Embroidery Startup Advice

As you know in your current business none of us will ever know everything but if you pick the niche you want to specialize in then that sure narrows down the learning curve,
Are you planning on hats as well or only flat goods at this time? Maybe write down the list of items you want to offer in embroidery and start with ONE of those. Polos for example. Much easier to research and become proficient in one product at a time. After 4 or 5 then the concepts will all run together and you will feel confident to embroider nearly anything! It is just at the beginning to help you feel less daunted just concentrate on one.

You might need a month to feel ready to go to your second product offering or you might need 6 months. That is dependent on your volume and amount of time researching and learning about that product and how to embroider it.

thank you for bringing this thread back up. SO many people just impulse buy. Think about what you LIKE... your PASSION... and there you go...money will come.

Sorry to make it SO simplistic.. but I have seen it. Don't do what you "think" will make money... go after what you LOVE...Your PASSION (S). I am telling you , the money will come.

and the beauty is... you will never work a day in your life if you follow what you are interested in.

You will make more money for your time spent doing
low ball screen printing pricing than you will on a single head
embroidery machine.

You should if you have lot of free time

According to the NNEP 30% of the embroidery businesses
go out of business each year.

I think it is an expensive and time consuming way to get screen printing
orders. Embroidery is is harder to learn than screen printing.
If you are a one man shop you would be much better to do one
or the other. Embroidery in a screen shop is best if you have another person
to do that department.

Man oh man, dug this thread (love that pun) up from the archives and it basically covered everything I heard as a good recommendation. I just bought my machine and opted for Wilcom because digitizing is a key goal for me as well. I don't need to make a $ at the moment because I'm still actively employed (active duty) and have a year to build a path that works with the time I have before I retire. My goal is to figure it out, have fun, eat the elephant one bite at a time, and chart my course!

Thanks for the NNEP recommendation. Checking that out now. A lot of change since the last time I was involved in 2001-2003.

I think this depends on the products you want to offer your clients? Are you thinking a table top machine or a more professional free standing? Are you wanting to offer cap embroidery or only flats. OR flats now with caps down the line? How large an embroidery area would you need? 8 inch max or nearly 20 inches, etc?

When you answer these questions you will automatically narrow down your options. Let us know your thoughts about these and I am sure others will chime in with advice to help.

Usually I would recommend "new" embroiderers to only buy a brand new machine for their first. BUT you have already been in business a while and have subbed out embroidery for a while as well so you already have contacts and more than a basic knowledge of the medium. For you to purchase a pre-owned machine from a quality dealer or person who took good care of it would make sense to me.

That being said I would still factor in local support availability. Who in your area is competent to work on which makes of machine? Answer the questions above then answer this question and wherever there is overlap... those are your only realistic options.

SOFTWARE: the embroidery machine should come with enough to sew. Now if you meant digitizing software I would steer clear of that for now. One step at a time. Remember what you wrote about embroidery in the past, you wanted to do both, emb and print, but opted to concentrate on print to start. Same concept. Get the machine, sell enough to keep it running and making you money while subbing out the rest THEN think about getting some digitizing software. I believe you SHOULD have digitizing software and use it for more than just editing if someone in your plan has the inclination...but just not now.

Eventually YES... to start? NO. You will have enough to do to master the machine and to sell product to keep it running. Later when you have enough for the machine and you are subbing out enough you can then think about researching which software to buy and then take the time to learn at least the basic editing functions.

Which software? Hands down I would argue Wilcom. It is more expensive than most for sure but it is the best out there. And like most you can buy it in modules so you only upgrade when you want more features or bells and whistles.

Do I use it? No, I bet on the wrong horse 20+ years ago and still use Wings (old Gunold product) and feel that the learning curve for me would be too steep considering the volume of work I produce on a daily basis. I know my software inside and out, that takes years IMO.

Also WHERE do you learn to digitize? Three days of software training barely lets you know when the computer is on, lol School of hard knocks? Trial and error while consistently re-inventing every single thing every other digitizer has already done? We are a lot that rarely shares info and there is no school for this or much in the way of training materials that are Current.

Yes, and you could make MORE money doing a myriad of other things too. That is not the point.

Not EVERYTHING needs to be done for money... they already have printing... at some time they obviously were "interested" in embroidery. They got busy with the printing which is Great and put the embroidery idea aside... but here they are now coming back to something they had an interest in years ago. GO WITH YOUR PASSION... if you Want to do something don't worry about the money as it will follow.

You cannot open a business or a new division NEEDING money, it does not work that way. I have to make 300 per week on this machine starting THIS WEEK... sorry, not going to happen usually. You start a business/division because you are interested in it and your passion will come through to your clients and the money will follow. It will. AND you have the added perk of not feeling like it is "work" at all!!

