Onebyone

I would suggest you find several small business owners in your area and ask their advice. Many community colleges offer start up business classes too. Also be very sure you have enough capitol to pay the taxes. There have been several small businesses that had to shut down in my area because of unpaid taxes. Keep you job so you will have medical insurance. Lots to consider but if it's only you and you don't have a family that depends on your income then follow your dream.

Anniedeb

I admire your desire to do this. I would think you should have a solid business plan, with a few different models planned out. There's employees, benefits, taxes, insurance, shipping, reordering and accounting to think of. Leasing or buying? Location? Hours open? Have your sourced manufacturers?

For a fabric/LQS store, I would want a large selection of different fabrics, interfacings, fusibles, notions, accessories, patterns and books. I like a one stop shop! Machines and classes would be nice. I wish you well in this endeavor. Follow your dream!

quiltedsunshine

Our store has been in business for 61 years. It started as a general fabric store, and carried lots of bridal fabrics. We've been a quilt shop for about 25 years. In our community, there have been 2 other quilt shops that have closed in the past 10 years. Another local quilt shop has changed into a machine embroidery mecca (Kimberbell). They do a lot online, but don't carry much fabric anymore. They also carry full lines of Baby Lock and Janome machines. And they've franchised two other stores.

The fabric doesn't really make the money at our shop. Machine repair is what keeps the bills paid. We also sell Bernina, HandiQuilter and Juki sergers. But machine sales have been down this past year.

Another thing that brings the customers is that we give 20% off all of the fabric on the bolt, every day.

Peckish

If you're in the PNW, have you been to Fiddlesticks in Vancouver? I have closely watched this store grow and become successful. In my opinion, the owner has been successful for a variety of reasons:

1. In the beginning, they had one computerized longarm for quilting customer quilts. They ended up buying a second one because - according to the owner, not me - quilting was paying the rent, not fabric.

2. They offer a variety of very good classes, some with nationally-known teachers.

3. They (husband and wife owners) worked very hard, 6 days a week for 2-3 years before they were able to take time off and hire part-time help. You need to be committed to succeed.

The personality of the shop owner is a huge asset. She is a talented quilter in her own right, and her quilts and patterns have won awards and been published in magazines. But her biggest asset is her patience, encouragement, and spot-on suggestions and advice when it comes to helping others figure out their quilts.

I highly recommend taking classes and getting a mentor through the Small Business Administration. A different friend of mine took over a small business from a guy who wanted to retire, but my friend struggled to make a profit until he started taking classes from the SBA. Now he's a millionaire and owns multiple businesses across several industries, and coaches and mentors other business owners. He credits the SBA, his willingness to learn from his mistakes, and his mentor for his success.

illinois

Answer the question--do I want to be a business owner that sells fabric or do I simply want to be involved in selling fabric? Owning a business is a full-time job and you have already addressed some of the downfalls of ownership. That may be enough to defeat the desire you have for selling fabric. The business owner is the last guy to get paid, you know. If you want to be involved in the selling, feeling of fabric, knowing what is new, why not simply get a job in your LQS or a place such as Joann's and at the end of the day, you get to go home and let someone else take care of buying/selling inventory and keeping the government happy?

jmoore

Anna, I would also ask yourself how many hours you want to work and for how many years. When I moved to Maine in 2007, I married and my husband and I purchased an established retail (specialty foods/gifts) shop in a quaint coastal town with a great reputation. While it was quite more laborious than a fabric store might be, you do spend a lot of time placing orders, social media, research etc., in addition to the day to day operation. In the later three or four years of owning the store, my sons married and started families...one living in California and the other moving around in the Coast Guard. I wanted to be involved with my grandkids (and do more quilting), I felt very limited on my ability to do so as I was so tied to my business. We finally sold the Specialty Food store in fall of 2017. I am 56 years young and I’ve never been happier. I do have a women’s clothing boutique but it is a lot more manageable than having had both stores. Good luck with your research and endeavor.

