I Need a 'Catchy' Name!!

ooh....you and I need to get together...you can make some money off me and do some alterations for me!! When can I come down???

I need time...but right off the bat??

Cat can do it....

Good for you go for it. I don't have a catchy name for you but a caution. New patterns are now copyrighted and say on the envelope 'for home use only'. Many fabrics are copyrighted and for home use only. Look carefully at the printing on the selvages to see if it is copyrighted.
There is a good chance you wouldn't get 'caught' but if you do, you get one letter from the copyright holder to stop and if they catch you again they will take you to court.
Common fabrics to be copyrighted are Disney, NFL or other pro-sports, Harley Davidson, Marvel comics etc. If it has an image that is in any books or movies even commercials it is copyrighted.
I worked in a fabric store several years ago and a customer told us a friend of hers had made a bunch of stuff with the Harley Davidson logo -- got caught -- was told to stop -- she didn't -- HD took her to court for copyright infringement and she lost and the sum was over $100,000. This was about 1998.
If you are going to use a printed pattern go to thrift stores and get old patterns. The old ones I have do not say 'for home use only'.

One way to get around the copyright is have the customer buy the pattern, fabric, logo etc and pay you to make it. This way they are paying for your time and talent.

I am not trying to discourage you from doing this but cover your butt. I would hate to see you put a lot of money and time into this only to find out you can't sell it.

In Stitches

Sew Fine

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Quality Stitches

Sewing For You

Alterations & More

HandyCrafter Sewing & More

Specialty Sewing

I Sew Right

Sewing, Hemming, & More

Sew Dandy

Sew Handy

You can also, make cute things/decorations/ornaments with your handiwork and sell it on Etsy. They have fabulous artisans and crafters. www.etsy.com

Make cute little flyers, (once you figure out a name) and then place them at schools (if they let you), on college campuses, preschools, in community bulletin boards for advertisers, or online (only if you will have a website and work that way) but by nature of your services it might be hard to do online. This is best done in person, or if you are actually selling cute decorative wares, then you can sell that via Etsy.

OH and once you do go out there and advertise and do these services, always... make an alternate e-mail address JUST for that. Do not use any "personal" e-mail address for it. Keep it separate.

I am tuning in late here but I LOVE your idea and the new name! Your timing is perfect for the upcoming prom season.

Many people at the schools can use your services because we need good alterations services... My daughter was in cheer and each year, we had to turn uniforms back in clean and ready for the next season, then have try outs, get uniforms again and I always had to have them altered in some way.

The theatre departments will love your expertise as well.

Don't forget about the dance teams either... they have lots of uniforms which are used each year and have to be fitted to the dancers.

A bit outside the box would be alterations for weddings and open yourself up for any types of alterations.

As for your wreaths, etc... maybe try Etsy. My daughter buys a lot from Etsy because many of the items are one of a kind and so far she has received great products and had a good experience. She has a custom made duvet cover with her initials in the middle, phone cases, backpack, etc. She is into monogrammed items.

Your promotion is great so far as in the ad in the program. A MAJOR fundraising even for all booster clubs for sports, cheer, dance was the involvement of producing the football programs for each game. Football is HUGE here. We sold advertising for these programs and just a business card sized add was only $150 and the exposure is fantastic! A lot of PTA groups have directories which have ads in them at reasonable rates. Our HOA has a website and FB page where people in our neighborhood can advertise for FREE.

I would take it pretty slowly, develop your plan and don't forget to get your tax id and set up your company. We have ours set up as an LLC. I use QuickBooks Pro 2013 which is very user friendly for all of my payroll, taxes, AP/AR etc. Be careful about accepting credit cards because of the fees involved. There are a lot of apps out now that make accepting a credit card easier. We don't accept credit cards but that is because we are in the raw materials industry and deal with truckloads and railcars full of materials.

You'll probably need a state sales tax number as well and a W-9 for tax purposes. Even If you are small in the beginning, you need good records and show where you are paying taxes and collecting taxes. We don't collect sales tax from our customers because they (and we) are not the end user.... the consumer is the end user and the consumer is the one that pays tax.

How exciting for you!! Congratulations and I wish you well.

PS... We developed our own website through Yahoo and we just pay Yahoo $14.00 a month to keep it going. We do all the designing and editing. You have proven that you are crafty and you should be able to manage your own website just fine. I see no need to spend a lot of extra money until you are growing your business to higher levels and need more expertise. We had tax and legal counsel from the get go but we are very different from the type of business you have.

In Stitches

I also immediately thought of "Sew What," but that's a common name, so it might be in use in your area already.

ETA: Ooooh, "Sew Much More" IS a fantastic name! Congrats!! I'm excited for your venture!

You might look into the services of an advertising copywriter - particularly someone who does "branding" and conceptual work. Often a good writer can come up with a visual and a name. "Catchy" doesn't have to be cute. "Sew Much More" is cute but it's been used so much by others that, if you have anyone in your area with anything similar, your customers are going to be confused. Remember that YOU know what you do, but the public does not - so your name has to tell them a lot. But then again, "Nike" and "Xerox" didn't communicate anything with their name! They did it with advertising - which is an investment.

You can trademark and copyright things but it's not cheap. Not everyone who says they are in advertising really is - sometimes they are graphic artists who develop logos. That's a skill, but it's not the same thing.

Also, be very very careful before you order any car magnets or business cards. You'd be astounded at how many people make spelling or grammar mistakes because they aren't great spellers or because they are rushing to get a lot of materials made and they don't catch the mistake. They also try to put too much info in a small space - so it's not visible to the passerby. You see it a lot on billboards - some graphics person made it look beautiful on the drawing board, but once it got put on a billboard that people are viewing while driving at high speeds and focusing on the road (we hope), the type face isn't readable or the message is too long.

Your investment in materials/supplies will be much better spent if you invest decent money ahead of time in a good message. Cheap is appealing, but often ineffective. Sometimes, depending on what you create, you can barter with ad people - but they have to want wreaths or alterations done, or want gifts for friends. And they have to make ends meet too. My husband is a writer and he did have one client (a business publication) that "paid" him for his advertising by bartering products from a variety of their advertisers, and they gave products in exchange for ad space and good press, etc. So we did get a good vacuum, a bunch of audio equipment, and some nice things from a jewelry store (a bunch of our friends were getting married, and we got some great clocks and similar things as gifts). So it worked out. But it doesn't pay the bills if everyone wanted to do that!

Anyway, good creative materials are worth it - and crafters like you who have a good sense of color and style don't always have that "eye" for advertising. I don't have it, so I would always have my husband look at it. But I'm a great proofreader and he always has me look at his things before they go out to the clients. So I'm saying to you, know your strengths.

Needle & Palette
Needle Pulling Thread

Good luck!

(PS...I know someone who just got employed doing alterations at a dry cleaners in a ritzy area--making GREAT money!!! )

I'm bad with name's so no suggestions there, but I would recommend getting yourself some business cards and flyers. Hand cards out every time you do work for someone. Pin flyers to bulletin boards. Also, create a Facebook page for your business and ask your friends to like the page and if they're willing, help you promote it by posting it to their own news-feed. Advertisement is the key to letting people know you're out there. Good luck :)

I was talking to a lady at my local Micheal's who does craft shows. She was saying that in the late summer & fall (leading up to Christmas) she does a show almost every weekend & makes anywhere from a couple hundred to a little more than a thousand dollars at a time. I think she said she does stuff similar to what you do.
Make sure you put your name out there with all the parents who have kiddos in the HS musical. You could also talk to local dance/cheer companies, theatrical groups, churches, and consignment shops.
Hope your new business venture goes well!!