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How do I know what is a fair $$$value to put on my time when sewing an article? Is it done by the hour, or by the cost of the materials X some magic number?
Thanks Jah
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Jennifer,
This is the hardest thing about sewing as a home business. I have read every book I could get my hands on and it is still difficult. I have a standaard list of prices for alterations that I revise as needed (usually to raise fees), and an hourly rate for any contract work that may come my way, and a unit price system that I am working on. In the latter system, you have a base price, then add on for each and every detail, ie., centered zipper, patch pocket, bound buttonhole, topstitching, etc... I rarely make my goal of $18/hour, but I am getting closer as I become more familiar with alterations and revise my fees. We do NOT want to undervalue our services or even attempt to "compete" with Walmart. In fact, I think that the clients you want to attract understand the cost of custom work. Read as much as you can, including all the messages here about sewing as a home business. Good luck, and keep in touch.
*Hi, we present workshops called: Sewing for Profit in South Africa, which realy helps. Don't you have something similar in America? http://www.sew-sa.com
*A good book to buy is Crafting as a Businees by Wendy Rosen.There are alot of formulas to use for calculating your time.I have also heard that you take the cost of the materials ( if you make crafts like scarves, etc) then multiply that by 6. It works well for me!Susan
*Hi, I'm a student at the university of malta reading an hons degree in management. I'm currently working on my dissertation which is about strategies for survival and revival of textile handicrafts. I understand your difficulty in pricing your work. While acknowledging that there is no magic formla that will give you the exact price, personal judgement is very important, but more important is to attract those customers who aren't indifferent to handcraft as opposed to machine made mass produced items.
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