Profitable Quilting - A Step by Step Pricing Guide - Measure Twice, Cut Once

Episode Transcript
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(00:04):
Welcome to Season 5 of MeasureTwice, Cut Once.
This whole season is anexploration into behind the
scenes of not just quilting, butbuilding a creative business
that truly lights you up.
As someone who's navigated theexciting, sometimes bumpy world
of turning a passion into aprofession, I'm excited to pull
back the curtain and share myown experiences.

(00:26):
Some episodes will be just me.
Diving deep into my personaljourney, while others will
feature guests who are alsonavigating the world of creative
entrepreneurship, We'll explorethe nitty gritty of building a
creative business, the lessonslearned and the unexpected
challenges that come withtransforming your craft into a
thriving enterprise.
And don't worry, I'm not leavingstorytelling behind.

(00:48):
Instead, I'll be weaving theminto the conversations about
what it takes to grow a businesswhile staying true to your
creative spirit.
So whether you're dreaming ofstarting your own business, or
you just love hearing aboutcreative entrepreneurship, this
season is for you.
Let me introduce you toPurpleHobbies.
com, a small business that'schanging the game for sewists

(01:10):
and quilters.
Heather's custom designed, 3Dprinted tools are seriously
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Instead of settling for off theshelf accessories, Heather is
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your sewing and quilting moreenjoyable.
Her 3D printing approach meanseach tool is crafted with
incredible detail and purpose.
My favorite is the binding thirdhand.

(01:32):
But whether you want to organizeyour bobbins, or find the
perfect pin holder, or tag andlabel your quilt in progress,
her custom tools are like havinga secret weapon in your crafting
arsenal.
And here's the best part.
Use the code.
S B S 15 for 15 percent off anyitems in her online store.
Head over to purple hobbies.
com and see how Heather isbringing innovation right to

(01:55):
your crafting table.
Creative friends, today we arediving into something really
important that came up in lastweek's conversation with Casey
Brown.
The art of pricing our workfairly.
You know what I mean, right?
That thing we crafters andartisans tend to do where we
only think about certain aspectsof our process, like maybe our

(02:16):
time, but forget about theamazing skills we bring to the
table, the experience andknowledge, or the workspace well
stocked with all the tools andproducts we In last week's
episode, Casey told the story,it's very possibly urban legend,
of Picasso and his drawing.
If you haven't heard thatepisode yet, you really want

(02:36):
before you go further into thisone.
Go ahead, we'll wait for you.
It's episode 94.
The essential point was, Picassocreated a drawing in just a few
minutes.
When the person he was drawingfor balked at the price for only
five minutes, he replied that itdidn't in fact take five
minutes, It took a lifetime.

(02:56):
Let me tell you a quick storythat really drove home Picasso's
point for me personally.
Last year a client brought methis gorgeous heirloom hand
pieced quilt top that hergrandmother had sewn together in
the 1930s or thereabouts.
She asked me what I'd charge toquilt it with an all over
feather design and my firstinstinct was to just give her my

(03:17):
standard edge to edge rate.
But then I stopped and thoughtabout what this project really
required.
I needed to bring my years ofexperience working with delicate
vintage fabrics.
I needed my knowledge ofquilting hand piecing, which
usually presents in tighter andfuller areas here and there and
looser areas elsewhere,sometimes drastically so, and

(03:40):
the extra care and attentionthis piece would need.
This wasn't just about the hoursI'd spend at my machine
quilting.
It was about.
all the skills that I developedover the years that would help
me preserve this familytreasure.
It would help me know how tohandle those super delicate
fabrics, what needles, whatthread, what quilting design,

(04:03):
and it would help me deal withbias and stretched edges.
And ultimately, that experienceis what enabled me to produce a
lovely flat and square andgorgeous quilt for my clients
enjoyment.
But even with simpler and moreEvery day, air quote, projects
in my studio, there is still somuch more than just machine time

(04:26):
that experience brings to theproject.
Very recently, a client broughtme a lovely modern quilt again
for basic edge to edge quilting.
Now that's very straightforward.
Choose a quilting design, loadit up and go.
And I typically am doing freemotion work in my examples.
But let's break down whatactually went into that project

(04:47):
if I step back and think aboutit for a minute.
I spent time selecting three ofmy free motion quilting design
options that I thought wouldcomplement her piecing.
And then from those, we narrowedit down to one.
Once we had decided on one, Itested it by drawing it out on
my audition board because thescale needed to be just right

(05:07):
for her design.
I pulled out five differentthread options to find the
perfect match.
And I also knew how to choosethe batting for the type of feel
that she wanted for her quilt.
And you know what?
I did all of that in about 15minutes because I've done it
hundreds of times before.
That speed, that confidence,that comes from years of

(05:29):
experience.
And frankly, many dollarsinvested in studio supplies.
Having the thread choices,having the batting choices, all
at hand.
So when we talk about pricing,this idea of attaching a value
to the experience we bring isthe least concrete part of it,
but arguably a very importantone to remember.

