How to open a custom tailoring studio

Tips and tricks for beginners

However, having seamstress skills is not enough to earn a stable income. It is also necessary to think over the direction of the business, select the premises in which the studio will be located, take care of the employees, as well as methods of advertising and marketing your products. You should also identify possible risks, calculate approximate income and the approximate period for which the enterprise should pay off.

It makes sense to open a small workshop first. The easiest way to join the sewing services market is to open a clothing repair service. You should not aim at large areas and serious orders; first you need to earn the trust of clients and check whether you are capable of running a business. The first profit will be small and it is better to use it to develop the business. With an increase in the number of orders, you can either open a new point or expand an existing one. Gradually, new services can be included in the price list.

At the initial stage and immediately after opening, you can attract relatives to some positions, but if you cannot do without specialists, you should not avoid this, sacrificing the quality of services. You can adjust expenses using items such as routine repairs of equipment, wages and the purchase of new materials for clothing. So, you can open a small tailoring or clothing repair shop at home, if conditions permit. This will provide an opportunity to save on renting premises at the first stage of development.

Sewing workshop equipment

To work you will need the following equipment:

1. An overlocker will be needed to finish the edges of the fabric and seams. To purchase a high-quality model, you will need 12 - 14 thousand rubles.
2. A machine designed for hemming the bottom of trousers or skirts will be useful.
3. You will need a high-quality steam iron and ironing board.
4. You need to purchase professional sewing machines. Approximately its price will be in the range from 18 to 20 thousand rubles.
5. To work with clients, it will be necessary to equip a fitting room.
6. To carry out cutting you will need a special table. Patterns for sewing will be needed.
7. It is necessary to provide employees with tools and consumables. In particular, you will need scissors, measuring tapes, thimbles, threads, fabrics for sewing children's clothing, and more.

Technologies for sewing or repairing clothes

At first, you can use standard technologies. When the business develops, it will be possible to use more specialized options.

Types of studio

Before opening a business, you need to decide on a niche. Understand what kind of clothes you want to make and for whom? There are several types of ateliers and each of them has its own specifics. As already mentioned in the previous section, the easiest way is to open a clothing repair shop; it is much more difficult to organize and maintain the work of a salon-atelier. To be fair, it should be said that income with good organization will be several times higher.

Mini clothing repair shop

The least profitable option, but the simplicity of organization and lower investments to open such a business play in its favor. In addition, this service is always in demand, which means the chances of recoupment increase. A good option for starting a business, which over time (when a client base appears and income increases) can be developed and subsequently easily transformed into a custom tailoring studio.

Narrow tailoring studio

Such workshops should be opened only where they are in demand. A workshop for sewing special clothing in an area where there are many plants and factories, a wedding atelier next to the salon or to the places where marriages are registered.

In order to minimize investments at the very beginning and speed up payback, it is recommended to purchase specialized equipment without additional functions and accessories.

Wide-profile studio

This is not only a more complex option, but also a much more expensive option, since you will have to buy a lot of different equipment just to open a business. For this type, it is important to hire professionals in their field. It is best to hire narrow specialists for each of the areas of tailoring, but this will cost more than a universal master. If everything goes well, such an atelier will pay for itself quite quickly.

Franchise atelier

The main disadvantage of this method of opening a studio is the large initial payment, which can exceed 2-3 million. On the other hand, you will not need to actively engage in advertising and win customer loyalty. If you can achieve a balance between meeting the requirements of the parent company and serving customers, the business can break even within 3-4 months.

Hobby business

Both educations that I received are directly related to the specifics of my business. By my first education I am a fashion designer, by my second I am a designer for individual orders, which means that I can sew clothes individually for each client, depending on the physiological characteristics, structure and age of the person.

After graduating from the Omsk State Institute of Service, I seriously thought about opening my own business. Before that, for about 10 years, I sewed at home, I already had regular clients. And then the moment came when I decided to leave my paid job and open the GiovineZZa atelier, starting everything from scratch. In March it will be possible to celebrate a small anniversary - five years.

Market analysis

Once you've decided on your positioning, it's time to identify your main competitors and analyze the behavior of potential customers. It would not be amiss to study the experience of entrepreneurs who already have experience in doing business in this area, ideally if in the same region.

