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#1256
Probably most people on this forum are either in the business or are thinking about making sewing a business. I have some experience under my belt from doing work for myself, a few friends and even a handfull of paid jobs. I tell the paying customers that I am just getting started and the final result may not be perfect, but for the moment I have been pretty cheap. No one so far has been unpleased with the work I have done for them.

I am a bit old school with regard to what one can do or not do as a professional. I am guessing the folks who sew for a factory probably have many years of experience at 8-10 hours a day 5-6 days a week. There is no substitue for time behind the machine. You can't get there in a month.

On the other hand, I have looked online at some of the competition who sells their service. I see bunches and wrinkles in their online pics. One would think the pics for online advertising would be their best work. So, maybe my work isn't lagging as far in reality as it does in my mind. My exectation is a show room equilivent.

Anyway, give me your thoughts.
Cale liked this
#1262
@victric,

I am training in Upholstery so that I may blend this into my existing business. My practice comes in bits and spurts when I can and have come to realize that it is going to take a lot of years to present the show quality work I desire. If somebody want something done that I think I can do I will do it but am not guaranteeing it will look like a piece done by a professional. I am really concerned that my stitching does not fall apart or the foam does not collapse at this point. Just keep practicing and it will come!
vicstric liked this
#1270
Thats a great question! difficult to answer also Haha. I don't think you will ever feel truly ready. You just have to do it. When I started doing work for customers I still had a lot to learn.
I did have some good formal training but honestly %70 of what I know now was learned from getting in to jobs that I had never done before and not having any choice but to just figure it out. I was committed to producing a set quality of work and thats what I always delivered. Sometimes I had to do things more than once if I didn't like how it turned out, sometimes I was way out of my comfort zone and sometimes I ended up not making much money on a job. But I always figured out how to deliver and after every job my skills improved exponentially.

We are always our own worst critic and you will always be able to find a reason not to do something. The successful people in this world don't let that stop them. Obviously don't be reckless. But if your work looks good like the factory and is better that the work you see advertised online and you current customers are happy.... Your probably ready. :slight_smile:

I hope this helps guys!
#4578
I don't want to hijack this thread but I'm in a similar position. My experience is limited to my own projects and some for friends and family just for the experience. I'm not really a fan of doing jobs for friends just for experience. I'm pretty confident that I can tackle most of the upholstery work that I would be interested in doing ( classic cars, trucks, boats, etc or possibly mid century furniture) So my question is, how do I bring in paying jobs with little to no professional experience?
#4579
I am kind of like @BigRig in that I am learning so that I can mix upholstery with my other work. I agree with @vicstric that I have seen others and received work from others that are supposed to be professionals but their work is even below my novice standards. I think that it comes down to perception, work ethic, desire to do the job right and ones own pride in their work.

I truly believe that some people have never learned or been taught to care about their reputation. It always comes down to how much money that they can make off of someone else. Yes, making a profit is important but delivering great, consistent work is just as or maybe even more important.

At some point, you will have to decide if your work is good enough for people. Yes, start cheap and charge more as you get better and more work is coming in the door. If it is something that you are doing daily and are getting better every day then you will be able to charge more and receive a better reputation.
John, kl4bidn, Connie liked this
#4580
Also, when you do noticeably better quality work, word of mouth spreads like wild fire.