(05:50):
Like Picasso, we're not justpricing that 15 minutes.
We're pricing the journey thatmakes that 15 minutes possible.
Valuing your skill as an artisanis one side of the pricing coin.
Casey, last week, was so helpfulin getting our mindset about
that in a good place.
Again, refer back to episode 94if you need a refresher on the

(06:12):
points Casey made.
But the other side of the coinis more practical.
It's the more concrete aspectsof our work, the literal time
and components.
And costs involved in deliveringthe finished product or service.
This is critical.
I want to help you today tothink through your costs, all
your costs, and then work yourway toward pricing the service

(06:34):
or product you deliver.
I'm going to speak particularlyto long arm quilters as that's
where my expertise andexperience is, but no matter
what your artisanal business, Itrust you can find points and
ideas here that will help youfind your own pricing.
And guess what?
I've got a gift for you.
A super helpful spreadsheet thatwill make this whole practical

(06:55):
pricing valuation so mucheasier.
So stay tuned for moreinformation about that.
Here's how we're going to tacklethis.
First, we're going to reverseengineer, or work backwards.
I know it sounds strange, right?
But we'll start with what youwant to earn per hour, and then
we'll look at all the factorsthat go into the work you offer.

(07:16):
And trust me, some of thesemight surprise you.
So starting point, What do youwant or need to earn per hour?
After listening to Casey, you'rein the right headspace to make a
decision about this.
You're not working for entrylevel wages, right?
You're clearly and honestlyconsidering the value of your
work and what your hourly timeis worth.

(07:37):
Pause here if you need to,seriously, and get a number in
mind.
I want you to have a target toaim for, and of course you can
adjust this at any time in thefuture, but for today's working
purposes, have a number in mind.
However, we're not just talkingyour time spent here.
You've also got to consider allthe overhead costs as well.

(07:58):
These are things that you don'tshell out cash for.
for each and every quilt, butthey're the big ticket things
you invest in, and they're theconsumables that you keep
stocked.
All of these, whether small orlarge, were purchased once and
will need to be replaced orreplenished in the future.
So these items you need toprorate, to use a fancy word,

(08:20):
that simply means to spread outthose costs over time or over
pieces of work, so that a littleof it is picked up with each
project.
What kind of cost do I mean?
Well, let's get reallypractical, and here's where the
spreadsheet that I talked aboutearlier will become your
favorite tool.
I've itemized these things andgiven you a place to organize

(08:41):
them and add them up and thenfactor them into your rate.
And because it's a spreadsheetand does all kinds of handy math
for you, you can plug invariables or change variables
very, very quickly until youwork your way back to that
hourly rate.
that you've got in your head.
So let's talk through themagain.

(09:01):
First, we're going to look atthe major overhead costs or
investments.
Speaking of long arm quilters,the first and foremost is going
to be the cost of your machine.
So whether you work at adomestic sewing machine or a sit
down mid arm long arm or a longarm on a frame such as I have,
that's likely your largest majorcost.

(09:21):
But include in this accessoriessuch as a backup power supply,
um, an overhead light, perhapsif you're working at a long arm,
maybe ruler base and rulers,extra feet.
If you've financed your machine,include interest as well.
Some other, um, investment typeexpenditures would be supporting

(09:42):
equipment and tools, such asyour ironing board or other
surface, the iron.
A sewing machine, scissors,rotary cutter and mat, these
sorts of very regular supplies.
And then there's your consumablesupplies, your marking pens,
your rulers, your pins, yourspray bottles, rotary blades,
etc.
Then think about your inventorythat you keep on hand, such as

(10:05):
thread, batting, digital orpantograph patterns, and you may
think of others.
Then I have a few that youperhaps have not thought to add
in, but really consider thesetoday.
Think about.
added insurance.
I personally carry an extrainsurance rider on my home.
My studio is in my home becauseI have other people's very

(10:29):
precious quilts in my home allthe time and I want to be sure
that those are covered.
So there's at least somerecompense if something were to
happen to them.
So do you need extra insurancefor that or for people coming to
your door, walking up yoursteps, those sorts of things.
Think about maintenance.
having a professionalmaintaining your machine from

(10:50):
time to time.
How often do you need to havethat done?
Does someone come into yourstudio?
Do you take it out?
But it all takes time and has aprice tag attached.
Think about your underlyingcosts, such as electricity, cell
phone usage.
How about record keepingsoftware?
Or even a small app.
How about shelving, bins, otherorganizational tools that you

