Customer Reviews

The "Business" of Sewing: How to Start, Maintain and Achieve Success

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been so happy with my business since I started using the this book. The book is very thourough and well put together. There were things I had never considered for my business, that were suggested in the book. These ideas are all easily implemented and very easy to follow. This book is also an unbelievable confidence builder, the author not only clearly states what information you will need, but goes the extra step of telling exactly how to go about getting help and information. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is in business or planning to go into business. I keep this book close at hand at all times.

A Simply Excellent Reference for new and current sewing businesses! In easy to understand terms, it covers all the bases for the "business", leaving you free to concentrate on sewing! Though I have had my business for three years already, this book helped me smooth out any rough edges. It also was very encouraging and a quite a moral boost to finally be confident that I had all my bases covered.

If you want to make money sewing, get this book or Volumn 2. Volumn 2 and 1 are exactly the same, but 2 has info for home interior work.

This book helps you understand that if you want to make money sewing, it must be run like a business, not a hobby. Excellent charts and tips on how and what to charge for your work.

As a custom dressmaker for overe twelve years, and a mentor to many who are just starting out, I highly recommend this book for all of the details a person who might be thinking about a sewing business might nothave considered. After reading this one, I would recommend reading other business books that cover business principles for ANY type of business. Creative, custom businesses come with their own unique challenges, and she covers these issues well. The only information I think should be updated for today's markeplace is the advertising advice, and, since sewing is really a local pursuit, a bit more regional/demographic information would be useful.

To tell the truth, I was a bit disappointed by this book. I am just at the stage of turning my hobby to a business and I thought I might find some hints and tips. I must have laughed at the way Sykes encouraged to start a business and not fear anything, as if everyone could be able to be successful in such effort. The motto was: "If you want it, you can do it!" Unfortunately, this doesn't always work. You've got to have certain qualities, such as sewing talent, sense for aesthetics and ability to talk with people and managing things. It also surprised me that the transition between sewing as a hobby and sewing for profit was proposed (more or less) in such a way that one day you quit your job and the other you start the sewing business. Of course, a long self-confident text as how to overcome your fears followed. In reality, you should never do it this way if you don't want to fail. The transition should be as smooth as possible and usually takes a long time.
A much better text was written by Alexis Black on the yourwardrobeunlocked site (a free article). At least it made much more sense to me.

So, although I am a positive person, I found this book to be too optimistic and unreal. Most of the things written were common sense, I expected more concrete things like how long does it take to do all the various garments - instead there are price lists of some sewers, which really doesn't help as you have a different per hour rate. I also expected more numbers and more formulas for calculating various things.

This book is, nevertheless, not a waste of money. You can still find good tips there, but check the content first before you buy it to make sure it will tell you something new.

I had hoped that this book would contain more detailed information about how to successfully start and grow a boutique-style sewing business. Sadly, the things it contained I considered to be simple, common sense, and I didn't find it useful at all. You might do better with a highly recommended book about home-based business, or a guide to being successfully self-employed. The sewing aspect of the business is almost the least important... if you're proficient enough to take on clients or open a shoppe, chances are you're already a good sewer! Better bulk up on accounting, tax prep, insurance requirements, and ways to protect yourself and your business against problem customers.

Although a little dated, this book is quite helpful when just getting a sewing business started. She is very to the point and gives very good basic advice for the new business person. She uses her knowledge and experience to help newcomers avoid obstacles she has run into. I really enjoyed her "you can do it!" speeches.

This book has a lot of good information in it. I haven't read all the way through yet, but I have skimmed and tagged a lot of pages. From what I have read so far this book is a must for people wanting to know what is needed to start out, or for ones that have been in for a while looking to brush up on the basics.

This book is a great resource for starting a sewing business. There are a lot of key elements that are discussed such as creating a rice list, record keeping, etc. Because the book was printed in 1992 it does not discuss computers and technology, which is why I called this a good resource, you need to follow up with another book that helps you determine what you need as far as software and technology.