zip. However, there are still people
around who will want to have a zip
replaced in a favorite garment, so
a business in repairs and alterations
can be profitable, if your local dry
cleaners do not offer this service
they might be prepared to send customers
to you.
One of the nicest ways to earn money
from sewing is by making soft toys.
Somehow cuddly creatures have always
managed to stay in fashion and there
is a market for everything from stuffed
rats to dinosaurs to floppy rag dolls.
It must be very satisfying to earn
money at home from making items that
will be cherished by a child, from
infancy into the teenage years.
Starting a home
based sewing business requires
little in the way of financial investment.
If you intend to do dressmaking, you
will need a robust sewing machine
and an over locking machine. These
tools of your trade should last for
many years and will earn what they
cost you many times over. If you have
a room that can be dedicated to sewing,
that is great but in reality, you
can run a sewing business from your
kitchen table.
Apart from the obvious tools and accessories,
your expenses will be for materials
and advertising. Advertising is essential
to any business that is just starting
up. You can circulate flyers, buy
advertising space in local newspapers,
put up a website and all sorts of
other things which are fairly low
cost. If you are making wedding dresses,
advertise in bride oriented publications
and try to do some sort of joint venture
or reciprocal recommending with the
local florist or wedding planner.
Once you have a few satisfied customers
you will benefit from repeat orders
and your reputation will become known
via the all important word of mouth.
When this starts to happen you are
well on the way to having your home
based sewing business.
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