HomePro Studio

Running a professional sewing business is a hard task to undertake. Dealing with customers wants, employees needs , and government regulations can be overwhelming. In many ways running one from your home is harder even though you will probably not have the employee factor.

On these pages you will find lots of advice that will help you create that “professional” image even though you work at home. Under the main categories I will file articles I've written for the PSA newsletter, “Tangled Threads”, answers to questions you've sent me, and assorted other goodies for your consideration. BE ADVISED that this stuff is mostly my opinion. What you choose to do with the articles I have written are up to you. Depending on your situation, my advice might be lousy. But in general the things I share here have made my life easier and could possibly make a difference in yours too.

The information put here is intended for the education of individual visitors of this web page. You are certainly welcome to print anything out on your own computer's printer for your own usage. But please don't reprint anything in a public domain without asking permission.

	General Stuff To Do Here you will find various advice on a wide range of subjects mostly dealing with thing I think are good ideas.	General Stuff To Avoid Doing Here you will find various advice on a wide range of subjects mostly dealing with things I think are not good ideas.
	Welcome To My Sewing Studio Creating a pleasant place to do your work is not a simple thing. I have set-up several workrooms over my many movings and each time I have learned something about what works most efficiently for the way I sew. In this section is a link to pictures of the various studio set-ups I have used and discussions concerning sewing machines and other furnishings and sewing tools.	Legalities What to do about government regulations, taxes, employee needs and your own personal and family needs as they relate to your business can be found here.
	Here Comes Your Bridal Customer Dealing with brides can be a very rewarding or very terrifying experience. Though you want to treat all your customers with the best service you can give, brides are just a little different. To see why I think this way visit this section to get advice on how to deal with many special needs of the bridal and formal customer.	The Customer is Always Right . . . even when she doesn't know what in the world she wants. It's often very difficult dealing with customers. They can be picky, indifferent, arrogant, finicky, exasperating, or down right rude and you still have to know how to be polite and deal with it.
	Marketing Marketing is not the same thing as advertising. It's that and a whole lot more. Publicity and good will enter in to this. Finding new customers is sometimes a tricky thing when you are a tiny one person business. You don't have to feel like you are casting advertisements into the wind in a fatal effort to grow your company. Come here for discussions of how to better market yourself.	Reputation is Everything Like the title says, reputation is the only thing we Sewing Professionals have to grow our business by. For many of us, it is impossible to show samples of our quality of workmanship because it is walking all over town. And pictures don't often say enough. In this section you will find tips and advice on how to guard your reputation and make it the best it can be
	Money Management Visit here to find advice about making money decisions concerning your Sewing Business. Whether you are in a storefront or on your own in a home studio, making decisions regarding how to spend your money may cause you many a sleepless night. It's not easy asking people to pay you for doing something you love, but if you are going to make your business sewing than you have to get used to charging a decent price for your labors.	Time Management Some folks are naturally able to set their own goals and manage their time, while others struggle to get all their work done. Come here to find tips on how to manage your time.
	Wife, Mom, Entrepreneur Balancing your professional and personal lives is often a toughie. Come here to find ideas on how to make this task a little easier.	Tips and Tricks Need to find the best way to do something. Here's where I'll put ideas from me and others on how we do things.
	Educate Thyself I think the best advice in life is to never stop learning. This is also very important in the Sewing Profession. New techniques are always come out and the best way for you to keep your business fresh is to continue learning.	Silliness? I have a very odd sense of humor and I think it a good thing to be able to laugh at ourselves even in our professional lives. Come here to read about my cats and share in the fun of sewing.

Bonus Section of Sewing Studio Design. Pictures and info about several of my actual Sewing Studios from a small appartment to a spacious home. Any space can be a beautiful and functional workspace with a little inginuity.