# bad day at the store



## Bobbie15 (Feb 19, 2007)

* Hello !*

* We had a bad money making day. today and i am tryin to come up with new embroidery ideas or just ideas i cant take another day like today i mean there was a told solds of $4.00 i am not a happy camper can one any help with ideas or what am i doing wrong. we have been doing this for 3 years.*

* Bobbie*


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

*Re: bad day at the stroe*

Its hard to say what your doing wrong without knowing what exactly you are doing. We need more information.

What exactly are you doing?
What are you selling?
How are you selling?
Where are you selling?
Just to name a few.......... Give us a bone


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

*Re: bad day at the stroe*

Try to do the embroidered logos of the businesses around your area, and show it to them.


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## monkeylantern (Oct 16, 2005)

*Re: bad day at the stroe*

If you've been doing this for 3 years, you can't be doing *that* badly, else how would you eat? How do you normally do?


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## diane143 (Nov 17, 2006)

*Re: bad day at the stroe*

I work at a bike shop part time and some days are like that. There are the days no one walks in (*usually* during bad weather) and the days we have a ton of customers but just can't close a sale! (full moon anyone?)

As long as it's not every day, what I do then is cleaning and bookwork.

For you, you may want to think about new marketing strategies.

Like someone else mentioned, you've been in business for 3 years so you must be doing something right.


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## BelVon (Jul 26, 2006)

*Re: bad day at the stroe*

In our (my boss') sign shop, we are always loaded up with work. If we finish the production work halfway, later by the end of the day, our work piled up again with new orders. Do you know what he said what the trick to his successful business?

Lots of marketing. Joining chamber of commerce. Meeting a lot of people. Active in the community. He makes a lot of signs for businesses. He recently hired sales person to just do marketing and putting the word out. He's been in the business for 5 years.


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## Bobbie15 (Feb 19, 2007)

*Re: bad day at the stroe*

Thank you all so much i am now working on more ad,s in local pappers and a web site store. the adds i know how to do the web site i dont know that much about. but i am learing thanks so much for all the good ideas and the words of help i do love this group so much becuase everyone is sp helpful thanks thank s and thanks aton


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

*Re: bad day at the stroe*

A bigger add in the yellow pages will do more than adds in local papers. <- freom our past experience.


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## diane143 (Nov 17, 2006)

Does anyone actually read yellow pages anymore? Around here we get at least 4 different ones delivered, and all but the smallest most local goes in the trash.


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

They would not read it, but will certainly refer to the yellow pages in case they're looking for a service/product, etc. So the key is to be at the proper "location" in the yellow pages.


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## plaid (Mar 2, 2007)

I think there is something to say for foot work too. Someone said earlier about approaching local businesses about your biz. You should do that, people like to see it , touch it, smell it... Anyways, if you had examples done of your work that you may have done for other businesses, and you showed them, they could easily imagine what you can do for them. In the short time that I have done embroidery, I see that people need to SEE the work.


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## KenS (Apr 27, 2007)

We just started our embroidery business a year ago this month. If you are not a member of NNEP (National Network of Embroidery Professionals) I would immeadiately join.

When we first opened, we did a lot of work on speculation. We did not know how to digitize the designs. When we joined NNEP, we got a resource book and contacts. In the book, there are other members that offer digitzing service on the first design for 50% off and such. We used these services and had a local sheriffs dept badge done. This cost us like $50 to get it done. Once we had a design... we stitched it on a few items and gave them out. Once the other officers started seeing them, we got the orders. Since then, the State Fire Marshal Office has seen the Sheriffs Office shirts, we just did polos for the entrire department. Another Police Department has since seen them... we just did 70 polos for them about 3 weeks ago... they just reordered them again. This particular PD is at a state hospital...so now not only are they ordering...but the patient transport dept and fire department are also ordering. 

I just sent a design out to be digitized. It is for a federal law enforcement agency. They have seen the sheriffs office work and liked it.

Since I we have started digitzing ourselves.....when we have the time.... I would see people wearing screen printed tee-shirts. I could tell from the design that it would not be hard to digitize. I asked them for a copy of the logo. Digitized it...gave them a polo...now I get frequent recurrent orders for them and waist aprons.

You can get a decent polo, your cost for about $5... other than the cost of the design and a little bit of machine time to embroider it.... it gets your work out there to be seen. 

I have a background in Law Enforcement, Paramedicine and Aviation. I can tell you that all of those professions go nuts over a good embroidery job. Esp... when others have them.


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

Great share Ken. I think this is the advantage of embroidery, and when you do your own digitizing. Marketing via word of mouth is the best.


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## coastalthredwork (Sep 5, 2009)

Do the agencies that you sew for have to go through a bid process before ordering and if so how did you get around that?


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## Cutting_Edge (Jun 30, 2006)

One thing that has helped my business immensely was our local BNI (Business Networking International)...you might want to check into a local chapter.

Margaret
Cutting Edge


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## American logoZ (Sep 16, 2009)

coastalthredwork said:


> Do the agencies that you sew for have to go through a bid process before ordering and if so how did you get around that?


Many of the agencies I sew for have an amount they can spend without the bid process kicking in. They call me with a dollar amount and tell me to send as many polos as that amount will buy. On the other hand, if they require that I go through the bid process, so be it. If they like my product, they'll walk me through the process so it is as easy as possible. As for bids, you win some and you lose some. If you bid it so you make money without raping folks, you can always figure that if you don't get the bid, then you didn't want it.


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

I don't know what you sell or where you are located but I believe that its important to look at your personal strengths and weaknesses while considering the changing needs of who you market to or who you would like to sell too. If you can establish a niche such as catering to a particular hobby interest that will probably be the most profitable and long-lasting if it isn't trendy. Unless you have plenty of financial support I would be cautious about spending alot of money on traditional methods of advertising such as the Yellow Pages and BNI when you can reach alot more people more cheaply through online marketing such as web sites and social networking groups but that's just my personal experience.


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## skinner1691 (May 1, 2007)

Use the bad day to get on the phone and call around to schools, business to set a date to stop in and show what you can do for them. I do this all the time when it is slow and you would be suprised haw many sale I have gotton from the calls


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