The Dance Costume Makers' Show
Season 1 - Episode 2How to go from hobby sewing to a small business owner – S1 E2
Have you longed to be a professional costume maker? Do you often get asked to make dance costumes for other people?
In today’s episode I’m talking about practical steps you need to take and the things you need to think about if you are looking to take the leap from hobby sewer to small business owner.
In this episode I talk about what it’s like to go from sewing as a hobby to running a small dance costume making business.
You might have been sewing for your kids or other people’s kids, you might have been working with your local dance studio, but turning this into a small business is quite a big step.
You might be just at the start of your costume businessmjourney or perhaps you’ve been trading for a while but think you could make some improvements, either way you should find something helpful that will inspire you to take your costume making business further.
(You may have noticed that in the first part of this episode I do not pronounce the word ‘genre’ correctly, but later in the show it sounds ok. I have no explanation for this as I did not notice it until I came to edit the show and it would have sounded weird if I had edited it out. Please forgive my little slip, and put it down to newbie podcast host nerves.)
Tune in to discover how to go from hobby sewer to small business owner.
Here’s some highlights including timestamps so you can easily find the info you are looking for.
- Business planning (0:53)
- Who is your ideal client? (03:01)
- How and where will you sell your costumes? (04:11)
- Will you sell custom or ready made costumes? (05:55)
- Do you know how to stay legal in your country? (07:09)
- What insurance might you need? (09:07)
- Customer contracts and T&Cs (10:41)
- Online safety (11:43)
- Intellectual property & copyright (12:18)
- How to price a dance costume (18:12)
- Pink Giraffe pricing Course and how you can become a BET tester (22:55)
- Marketing for small businesses (23:26)
- Building a professional image (27:49)
- Maintaining the work life balance (29:47)
Info & links mentioned in this episode:
Some of these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission if you purchase from them. You won’t pay any more, but you will be helping to support the podcast and keep it free for everyone. You can read more in my disclaimer here.
In the UK HMRC has lots of info about self-employment and what you need to do in order to fulfil your tax obligations.
These pages will be useful if you are in the UK. Outside of the UK you will need to seek information from your local government or tax office.
https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business
https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader
https://www.gov.uk/log-in-file-self-assessment-tax-return/register-if-youre-self-employed
Freebie download – Costume Costing Checklist https://www.pinkgiraffe.co.uk/resources/costume-costing-checklist/
The Pink Giraffe Pricing Course – https://www.pinkgiraffe.co.uk/pricing-course-waitlist/
Hopefully this episode has been useful and given you some ideas about taking your hobby further or improving the dance costume business that you have.
If you’d like to chat with other costume makers about all things costume and business related you can join my free Facebook Group ‘Grow Your Dance Costume Business’ where you can post pics, ask questions and network with other costume makers.
Where you can find me
Website – www.pinkgiraffe.co.uk
FB Page – www.facebook.com/PinkGiraffe
FB Group – The Pink Giraffe Sewing Business Community Group – www.pinkgiraffe.co.uk/group
Pinterest – uk.pinterest.com/PinkGiraffeUK
Instagram – www.instagram.com/pinkgiraffeuk
Twitter – twitter.com/PinkGiraffeCC
YouTube – www.pinkgiraffe.co.uk/YouTube
LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/nicky-merrick-/
Big credit to the guys from Purple Music for allowing me to use their track for my intro and outro music.
Music:
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Episode 0 – Trailer
The Dance Costume Makers' Show is a podcast for costume makers looking to make an income from their talents or to take their business forward. Nicky has been a costume maker for several years and a small business owner for over a decade. The podcast will cover...
