HEY! I CAN MAKE THAT, TOO! WHY DON’T I START MY OWN CREATIVE HOME-BASED BUSINESS! (originally posted 01/27/21)

BEHIND THE SCENES OF A HOME-BASED BUSINESS

1/27/21

Have you ever looked at your friend’s handmade business that she operates from home and thought, “Wow…what a lucky duck!  She gets to do what she loves AND get paid for it.  AND – she gets to do it all from home.  Why can’t I do that, too?  Surely there is something I can make and sell.  How easy could that be?  Easy money, for sure!”

Well, before you jump into the handmade creative work-from-your-home business world, let me take you on a little tour of a real hand-made business home…this is definitely BEHIND THE SCENES.

WHAT YOU SEE vs WHAT YOU GET

Hop on to Youtube and search for a craft room tour or sewing room tour.  I love watching these and seeing all the color-coordinated little items and bins and organized drawers and shelves holding a few bolts of fabric and a couple of sewing machines.  These rooms are gorgeous, but how do they stay that way?  I always wonder if this is someone who is just starting out or someone who hasn’t been crafting and collecting fabric, notions, and sewing supplies for very long.  More than likely, though, these beautiful rooms are a Youtubers “stage.”  Most of their supplies and stock is probably somewhere else out of sight of the camera. 

SO WHERE IS THE STOCK, THE SUPPLIES, THE INVENTORY?

Want to know how many craft and sewing supplies you really have?  Try moving your home and home-based business across country and packing them all up.  Yep, this is what I did a few years ago.  I gave away some furniture and a lot of miscellaneous supplies and things before I packed and still ended up taking 13 of the 54-gallon Rubbermaid totes that were packed primarily with my fabric stash, photography lighting, backdrops and stands, and other things I was comfortable letting the moving company handle.  My sewing machines, computer equipment, camera, suitcase, most popular fabrics and other supplies for making Etsy orders all came in my SUV with me, my pillow, an ice chest, an aloe plant named Willis, and some yummy oatmeal raisin cookies my wonderful friend, Sylvia, made me.  So, yes, I know how much stuff I had and no, it did not fit into my new sewing room in my new home. 

TOUR OF MY SEWING ROOM HOUSE

First, there is the room that I call my sewing room.  This room is really a breakfast room.  It is where I actually sit and sew.  It is right off my kitchen and living room and has windows on 2 sides so I can look out at the scenery.  It’s on the front of my house right next to the kitchen, so I can start dinner or get a snack without going too far.  I live in a very rural desert area where most of my neighbors are weekenders and snowbirds, so it is very quiet, but I have a beautiful view of the desert and the quail keep me entertained while I sew. 



Most of my fabric is located on racks in the “bunk” room where my grandsons sleep when they visit. There are shelves and cabinets on one end of the room that house office supplies and other items, and the shelves hold plastic shoeboxes full of things like ric rac, lace trims, and other sewing-related goodies.  This also ends up being storage for projects that I don’t want just hanging around other parts of my house.  Some of my dress forms live in here, too, but they get moved when my grandsons are here because they are “scary.”


My dining room is a very multi-functional area.  I have a very large dining table that gets used for its real purpose just a few times a year when I have visiting family.  The rest of the time it functions as a cutting table, order prep area, and shipping station.  The cube shelving behind it houses all of the things I need when I am cutting and shipping and the binders are for various things I track or need to reference when I’m cutting and designing.  There is also a little rolling 3-tiered rack tucked in next to the binders.  This holds my bias tape and all of the tools I use for cutting out my orders.




My guest bedroom, which gets used for its true purpose 3-4 times a year is my photography studio.  I do all of my flat lays on the bed and my lights, backdrops, and props are in there.  When I need to use it as a bedroom, the backdrop gets rolled up and stashed under the bed and the lights go in the closet.  The guest room closet also contains shelves that hold other craft supplies and photography props.

I have things stored in other parts of my house, too.  My laundry room is mostly a laundry room…except for the clothing rack that holds all of my samples and unsold items, the master bedroom has a small cube shelf with stacks of small fabric remnants, and there is a large basket of crocheting next to my couch in the living room.  And on top of all of that, I have a very large garage that holds things I don’t have room for and don’t use very often.

SEWING "HOUSE" VS SEWING "ROOM"

I suppose this answer is subjective.  I live alone, so I can get away with having my craft and business supplies in various spaces all over my house.  I am also slightly claustrophobic, so not being confined to a closed-in space packed full of and surrounded by supplies while I work is beneficial to my sanity.  This works for me, but I don’t recommend this to most people with unsupportive spouses, small children, or who have lots of company.  I have also taken great pains to have spaces where my working supplies can quickly be stashed away when I have company, especially in my dining and guest rooms.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?  ARE YOU READY TO START  YOUR OWN BUSINESS?

Are you ready to jump into my world?  Sounds like fun, right?  Oh, wait!  I forgot to tell you the best part.  Once you turn that corner and start to become successful, be prepared to not have time to clean, cook, take a shower, shop, pull weeds in your yard, or even pay the bills.  The only reason I have time to write this blog post is because the pandemic has taken away most of the events that my customers all attend.  And, yeah…there’s that…when you have a handmade business and you start depending on the income, you will have to deal with what happens when your successful business becomes not so successful at times.  And that’s a story for another blog post!

NOW, GO CHECK OUT THE WORK SPACES OF SOME OTHER HARD-WORKING, HOME-BASED BUSINESS OWNERS

Here are links to the Youtube channels of some other small business owners.  Go see how they all utilize their work spaces and deal with their own family and business situations while operating a home-based business. 

Angela Jasmina https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwrJa8xO9xRzZUOf9Q1c7kw

Sterling Styles (Pamela) https://www.youtube.com/user/Thetulletimefairy

Sheryl and Fam https://www.youtube.com/user/JustAddABow

All of these ladies have different styles and different space requirements but handle them in a way that works for them.

DISCLAIMER

I am, by no means, an expert on any of what I have written.  Anything I have written about is based on my own experience, views, and opinions.  Don’t let anyone stop you from following your dream!

Happy Home Business Creation!

-Denise

 

 


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