Want to know how to keep your sewing business going during lockdown?
Wondering what you can do to keep your sanity while everyone around you loses their shizzle?… read on…
I think we can all agree that the world is a strange place right now and there is a feeling of not knowing what to do. It’s easy to think as a dance costume maker, there isn’t much you can do at all, but there is.
There is so much you can be doing right now.
So many business owners complain that they don’t have enough time to work on their business because they are so busy working in their business. They are so busy with orders and getting their work out of the door that they don’t have time to make changes to their business. Implement new ideas and spend time improving their workflow etc.
Now is the perfect time to do all those jobs you’ve been putting off because ‘there isn’t enough time’.
Now I must point out that if you are suffering and finding your mental health is being affected by being in lockdown, I absolutely do not want this to add to the pressure. You only need do what you need to do to get through this, one day at a time.
Don’t put added pressure on yourself right now if you know it will make you feel worse. But if you are worried about how your costume making business will survive the lockdown, then this blog post mind help you see how proactive you can be.
All 10 of the ideas on this list can be done without leaving your home. They are the kind of jobs that need doing, but often get overlooked when orders are coming in, deadlines are due and the fast pace of modern living makes it hard to get everything done.
These suggestions often end up at the bottom of the priority list and so there is no better time than now to have a crack at them and see what you can get done.
- Stock take your fabric and supplies
- Create a Pinterest design board for new ideas
- Reorganise your sewing patterns
- Update your website
- Start an email list
- Check you are GDPR compliant
- Create an online catalogue of your work
- Create a brand style guide
- Create some Instagram stories
- Try a new sewing technique you’ve not tried before
1. Stock take your fabric and supplies
Do you know how much fabric you actually have or is it one of those questions that should not be asked?
Although we may wish to pretend our fabric hoard isn’t quite as out of control as it actually is, it’s not a bad idea to give it a stock check and see if there is anything you had bought but forgotten about or if you’ve been buying stock that you already have.
I like to keep a digital stock check on my fabric, but I must admit it’s harder to track than the sewing patterns because it changes more frequently.
If stock checking your entire fabric stash bring you out in hives, then perhaps just look at your main fabrics that customers request a lot of. Go through them and note down how much of each solid colour lycra you have. Check what shades of power mesh you have available so that next time someone asks if you have their skin shade you can answer easily.
Nicky organising her sewing stash.
2. Create a Pinterest design board for new ideas
A great one for when you need to sit and chill for a while and fancy looking at ‘all the pretties’, but still want to feel like you are being productive. You can grab your phone or tablet and start researching new costume ideas on Pinterest.
I can get lost down so many rabbit holes when searching on Pinterest. It’s almost a hobby in itself, but as long as you are semi-strict with your seaches, you can gain a lot of insight and inspiration from creating Pinterest boards.
It goes without saying that you should not copy someone else’s work, but it’s totally fine to be inspired by others and take a concept and make out your own. If I finish a costume base and I’m unsure how I want to add the crystals, I look in the crystal design section of my embellishing board for ideas. Just looking at the pics can give me enough inspiration to know what I need to do next on my costume.
3. Reorganise your sewing patterns
Do you prefer PDF patterns or paper? I have quite a collection (cough, way too many) of both, and so I organise them separately.
I like to use a digital storage system to keep track of all the patterns I own. This prevents me from buying the same pattern twice and also means I have the information on hand whenever I need it.
You can use any spreadsheet or database software to do this. My favourite is TapForms (Mac only) but I’m also playing around with Airtable which works across all platform and is free for low end users.
On the screenshot below you can see how I have my database laid out in TapForms for one of my Jalie leotard patterns. I use an image as the first field as it is this field that populates the list on the left hand side. Using an image makes it quicker to search for the pattern I am looking for. I can see all the information I need in order to check my supplies and see what materials I might need to order.
4. Update your website (or build one if you don’t have one already)
When you are stuck at home, computer work is going to feature quite heavily on your to do list. Having a website doesn’t mean you have to have html skills or be able to code. It is very easy to create a functional and good looking website using online drag and drop tools.
