Website design By BotEap.comMoving an embroidery business is more difficult than changing residence. Relocating even a small home-based operation requires careful thought and planning. If you make the wrong move, you may not be in business for long. So, whether you’re moving from home to a new building or even a new city, it’s essential to know what you want and then shop around to find the facility that best suits your needs.

Website design By BotEap.comThe first step in exiting a home embroidery workshop is to consider the reasons why the business should not remain there. For example:

• Have you grown out of the garage or basement?
• Are you in a bad location? Need more foot traffic?
• Does your current space need too much repair to even think about fixing it up?

Website design By BotEap.comIf you’ve outgrown your premises, consider several factors before looking for a new location. Is the main reason for the move to add more equipment or find more storage space for the business? Look back and define exactly when the need developed. Was it a year or more ago or just a few months?

Website design By BotEap.comAlso, think about the long-term consequences. If he makes a move and then loses a big contract that he was counting on to fuel his expansion plans, it could be disastrous. The end result is finding the right size building to accommodate future needs at your current rate of volume and production growth. The company’s new “home away from home” should provide ample storage, production, art and digitization, shipping and receiving, plus general office space with room to grow. Even if you choose a venue that is too large for your current needs, you can sublet space to a screen printer or other small business for a limited time.

Website design By BotEap.comNext up: Are you in a bad location? First, define “bad location”. Is it too far out of town or tucked away on a side street away from the main thoroughfare? Do you lack the space and/or permission to display an adequately sized sign? Is the surrounding construction work a problem? Do neighbors complain about the business increasing traffic or the number of cars and trucks parked nearby? Any of these things can be daunting. You can spend thousands of dollars on a great tent setup, but if you’re in the wrong location, you might as well be running your business from a tent.

Website design By BotEap.comBuying vs. Renting

Website design By BotEap.comIt will take some time and research before you decide to buy, rather than rent, a building. Any embroiderer moving from a home workshop should consider the pros and cons of this decision, along with all the other decisions he faces regarding the move. It helps to visualize a problem by taking a sheet of paper and drawing a line down the center. Write the positive points of your proposed decision on one half and the negative aspects on the other half. Now you can directly compare things like monthly rent or mortgage payments, insurance, and who covers building repairs.

Website design By BotEap.comOther problems include:

• Will an old building provide the necessary services for an embroidery workshop?
• Will you need to make reforms?
• Is there ample parking for staff and customers?
• Is there enough heating and air conditioning?
• How is the lighting system?
• Are the doors wide enough to move machines and other equipment?
• Are there support columns in the room that could make it difficult to position the machine?
• Do you have enough staff to do the moving and packing needed to move into a larger space? If not, can you find people to help you?

Website design By BotEap.comCustom embroidery: the alternative to moving

Website design By BotEap.comOne option for expanding your embroidery business without relocating is to consider outsourcing your work to another, larger embroiderer who specializes in serving the wholesale market. The garment decoration industry can be very seasonal; some months its production is overflowing, while other times it seems almost dead. Moving to a larger facility can be a great solution for those busy seasons, but when things get slow, the added overhead can make the decision not worth it.

Website design By BotEap.comBy outsourcing embroidery orders to another company during those peak seasons, you can maintain your sales without worrying about extra costs. Obviously, you won’t make as much profit per order compared to doing the embroidery yourself, but it allows you a lot of flexibility in meeting the needs of your customers. Find a reliable contract embroidery company that blind-ships to their customers, so you can keep your relationships with them strong.

Website design By BotEap.comThe best advice is to plan ahead and do your research before making the final decision about where, when, how and why you will move. Ask someone who has done it before for help. Learn from experience. Above all, make sure you’re comfortable with your decision before you pack up that first needle.