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How To Save Money With Wholesale Fabric by Michelle Waters

Saving time and money most likely rank within the top 10 items of your permanent to-do list as a Work at Home Mom or Dad. You created your own site design -- or found a low-cost designer to do it for you. You also filed your own sole proprietor paper work, and possibly even requested your own tax-ID number. And working at home has saved you tons of money in rental fees, utilities and more.

Despite the low overhead, you still have expenses each month. As a manufacturer of baby slings, cloth diapers, quilts or other crafts, one of your main expenses is fabric.

With Profit Margins Already Slim, You Need All The Savings You Can Get

Wouldn't it be great if you could save some money on fabric as well? Profit margins are already razor-thin in the WAHM world, so even the smallest increase could give you some breathing room.

If you are currently buying your fabric at retail prices, purchasing at wholesale can save you a bundle in the long run.

Sounds great!

However, there are a couple of downsides.

Don't Let Minimum Order Requirements Deter You

1. Many wholesalers require you to order a minimum amount up front. While this will make your initial costs higher, you will save in the long run. For example, let's say that you normally buy 25 yards of your favorite fabric for $252. Your wholesaler requires you to purchase 100 yards, which will cost $600. Ouch, right?

Think of it this way though: At retail value, the fabric is $12 per yard. When you sew your sling, you use 2 yards of fabric. So, you're spending $24 per sling, which you then sale for $32. Your profit, not counting the thread used or other business expenses: $8.

Now, let's say you went out and purchased the wholesale fabric for $600. You make your sling, using 2 yards of fabric. Only now, those two yards cost you just $12. When you sell your produce for $32, your profit is $20. You have more than doubled your profit for that item!

Another way to look at this is, with the retail fabric, you are making $4 of profit per yard. You purchased 25 yards, so your profit for that fabric purchase is $100. With the wholesale fabric, you are making a profit of $10 per yard. For the 100 yards of fabric you purchased, your total profit is $1,000. Wow!

Now, that's no so much of a downside when you look at it.

Finding Fabric Wholesalers Is Tough Work

2. Where in the world do you buy fabric at wholesale? I've seen this question asked over and over again at WAHM message boards. The most common answer is the call the manufacturers of the fabrics you are interested in purchasing.

Typically, the retailers you purchase the fabric from are very protective of their wholesale sources, so you may not have any luck asking. Often though, you can look at the ends of the fabric bolt itself to see the name. Some fabrics have the information printed onto an unfinished edge of the fabric. On solid color fabric, denim and others, the manufacturer information may be hard to find.

You can also use a search engine in order to find wholesale fabric lists. However, be careful to research the company to find out about the fabric quality, turnaround time from the time you place the order until it is shipped and the level of customer service they provide. Research can include using search engines to find reviews or forum discussions about the company, asking fellow work at home moms and searching messages boards or resource websites that you are a member of for comments on the company.

Finding wholesale fabric for your business maybe a tough job -- but in terms of saving money, it will be well worth it in the long run.

About the Author

Michelle Waters, owner of Watersweb Shops, recommends the following wholesale fabric information sources: http://www.waterswebshops.com/WholesaleCraftFabric, http://www.waterswebshops.com/WholesaleFleeceFabric and http://www.waterswebshops.com/GuidetoWholesaleFabrics

Why Not Earn Money From Your Talents Mom? by Carrie Lauth

I come across talented Moms all the time. Moms who sew baby slings, nursing clothing, cloth diapers.... Moms who make their own herbal skin care, healing balms, and the like. (I'm pretty envious of women who are crafty like this!)

Or maybe they are really good at designing their home school curriculum or writing interesting lesson plans. I know Moms with large families of grown children who could make a million bucks if they wrote a book with their parenting success secrets!

Sometimes I will ask these women if they've ever thought about taking their interest or hobby to the Internet to earn some income with it. I usually get responses like: "I don't know the first thing about how to build a website." or "I wouldn't have any idea how to market my business online."

Yet, you may have a ton of knowledge in your head that could make you money on the world wide web. Or maybe you have a creative skill like sewing. Even if you don't have a physical product to sell, you can still make money online marketing other people's products, either through Direct Sales, Affiliate Marketing or Drop Shipping.

Why not get the knowledge out of your head and into a business that could earn you some cash!

Building a business on the Internet isn't difficult like many Moms assume. If you don't know how to build a website, you can use a "What you see is what you get" html editor. (HTML is the coding language of web designers.) But you don't have to learn it in order to build a site. WYSIWYG html editors are as easy to use as word processing software. If you can write a fancy email or draft a nice letter, you can build a website.

Some website hosts even include professional looking website templates and beautiful stock photos, so you don't even have to hire a web designer to get a great looking site online anymore.

What is more, there are resources online that can teach you what you need to know in order to get traffic to your site and market yourself. Why not ask around at a work at home Moms message board and see what other Moms in business recommend for learning these techniques?

Don't let a small budget deter you from starting a website. For less than $25, you can buy a domain name and website hosting for one year. As you start to earn income, you can reinvest in other tools and learning that will help you grow your profits.

Building a business on the Internet has never been easier. Don't let fear or a lack of technical know-how stop you from meeting your income goals. Reach out and ask for help and you'll soon be up and running.

About the Author

Carrie Lauth is the author of the Natural Mom Business Guide, a complete learning course for the Mom who wants to take her love of natural family living and turn it into an online business. For a free ecourse on getting started, visit http://www.NaturalMomBusinessGuide.com

Sew Up Some Black Pants Quick! by Marian Lewis

Are you confused about what to wear? No wonder!