The poster wants "advice" that is the question of this thread. Simply saying DONT DO IT to me is not really advice, that is a projection of fear. And while a certain amount of fear in business is healthy it cannot/should not stop anyone from following what they want to try.

Yes, and:

1: according to Forbes 8 out of 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months

2: according to Gallup.com 50% of businesses fail in the first 5 years

3: according to Inc.com 96% of businesses fail in the first 10 years

So WHAT? we are all supposed to sit home and watch TV all day... I mean WHY TRY?? what is the point?? seriously??? (we are a fickle lot and there are many reasons something fails, just like the marriage rate... but that does not stop people from tying the knot often)

I do believe it would be beneficial for any serious startup embroiderer to join NNEP. And to attend at least once a show of their's. Attending an ISS show or two would be beneficial as well. Attend the classes offered on embroidery.

The 30% number cited makes sense when you watch salespeople at one of these shows... "hey do you have a garage?, spare bedroom? Do I have a business opportunity for you!" Then these people purchase every item the rep tells them they need... they get home and are overwhelmed.... OF COURSE they go out of business. Quite frankly they never WERE in business!

Since you have been in business for a bit you must already have the ability to sell! So all you are doing is offering another option to your clients. Value added option!

Joining industry organizations (NNEP as one) would be beneficial as a start. Trade magazines are probably already coming to you... "Wearables" has now gobbled up "Stitches" magazine so you need that one as well.

The real question here is WHAT do you want to sell? What market do you want to cater to? Any particular niche you would like to start with? When you determine this (and doing a business plan will let you hone this answer) hint hint The answer to this will help you come up with a marketing plan for that niche.

YES! Once you find your starting niche. Pick something that interests you and only go after people who have that same interest. For example. I have two pugs so I joined the local Pug Meetup through Yahoo. They meet at least once a month and I can tell you these people are downright CRAZY when it comes to all things pug related! lol Come up with some products, little aprons, little pillows, beds, placemats, etc.... it just builds from there and as they are "custom" usually with the lettering and Tons of stock pug images already out there (no need to re invent and they dont know) They are willing to pay a bit more. And they feel good that their money is going to someone with their same interests, not just some random company.

Now I realize this is an overly simplified example but my point is (yes Robert , what IS your point?! lol) Pick niches you LIKE.... as many as you can handle and go for their money. You are doing something you have an interest in, meeting new friends, and providing a service they never knew they needed!

Thanks for this forum guys, its really helpful. I started my home based embroidery business about 2 months ago as a part time job. I bought a Singer futura embroidery machine from Amazon, and at the moment i am outsourcing designs. Of course i don't yet have many orders, but its rising and i'm optimistic. I have also bought a training course from embroideryhomebusiness.com, so i have learned a lot of things about embroidery and embroidery digitizing. I am thinking of buying an entry level embroidery software as well in order to start practicing in digitizing. My question is, what embroidery software do you use, and which would you suggest for a small business like mine?

after reading your first post, my first thought was to do a lot of reading, research, and then attend a trade show. you'll pick up a lot of information there. but you should go in knowing what you want. they will try to sell you a bunch of stuff you don't need to start.

you can buy a used machine for not a whole lot of $. other than that you'd need thread, backing, bobbins, needles, etc.

as far as questions to ask the embroidery customer....i don't know screenprinting, but i don't think it would be a whole lot different. you'd need to know if they have garments, or would you need to order them. design placement (left chest? under collar? etc). do they already have the design digitized, or would it need to be. if its just lettering, or maybe with a stock design, you should be able to set that up without too much trouble. then you would have them pick thread colors.

one good way to get into embroidery without the investment is to work in conjunction with a local embroidery shop and sub out the work. it would be a good way to gauge how much embroidery business will come in. we did this in reverse when my mother (the embroiderer) was ready to retire. you could order the garments, negotiate a contractor rate with the embroiderer, still mark up the embroidery a bit and make some money. then when you're ready and have a better understanding, take the plunge and do the embroidery in-house.

For the design part (digitizing) here are a few questions to ALWAYS ask:

1. The art will usually be on paper with a white background... well do the white areas inside the art itself get included as thread or should that be the fabric showing through if possible? (this is the number 1 question we ask)

2. Have you had this embroidered before? If so may we see an image of what was done before? Are we trying to match that or were there areas that you would like to see improved? (if you do not ask this question then when you show them the first sample they will invariably say: "gee, why doesnt it match this", as they then show you a sample!)

3. Ask for the size they want. Industry standard is about 3.5 inches wide for a left chest, but they may want 4.5 or 2.5.. always ask.

4. On lettering do you want a trim between each and every letter or may we kern closer so there are only trims between each word? This is important for your pricing if you choose to price higher for the additional time all that trimming will take!