(11:13):
have built up over time in yourstudio.
And that from time to time, as Imentioned earlier, you might
want to grow or replenish orreplace.
These are part of the cost ofproducing your work.
Think about design apps orsoftware, if perhaps you design
digital things or patterns.
Think about, business cards,stickers, or other graft, or

(11:36):
things that you give away toyour clients to express your
appreciation.
And, as in my case, think aboutthe use of the home.
This is something you'll want totalk over with your accountant
and figure out, How they come toa figure for that.
Commonly, this is a percentageof the square footage of your
dedicated workspace relative toyour home, and that's how you

(11:59):
determine what, in fact, you cancall rent for the use of your
home space.
These have all been quiteconcrete and specific overhead
costs.
Now let's think about what Icall incidentals that we need to
factor in.
These are things that find theirway into every quilt but are so,
so often overlooked in our mindswhen we're adding up our time.

(12:21):
So here's a few examples from myspreadsheet.
There are more there and perhapsyou can think of additional ones
in your own workspace.
Most quilts require consultationtime.
So meeting with the client orphoning or texting or sending
emails back and forth, perhapsmeasuring and assessing a quilt
before you start into it,threading and bobbin winding and

(12:42):
getting your machine prepped forwork, uh, photos and social
media.
Loading the quilt, packaging itup after it's done to deliver it
back.
Um, seam ripper time.
This is something that we don'tlike to think about and don't
really want to plan for, but itis a factor.
So I feel like a bit of seamripper time ought to be factored

(13:04):
in to every project.
And then of course there's yourregular cleaning, oiling and
maintenance and those sorts ofthings.
Confession time.
When I was working on thisspreadsheet for you, I put in
some numbers here for thesedifferent items just quickly off
the top of my head.
And I was pretty conservative.
Five minutes for threading andbobbin winding.
Five minutes for cleaning andoiling my machine.

(13:26):
15 minutes for loading, 5minutes for seam ripper work, ha
ha.
10 minutes for photos and socialmedias.
You'll agree, these are not hugetime allotments per quilt.
But still, when I added up theincidentals, they totaled 1.
75 hours per quilt.
So I want to really underline,these are things that So

(13:48):
quickly, eat up a little time,but we tend not to track, and
therefore we're not beingrealistic about how much time
they are when they're all addedtogether.
One incidental that so many ofus don't account for is record
keeping.
Maybe like me, you've thought toyourself, Oh, it just takes five
minutes to whip up an invoiceand email it.
And that's true, but don't youneed to sit down from time to

(14:11):
time and spend much more thanfive minutes to reconcile your
bank account, or file your taxreturn, or consult with your
accountant?
These are very real costs ofdoing business, and they need to
be factored in to the price tagwe attach to our work.
So back to the spreadsheet.
I've shared a link to it in theshow notes.

(14:32):
What you'll see is all thefactors I've thought of, And my
suggestions, gentle suggestionsfor prices.
Don't take my numbers as gospelthough.
The intention is that you'llmake this your own.
And if there are some otherfactors you think of, insert
them.
Attach different prices to theitems as you see fit.

(14:52):
And if you're in a differentniche or industry than long arm
quilting, change the line itemsto reflect the details of your
business.
But most importantly, whenyou've dropped in your variables
and your prices, Look at thebottom line, be honest with
yourself.
Do you need to make adjustmentsto ensure you're getting fair
pay for what you deliver?

(15:15):
So here's a challenge for you.
Try tracking.
Everything you do and everysupply or product you use for
just one project.
And I mean everything from thefirst client contact, the texts,
the emails, the phone calls toall the in between details,
right down to advancing thequilt and needle changes and

(15:36):
thread breaks to the finalinvoicing and delivery and
accepting payment, write downevery minute you spend thinking
about working on.
or communicating about thatproject.
I bet you'll be surprised by thetotal, but this knowledge is
what you need to properlyevaluate your earning and rate.

(15:56):
Using my spreadsheet, it'sreally easy to change one or two
factors, watch it autocalculate, and see what a
difference that makes in thebottom line.
And then you can just keep doingthat until you are happy and
satisfied with the result.
As we close, remember that whenwe price our work appropriately,

(16:16):
We're not just doing ourselves afavor.
We're also helping to raise theperceived value of handcrafted
work for all artisans.
You and I know what goes intoour creations.
Now let's convey that value toour community.
Let me know if you found thesethoughts and the spreadsheet
helpful.
You can do that by leaving areview.

(16:37):
There's a link in the shownotes, and I'd love if you would
share this episode with a friendwho needs to hear it too.
So until next time, may yoursorrows be patched and your joys
be quilted.

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Profitable Quilting - A Step by Step Pricing Guide

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