The little sewing thing I've incorporated and set up for a friend is going well. She's doing well at her day job. She's got tons of Easter dress orders coming in. Her parents like what's happening and my part in it. I've gotten a will client or two off of it. Also I might be ready to ask her to make me a dress in the next couple of months
. I'm liking this.
That little sewing thing/sorta tailor business I helped my friend start and incorporate is beginning to show some stability. She was of the opinion that she could quit her job at Jo Anne Fabrics at some point, but her mother and I have sat down with her and explained why that's not a good idea. She needs to hang onto her employee discount to get her supplies cheaper. She doesn't seem to understand the nature of bargaining and how she can "do her co workers a favor" by "letting them fill in for her" by giving them some of her hours/having them "cover" for her. As long as she's on the payroll, she'll get that damn discount. If quitting her day job is to become a reality, then she's either going to have to be a.) in a position to buy fabric wholesale direct from distributors (not anytime soon), or work out something to keep her employee discount. This is key to her maintaining a price advantage.
Apparently Easter dresses for little girls are a hot selling item for her right now, and they are freaking adorable. She's making a small amount of spending cash.. I'm only charging her a very nominal fee for keeping records and books, which her mother and father both approve of and are impressed over. The poor dear has an interesting problem: the Easter dress orders are coming in and she actually is a tad overworked. So, I've explained to her about her options for adding on another girl temporarily as an independent contractor and how I'll help handle her hours, pay, and 1099 tax forms when the time comes.
Her mother and father were initially quite skeptical of the entire affair. I'm only charging her about $40/month to keep all of her records at present and as usual they are immaculately organized, easy to reference, and digitally available. I've emailed them to her mother and father every week as well (with friend's permission, of course). I've got supply chain management, inventory/purchasing tracking, and cost/profit breakdowns. They know exactly how much she's making on each sale and how much she's spending to make it. Her father views me as a bit of a nerd but is ok with that/doesn't suspect the gay thing. Mother and daughter have given me a couple of glances, but they might just attribute that to my knowing the product I'm dealing with. I know far too much about women's clothing.... No one seems to care as I've gotten two will/estate planning clients out of this so far and they're making some small amount of money/growing a sustainable business.... Mom and daughter are also making a ton of new friends/marketing/networking. Win... win.
Right now she's a tad swamped, but I'm thinking sometime in the next couple of months, I might ask her to make a dress for me... [blush]. She might be a bit surprised at first, but I don't think she'll say no. I've been hoping for this for months and it was one of the original reasons I got involved in this. $40/month to do her book keeping is nothing. The referral clients were nice but meh. That's $350 gross sales (before my expenses) I've gleaned off this so far (and hopefully more to come), but it's been a TON of fucking work to date comparatively.... I'm hoping this ends up being a long term pipeline for clients/a book keeping fee that will grow as her business grows. Custom tailored dresses however....
. I want and those are harder to get for the transgendered community. Yeah, I'm a size 8 so it's not that bad, but there's less embarrassment this way (I hope). I'm also hopefully gaining another girlfriend I can hang out with. I want to have movie nights with her and be one of the girls. I'm really hoping I can earn my way into that position, as the mother-approved/father doesn't know gay friend.
It actually depends on Wal-Mart. Those bastards are really low priced and I hate them so much. We have to be relatively close to their prices and offer the "customization" thing too. Yes, Wal-Mart is cheap, but each dress made here is tailored to you and its unlikely you'll fine something exactly the same as the one you purchase here. Same thing with patterns/colors/fabrics. There you have maybe a couple color choices, here it's pretty much custom. If we can get the fabric then we're good.
It's working! I might get some clients, some book keeping fees, some dresses, and a mother approved friend to have girls' movie nights with! I'm helping and not being a total bitch and building something from nothing really and supplying a friend of mine with a job, and, and, and,
.
P.S. Her dad does not like "fruits" so much....
Hopefully one of them providing your daughter with a livelihood and her own business might at least let him like one "fruit."
Author
Topic: [MILK] There were 12 eggs here what did you do with them? (Happy thread?!) (Read 16201802 times)