Growing pains: How to reach the next stage of success in the embroidery field

Most often, success in the world of business comes down to how well you’re able to weather growing pains. Whether you’re a startup or an established business in the process of expanding, nearly every organization will experience this frustrating stage at some point, and often more than once if you’re in business long enough. It’s stressful. It’s discouraging. And the natural response is to pull back, duck down and hope it passes. But that’s very rarely the path to successfully moving past painful growth periods.

For embroidery shops, growing pains can take a variety of forms – decreased productivity, more frequent mistakes/product waste, inability to handle new volume, understaffing, cashflow challenges. All of it means you can end up stuck in one place or worse – backsliding – instead of moving forward to your next milestone of success.

After nearly three decades of working with embroidery shops of all sizes, the Stitch It International team knows firsthand the effect growing pains can have on a business. That’s part of why Stitch It was built around long-term supportive partnerships with customers, says CEO Kyle McMinn.

“We care about our customers’ success. If your shop is struggling right now, there are some steps you can take to improve the outcome. And Stitch It can help with that,” says McMinn.

 

Check your equipment.

Start by assessing your current equipment, advises McMinn. Having the right machine decreases headaches and sets your business up for success. Machines that break down frequently or are difficult to work with ultimately affect your bottom line through lost productivity. Likewise, a machine that’s too small will hold you back from new revenue opportunities.

 

A few things to look for in the right machine:

• It’s able to handle your current volume and have room for growth
• It’s easy to work with, such as fast, tool-free transitions from flats to caps
• It’s versatile. Dual function technology, allowing users to run two different jobs simultaneously, is a great example of this.
• It saves you time and money, with improved workflow (like WiFi capability), less product waste and faster production

 

Review your finances.

At the cusp of success, businesses often experience the cashflow challenges that go hand-in-hand with increases in production – whether that’s adding new employees, expanding equipment or purchasing higher volumes of materials.

“When you’re experiencing fast growth, you’re likely also experiencing increased expenses,” says McMinn. “That can prevent you from making the upgrades or expansions you need in order to sustain that higher volume of business.”

In those instances, it’s a good time to explore financing options that will help you invest in the equipment needed to continue your growth trajectory. That’s why Stitch It offers customers 100% financing up to $250,000 (learn more here: http://www.stitchitintl.com/financing.html).

“If cashflow is holding your business back from reaching its full potential, this is an ideal option,” says McMinn. “It’s fast, flexible and there are even delayed payment options to help you through those growing pains.”

In addition, Stitch It offers a trade-in program that makes upgrading to a larger machine even easier. Learn more here: http://www.stitchitintl.com/we-buy-used-embroidery-machines-for-cash

Take advantage of support.

Whether it’s learning the ins and outs of the equipment, technical support or our embroidery knowledge base, make sure you’re utilizing all of the resources Stitch It offers customers. Our comprehensive training program is great for new team members or onboarding a new machine.

“We’ve helped countless business owners make pivotal transitions in their embroidery business,” says McMinn. “And our first-hand knowledge and support is a key part of that. Plus, we connect embroiderers with each other for shared experiences. All of that fosters growth for our customers, at every stage of their business.”

Explore support additional resources:

Stitch It International Knowledge Base:

https://stitch-it-international-inc.helpscoutdocs.com/

Stitch It International Blog:

http://www.stitchitintl.com/_blog/news

Stitch It International Tech Support:

http://www.stitchitintl.com/support