I use WordPress for my websites and I have no coding knowledge at all. There are also websites like Weebly and Wix that are probably the quickest to set up, but will cost you a lot more in the long run.
While you’ve got some spare time on your hands, I would use that time to familiarise yourself with WordPress and start off with a cracking website from day one.
For years I stuck to the other ‘easier’ template based websites, but only because I thought WordPress was too complicated for me. Once I gave it a try and got stuck in I wished I had done it years before.
One tip, do make sure you sign up with wordpress.org and not wordpress.com.
5. Start an email list
If you don’t already have an email list, now is a fab time to start one. If your business has always been face to face with your clients, then the current situation shows just how important it is to be able to stay in contact with your customers.
If you are going to start collecting emails and pieces of personal data then you will need to ensure you are GDPR compliant. It isn’t as scary as it sounds and it’s fairly easy to implement once you’ve checked how you are handling people’s data and for what reason you are keeping it.
There are lots of websites that can handle and manage an email list for you. I use ConvertKit https://www.pinkgiraffe.co.uk/ConvertKit but there are many others you could choose from. I prefer ConvertKit because it is so easy to use and they are frequently updating things to keep it fresh.
6. Check you are GDPR compliant
Regardless of where you live in the world, GDPR is relevant because you can have followers and fans from anywhere in the world and if they live in a country that requires GDPR compliancy, then you will need to ensure you are correctly set up.
As mentioned above, lots of email list management companies make it very easy to stay compliant with your email lists. But you also need to check that your data storage meets the requirements.
Even if GDPR isn’t in your country, some basic rules of data protection are a good thing to have in place. It shows your customers that you care about the security of their information.
You can find out more information here – https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/
7. Create an online catalogue of your work
Having somewhere for your customers to see all of your work while they are unable to get out and about in person is crucial. You don’t want your customers to forget about you and your products and services while the world is in lockdown.
People are scared right now and starting to feel fed up. Give them some beautiful pretties to look at while they are stuck at home feeling low.
If you have a website you can easily create an online catalogue page, but there are other ways to do this too. There’s a website called Flipsnack where you can create beautiful online catalogues of your work. There is a free version too so you can get going without paying anything.
8. Create a brand style guide.
A brand style guide is a collection of images and information that help you stay consistent with your brand message when you create content that represents your business online or offline.
It generally consists of some graphics and images, two or three (max) fonts, a list of hex codes (these are the colours you use) and any other info relevant to the content you produce. It can even include your brand voice ie. the way you write and speak when communicating with your customers.
Having a well thought out style guide will help you stay consistent with your message and also make your brand recognisable as the colours and designs will be coordinated. It will be much easier to create consistent marketing across your social media accounts, your customer emails and quotes, your printed media like flyers, business cards and compliments slips, and the graphics you use on your website and other online content.
9. Create some Instagram stories
Do you take little videos or photographs of your costumes? Of course you do. Your phone is probably rammed full of costume pics and many of them might not have ever been seen by your customers or online followers.
The beauty of Insta stories is that the images don’t have to be perfect. I like to post beautiful images on my Insta grid, but stories are much more casual and you can be a bit more free with your content.
Gather up some costume images and create a little flip book video and post to your stories. Get your costume makes seen by your followers so that they remember you when the crisis is over and people start wanting to buy costumes again.
10. Try a new technique you’ve not done before
Is there a new sewing technique that you’ve seen but never had time to try?
Give it a go now while you’ve got some extra time on your hands. Search YouTube for ideas and tutorials, look on Pinterest for inspiration. Start experimenting with materials and designs you’ve never considered before.
One thing I am looking to try out is cutting lycra appliqués on my Cameo 4 Silhouette machine. I’ve had the machine for a few months, but just haven’t had time to give this a try. There’s no better time than now for experimenting.
I hope this list of ideas has given you some inspiration for what you can do to keep your business going while unable to get out and about or see your customers face to face.
You don’t have to do all 10. Just pick out the ones you would like to have a go at and get started. I’d love to see what you achieve.
You can join my Facebook Group ‘Grow Your Dance Costume Business’ and post pics in there. I can’t wait to see all the reorganised sewing rooms and only catalogues.
Enjoy yourself and stay safe x
