Spread word of your quilting and fabric art success.  Don’t keep it hidden.  You can do this without seeming egotistical…simply let others know wherever appropriate. 
Telling others about our successes and accomplishments often is difficult for some of us because we come from the generation where Mother said, “Don’t toot your own horn.  People will think you’re bragging. ”
However, if you wait solely for others to discover what you’re doing, the world won’t hear about your or your quilting.  You can share, as I call it, without seeming “pushy.”  You can announce over forums and round-ups of success stories, as well as doing …read more

In a previous post, Would You Like an At-Home Quilt Bookstore?, I mentioned the idea of operating a bookstore for quilters, either from your home, online, or in conjunction with a quilt fabric shop.  Yvonne Russell,  of Grow Your Writing Business, who wrote a post about this on Home Biz Notes, also contributed information recently at Alzheimer’s Notes.
   She answered questions an Alzheimer’s Notes’ reader, Kathy of KnowItAlz.com, asked about obtaining books for such a venture.  Even though Yvonne specifically addresses Kathy’s question about Alzheimer’s books, the information she gives is universal for any bookstore.
So, if you’re considering this type of …read more

Yvonne Russell, of Grow Your Writing Business,  asked me to write a guest post, Virtual Blog Tours – The Latest Innovation for Promoting Your Writing .  Going on a virtual blog tour has become a popular technique for promoting one’s writing business and books.  I’ve hosted a number of writers at my author blog, Mary Emma’s Potpourri of Writing and encourage writers to try this method of promotion.
I also wrote about this topic here on  Quilting and Patchwork to let writers of quilting and fabric art books know they could become involved in virtual blog tours, too. 
I’ve also interviewed blog tour coordinator Dorothy Thompson at Home Biz Notes, …read more

Essentially, look before you leap before setting up your quilting or fabric arts home business.  I’ve mentioned before the need to check out zoning regulations pertaining to your home before you decide to set up a quilting business, particularly one that involves customers/clients coming to your home.   (However, online business might be affected, too, in some areas.)
 I just read a news item, License Denied for Existing Home Business, that concerned this topic.
Now this involves a lawn mower service business.  However, the same principles probably apply to any home business in that town.  The aldermen decided, according to the mayor’s statement ” they’re running a …read more

             Over at Home Biz Notes, guest blogger Yvonne Russell provides advice and suggestions for operating a home based bookstore, whether it’s one where customers come to your home shop or you sell solely online.  In Start Your Own Specialist Home Based Bookstore, Yvonne discusses how to research before starting your business, how and where to obtain your books, how to find a niche…in short, many tips to start you on the way to success rather than failure with a specialty bookstore.
So…have you decided your niche might be quilt, fabric art, and related books?  Perhaps you want to operate simply a …read more

Paying attention to your customers to ensure you have satisfied ones and repeat business becomes an important considerationn for quilting and fabric art business owners.
Yvonne Russell, of Grow Your Writing Business, pointed out to me concering this topic of return customers, “There is quite a bit of research on the fact that it costs a lot more in dollars and time to get a new client, as compared with doing ongoing business with existing customers/clients.”
So often business owners seem to think once they have a customer, that person automatically will return…unless you sell one-of-a-kind items that don’t lend themselves to repeats.  However, you …read more