But, DO NOT keep yourself hidden from the world because YOU think that you are not good enough. I have seen many "artists" go completely unnoticed and wasted their talents because they were never satisfied enough with their work to let the world see their art.
John, kl4bidn liked this
#4584
Like everyone says I think it’s really a matter if you think you’re good enough. One thing I have been doing and it’s a bit drowning at first. But I’ve gone to local establishments, restaurants or what have you. Told them about myself and maybe they need booths etc done. Dealerships, Facebook groups your interested in. Like @Cale says. Make yourself know. I still work a full time job but lately have been taking a day off every now and then to keep caught up. I’m not loosing money by leaving work either. Sometimes I make the same, sometimes more by staying home and doing upholstery. I have an understanding boss so that helps. Till he finds out I’m wanting to donupholstery full time anyways. But like they all say. If you’re focused on quality word will get out.
John liked this
#4585
Thanks @cale I also have witnessed professional work that seems to be lower quality than I would expect. I have always had a strong work ethic and taken pride in my work no matter what it happened to be at the time. I was in the collision repair industry for 20 years and one of my bosses used to give me grief for not being able to hack things out if necessary to make more money. I learned what not to do by watching body techs I worked with bouncing from job to job because of their poor quality work. I think I've decided my work is good enough for people I just need to figure out how to convince the people of that, with my lack of years of experience and reputation as an upholsterer.
#4586
Thanks @cody I've considered talking to restaurants, etc. I have been buying supplies from a local guy who's family has owned an upholstery supply business since 1979, my grandfather and mother bought supply's from his family for many years. He is aware of my bag making business and sees my growing interest in upholstery so I'm thinking of showing him some of my work and seeing if he can help me land some work. I was in collision repair for twenty years and only worked in two shops. My second boss knew of my side job making bicycle bags and was very understanding, when work was slow he had no problem with me staying home and doing my own thing to make some money. Once he found out I was building up a solid business he ended up laying me off when his business really slowed down. That was both a blessing and a curse.
#4588
@B + M i know what you mean. I work in the auto repair business as my full time job. There are a lot of people out there for a buck. I even told my boss he was doing a hack job on a vehicle. Everyone is a pound and fill, if it’s not a remove and replace. I think truly repairing dents is a lost art. But I grew up in the street rod custom world, which that is a very different story. You save what you can, and make what you can’t. I often think this way and sometimes my Boss gets upset too, telling me I’m taking to long. But our profit and work flow has yet to decrease and I’m the only worker there. I often remind him of that. But it’s a feast or famine business. Sometimes it’s just a dead time of year. So he’s understanding too, but like you I may be pushing my limits. He’s also thinking of moving to a larger facility and hiring on another worker. Which I think might be my time to maybe go part time for now.
#4624
@B + M Your ready man! Pictures of your past projects is all the professional proof you need. If your work is good it will show. Honestly customers rarely ask how long you have been in the business. They just want to see pictures of your work. Get out there and do man :smiley: Your skills are valuable and you deserve to be payed for them.
#4702
@john I guess I should have been more specific. My main concern is HOW to get customers. (Newspaper ad? Craigslist? Flyers?) I have my current bagmaking business and would like to bring in some upholstery work part time. Then once I know upholstery is going to work out for me, phase out the bagmaking side of things.
#4706
@B + M ive invested in a website, post on both fb and instagram, and the biggest seller is word of mouth. If you put up a sign with your bag making business so existing customers can see it they’ll be your best advertisement. Always be upfront and honest. I tell people it’s a side job now and there may be some waiting time if they are with it. Almost all of them are okay. The best part is. Everyone has upholstery of some sort. Something like flyers at local businesses that allow people to do that. Bars, gas stations, etc. I way over thought it at first. Now I just try to post before and after photos online so potential customers have a place to look. Best of luck to you. With your work you’ll achieve your goal
John liked this
#4764
@B + M This is a great question! I will try to answer this as best I can with out spending hours. I do plan to eventually make some article and videos on this topic.

First thing I would do is get a basic website set up and display all the pictures of your past project. People these days want to see pictures on your website. I mean think about it, when is the last time you went to a business with out going on their website first?? If your on a budget there are ways to do this completely free. If your going free just look up a free hosting provider and I suggest using wordpress to set up you website. Its free, really easy and there are tons of tutorials online. If you have a little budget I would use a service like Wix to set up your website. Or you can hire someone of Fiverr or Upwork to do this for you pretty inexpensive.

Next input you business in to all the local listing companies like Yelp, Yellow pages, Google, Yahoo. I have gotten a lot of customers from this and its totally free

Next Business cards. You need these on you at all times because you never know when opportunity will come. Give them to your friends, Family, Your bag customers also. That way your top of mind if they know anyone that needs upholstery work. You can get super cheep business cards from Vista print. Make sure you have your website and all your contact info on the card. If you dont want to do the design work you can hire someone on Fiverr for $20 to do it for you.

Make a flier with pictures of your work. Most places like Boat marinas, Local airports, Community subdivisions will have bulletin boards that they will let you have fliers on if your nice and get to know the people there.

Go introduce yourself to other shops and businesses that might need your services or have customers that might need your services

This is how I built my business when I first started 9 years ago. Its all free and it does work. I hope this helps.
Connie, vicstric liked this
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