Mdegenhart

Sadly, I think there are a lot of reasons that a big percentage of brick and mortar shops are failing. I think it would be a very difficult business to be profitable at. The only reason I ever bought at my LQS was because they had a teacher I loved and liked taking classes with. They decided to change their focus and stopped offering the classes I liked. The owner’s taste in fabric never “gibed” with mine and I was always frustrated with the selections. Also, while the owner and help were perfectly nice people, they were introverted and not particularly welcoming or engaging, so I never really “had fun” by stopping by or requesting their assistance.

lindaschipper

Think about this.....everyone who sews anything at all has some sort of left over fabric. Many of us quilters have over purchased quilting fabric and wonder what the next project they can make from it will be. Consider a consignment shop for left over fabric. You won't need to buy bolts upon bolts of fabric that way. A small store front and some displays will be needed of course, and a cash register. As with any store, a great bookeeping method will be a necessity, but with the experience you have at your current job, that should be easy enough to set up. In time maybe you can add some basic muslin, or Kona fabric to the store.

bkay

I guess I am a naysayer. I have had several small food related businesses over the past 30 years. I'll tell you the same thing I told my cousin when she told me she wanted to be a caterer. She is a great cook and loves to entertain.

It's not about cooking (substitute fabric for cooking). That's the smallest part of it. It's about employees, employment taxes, buying, customers, advertising, accounting, rent, utilities, zoning, city taxes, permits, trash disposal, credit card charges (they take about 4% right off the top), inventory, cleaning the shop, fixing the plumbing, getting the sign made, creating an online presence and in this day and time website, website, website. That website has to be phone friendly. You either have to learn to make changes or pay someone to do it. Then, you have to come up on the first page of Google, which takes a minimum of 6 months. There's hardly any way for people to find you unless you come up on that first page.

Then, there is the economy. Surviving the down times is hard. When the economy is really moving and people have money, it can be doable. Over the last several years, it has either been boom or bust. There was the dot com bubble, 9/11, housing bubble, the bank collapse, etc. Fabric is not a necessity, so when times are tough, people can fore go the non-necessity.

Now, I didn't go into catering thinking it was about cooking, as my folks had been caterers. But, still, the cooking was a small part. You either have to do everything or pay someone else to do it. Smelling and handling the fabric is a small part of the quilt shop business.

I would suggest you go to work for a fabric shop on your days off and really look at it. If one is open on Sunday, ask for a part time job on Sunday. Then, I would definitely take those classes someone recommended. Talk to other kinds of retail small businesses in your area.

We have some great quilt shops around here. I don't see how they make it, though. With the price of fabric, competing with online sellers who buy in great quantities and the cost of brick and mortar, I'd be very careful. You could end up losing all your retirement savings.

On the bright side, look at Missouri Star Quilt. They started with nothing. Of course, they had a big family with a lot of skills. They were in a small town where rents were low. They hit youtube at just the right time and Jenny Doan seems to be a natural on camera.

Good luck with your pursuit.

bkay

hobbykat1955

There's a great QS in Lincoln RI...thought it's so big I'd call it a warehse...Ryco's...Pat the owner is online/facebook and she'd probably gladly give advice. What drew me to that shop was the amt of fabric/trims etc...she carried...A Quilters Heaven. She offers lots of diff classes where someone like me if I had a good idea for a class she allows you to give that class for free...all profits yours for the cost you decide to charge...she gets the extra business by people buying the supplies (hopefully) for the class. She has open sessions for free (come and sit/chat/sew) on certain evenings. Has a section of the shop call 'Hunters Bargains" where bolts have been drastically marked down and runs lots of sales during the yr where hundreds of ladies from far and wide drive up to RI for that special day of sales.
It's amazing. She does takes several trips each yr to hunt out the best of fabrics for her shop and puts in allot of time in. She has now taken on LA machines that can be rented and also sells them. So depending on your vision this shop does it all.