Back To The Beginning...

In October 2007, I decided to learn how to write a business plan.  In all honesty, I was not thinking of opening up a yarn shop at that time. I just wanted to get all my ideas about owning a yarn shop down on paper and see if my brain could still function properly after having two children, homeschooling and being out of the workforce for over eight years. I'd never written a business plan before. I found books at the library, but none of them were very clear, offered up any really good examples (specifically for the craft industry), or really gave me the tools that I personally needed because I'm such a hands-on, kinesthetic person. Discouraged by the books and after some internet research, I went to my local SCORE office.

SCORE provides free counseling to people that are interested in opening up a small business. They also counsel small businesses that are up and running, and can give you suggestions to make your business more successful. At SCORE, I met with retail counselor Bruce Lulow. He gave me a great, little workbook for $25 that outlined a basic business plan, and I was ready to go. It took me one month to write the business plan (I spent hours a day doing it) with Bruce meeting with me, monitoring my progress along the way. We met every week, sometimes twice weekly. After the plan was complete, I was ready to implement.

In coming posts, I will share parts of my business plan, ideas, things that worked and didn't work, what owning the business meant for my family life, with you here. If you or anyone you know is interested in writing a business plan for a yarn shop, quilt shop or another needlework shop, link them to this blog. I've been in the needlework business for 8 years in the capacity of designer, instructor and shop owner. After much thought and reflection, I have come to the conclusion that I like teaching best. I want to teach you how to open up your own business by sharing my experiences.

While it was not without mistakes, StitchCraft was an award-winning business for a reason. I am very humble about my experiences with my shop. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to own a small business, and I believe that the current economic state of the US can only get better with the help of existing and new small businesses.