Black pants get my vote as the most versatile garment to wear anytime, anywhere.

Sew them or buy them, but please make sure they fit!

Here we are at the airport on our way to my husband's 50th High School Reunion in PA. We are looking forward to seeing many of our "old friends."

As I sit here, people watching, I can't help but notice how people dress.

There was a time, I remember, that we went to the airport to see travelers all dressed up in their suits and fancy clothes. In fact, I got a lot of my design ideas from watching well-dressed travelers.

I copied an awesome snake skin raincoat once! I loved it! Of course, my coat was made of a vinyl snake skin, but it really looked great. I wore it for years!

Now, you rarely see anyone well-dressed. It seems that everyone looks the same no matter what their age or size, toddler to grandma. They are all extremely casual. In some cases, I would even say the dress is downright sloppy.

Most folks are in shirts and pants, but do they have to look like they wore them to bed?

What happened? Doesn't anyone care how they look anymore? I know everyone is into being comfortable, but do they ever look in a mirror? Good grief!

I believe you can dress casual and still look really nice and even be very comfortable.

The #1 basic garment for everyone on my list would be a well-fitted pair of black pants. notice, I said, "well-fitted." The majority of pants I see simply do not fit. But, that's another story!

You can do so much with black pants. A change of tops and shoes can take you from business to pleasure, from play to church and anything in between anytime of year, any place in the world.

It's time to board. . .more on the plane.

Here we are, up in the air and I'm on my computer writing this. I'm still so amazed by all this technology. It sure beats handwriting notes and retyping. This is awesome!

In the magazine in the seat pocket in front of me is a listing of restaurants in a major city. I can see why people are so confused about what to wear.

The restaurants are rated from 1-4 $ signs and also indicate the appropriate attire required. These are the words used to describe what to wear at each of the restaurants listed:

Casual, FunkyCasual, Funky/Dressy Casual,

Dressed Up/Smart Casual,

Casual to Dressy,

Dressy/Smart Casual,

Dressy/Funky Casual,

Dressed Up,

Dressy Casual,

Dressy Casual/Dressy,

Dressy, Smart Casual,

Dressy Casual/Dressy,

and then, my favorite: Anything Goes.

But wait, what is this? Anything Goes/Dressy Casual.

Does anyone really understand this and know what to wear?

Maybe that's why they look like they do! They have simply given up trying to figure it out.

Just what does "casual" mean today? What is the difference between Funky Casual, Dressy Casual, Smart Casual and just plain Casual?

And I wonder what people wear to the "Anything Goes/Dressy Casual" place? That should be interesting!

Now, does Dressy and Dressed Up mean the same as "Informal" or is that "Formal?" I am really confused.

I think this would be a great topic for Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes.

As for me, I think I'll wear my "Black Pants!"

It just makes sense!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ©2005 Marian Lewis - All Rights Reserved - 1st Step To Sewing Success

About the Author

Marian Lewis is a sewing instructor and the creator of an amazing new fitting method for skirts and pants. Go to http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com/fitting.html Marian also is the author of other ebooks related to basic and advanced sewing techniques. Go to http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com/sewing.html Discover a sewing blog with sewing tips and free sewing projects to achieve sewing success at http://1ststeptosewingsuccess.blogspot.com

The Many Benefits of Sewing Your Own Clothes by Charles Kassotis

Learning to sew can have a great many benefits. Not only is sewing an old time craft with a rich heritage, but it also has many applications today. Developing a skill for sewing can be helpful in your life, and can provide many benefits. Learning to sew your own clothes can save you money, as well as help you develop a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Sewing is an ancient art. It was used thousands and thousands of years ago to stitch together blankets, and it was used to create coverings for the human body. With the advent of the sewing machine, sewing became much easier and efficient. Clothing could be mass produced in factories, keeping the costs down. But it was also easier for individual persons to make their own clothing with sewing machines. In the early days of our country, and among the frontier people of the mid 1800s through the Depression, it was not uncommon for most of the clothing worn to be sewn at home.

You can sew your own clothing as well. With a few lessons on a sewing machine, you will be proficient enough to make simple things like skirts, pants, and shirts. With a lot of practice, it is even possible to make more beautiful clothing like wedding dresses. Sewing your own clothes can be less expensive than buying them at the store, in many cases. Although this may not be true when you purchase at a discount or thrift store, it is almost always true when you decide to sew a fancy dress or gown.

Even if you do not save money by sewing your own clothes, there are still other benefits to sewing clothing. First of all, it does provide one with a sense of pride. It is nice to be able to take care of your own needs, and there is a sense of accomplishment that comes with being able to make something of your own. The feelings of self accomplishment are very nice. Additionally, it makes a good hobby. You can sew your own clothes to take up time and fill idle hours. Plus, if you sew your own clothes, you can get what you want in color, size, and style.

One of the biggest benefits to learning to sew your own clothes is the fact that it helps you become more self reliant. Rather than having to rely on the store, you can make your own coverings. If a catastrophe were to strike, and you were unable to get to a store, being able to make your own clothing would be a benefit. Even without electricity, you can still use many sewing machines. Most of them today have some sort of manual options that does not require electricity.

So, no matter why you do it, there are plenty of benefits associated with sewing your own clothes. Whether you do it to save money, for fun, for the self fulfillment, or to be prepared in case of an emergency, sewing your own clothes can be a good idea.

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