I’m entering the commercial embroidery market after years of working in the craft market. What do I need to prepare for?

If you don’t like talking about or handling money matters, can’t stand sales or marketing, don’t like serving people, and never take a second glance at the calendar, you’ll either need to find out how to like this very necessary work or find and pay a partner who does.

Making money means shuffling some paper in the process. You don’t need to be a ‘biz-dev’ wizard or memorize the tax code, but the off-the-cuff costing, pricing, and money management that often happens when you only do occasional commissioned craft projects isn’t a long-term strategy for running a successful commercial embroidery business.

Do your research; look for resources that help new, small businesses; find mentors in your local community, and be ready to hire out the critical things you can’t do. After that, find your focus, know your costs (and your worth), and set firm boundaries.