If you know how to sew, you might be able to use this skill to generate extra income by setting up a home sewing business. Almost anyone with a sewing machine and good sewing skills can start a side business from home, either doing garment repairs or designing and making garments from scratch. But will your business be successful?
That depends. Starting any type of business can have its challenges, and turning it into a successful business is seldom easy. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. If you’re determined to make it happen, have the resources to invest, and access the information you need, you can achieve your goal.
Choose Your Specialty
The first step is to decide your specialty. There are many options to choose from: repairs or design, formal or informal, men’s or women’s wear, etc. The most common ones are repairs and alterations, custom sewing, and fashion designing.
The easiest is repairs and alterations, so if you’re a beginner with intermediate skills, this would be a good option for you. You’ll mostly be doing hemline alterations, adjustments to sleeves and waistline, replacing buttons and zippers, and patching up torn garments.
As you improve your skills, you can test them through personal projects. When you feel you’re ready, you can move on to custom sewing. With custom sewing, you’ll be making more money, but you need excellent communication skills. Sometimes people will come to you with an idea of a piece they want you to make, but they don’t know how it would have to be sewn, so they may make impossible requests.
The third option requires advanced skills, and it may be less profitable than custom sewing – at least initially. However, you do get more freedom, and you might become a renowned designer.
Suppose you choose fashion designing and start getting a lot of orders. In that case, you’ll also want to look into insurance like public and product liability, insurance for your equipment, business interruption insurance, and commercial auto insurance, including bobtail insurance. It all depends on how much you want to expand your business and the risks involved.
Equipment
You’ll obviously need a sewing machine. It doesn’t have to be a fancy computerized model. A mechanical one will do just fine. It just needs to do the types of stitches you use on your project and be sturdy and reliable. On SewingFromHome.com you can read more about sewing machines for different projects, reviews, and sewing tutorials.
Having a serger isn’t absolutely necessary, but you should know that most customers expect the inside of the garment to be finished nicely.
You’ll also find a lot of sewing machine accessories that will make working faster and easier. For instance, if you’ll be sewing ruffles often, you will want to get a ruffler.
If you want to work on unique designs and projects, you should consider getting a mannequin. For custom sewing, you can find adjustable forms.
A mannequin will also be helpful if you want to take pictures of your work and post them on social media. In that case, you’ll also need a camera. You can use the one on your phone, but you’ll get better results with a good DSLR camera and a lighting setup.