It is necessary to foresee possible crisis situations and unfavorable conditions and think in advance about ways out of them.

The target audience

When it comes to the question of how to properly open a repair or tailoring studio, it is important to clearly represent your client and locate the studio accordingly. The location is of great importance, because even within the same city, the needs and tastes of a resident of residential areas will differ from those of the inhabitants of the center. We need to offer the clothes that are in demand.

So, on the outskirts of the city it is not very reasonable to open a salon-atelier; it is more reasonable to create a small workshop there. However, the situation may vary, which is why it is important to study the needs of the target audience and the needs of the residents of the area where you plan to start a business. Even for choosing the type of studio, this can be a key point.

For example, repair shops can be opened in or near shopping centers. When buying clothes, many people will want to customize it to suit themselves. Also a good place is next to the shoe repair shop. The ideal place to open a tailoring shop is next to a fabric store.

Competitive advantages

The simplest and most successful option for any business is the absence of competitors. On the other hand, their presence can also be used to your advantage and learn from the mistakes of others. One thing remains true: you must know your competitors. This should also be included in the business plan of a tailoring studio.

You can attract customers by offering them a unique service that they cannot get anywhere else, focusing on what competitors are missing. When offering something that people can buy from other shops, focus on the quality of the work. In some cases, speed may also be important.

Advertising company

This stage is especially important if you are starting a tailor shop as a new business that no one knows about yet. You can use any methods that your budget allows - leaflets, advertisements, groups on social networks. At first, don’t forget that you can attract new customers with promotions, discounts and sweepstakes. Bright signs serve their purpose perfectly. We also recommend paying attention to the design of leaflets and advertisements - the more interesting the advertisement is, the more customers it can attract. But don't overdo it.

Stages of opening an atelier

It must be taken into account that when opening such a business, you need to focus on achieving the goals of this project:

1. It is important to organize a highly profitable enterprise as a result.
2. It is necessary to ensure the stability of its operation and regular income.
3. Satisfy the needs of customers in performing atelier services.

Organizing a business includes several stages.

Analysis of demand for sewing studio services will help you draw up a business plan correctly

Defining the range of services

It is necessary to determine what list of services will be provided to clients. In most cases, it is assumed that this is the following:

1. Carrying out clothing repairs and restoration.
2. Tailoring in accordance with individual customer orders.
3. Tailoring of standard models.

If you locate your atelier next to a large shopping center or close to clothing stores, then it will be beneficial to include in your assortment a service for fitting recently purchased clothes to the buyer’s figure.

Determining the source of funding

Money that can be invested in an atelier usually comes from one or two sources:

• personal funds of the entrepreneur;
• a loan taken from a bank to open a business.

In the first case, opening a studio is easier, because there is no need to repay debts and pay interest on them. However, it is difficult to collect the required amount in a short period of time. Therefore, it usually takes a long period of time until the required amount is collected.

Having received a loan from a bank, you will need to repay it with interest in accordance with the established schedule. In addition, in order to receive money, you usually need to provide an appropriate collateral, which is not possible for everyone. When contacting the bank, you will need to provide a business plan for business development.

Business registration

If an entrepreneur has just started his career as a businessman, then the most convenient form of business registration for him is to become an individual entrepreneur. It is also possible to carry out registration by opening a limited liability company.

Registration is carried out by submitting the appropriate package of documents to the tax office.

Renting premises

After completing registration and before opening the studio, it is necessary to hire a suitable premises for work. There are two main options here:

• Open a business in one of the central districts of the city.
• The atelier will operate in a residential area.

Each of the considered cases has its own advantages. In the city center the number of clients will be much greater than on the outskirts, however, the rental price will be significant.

When renting premises near a large shopping center, you can expect that there will be many customers who would like to customize recently purchased clothes to their needs. At the same time, it is unlikely that there will be many orders from those who want to sew their own clothes to an individual order.

There are also several important points to consider:

1. When searching for premises, it is recommended to limit yourself to the first or basement floor. If the client has to go up to the second or subsequent floors, the number of applicants will most likely decrease significantly.
2. It will be an advantage if the entrance is from the street and not from the yard.
3. It is advisable to have several parking spaces in the immediate vicinity of the studio.
4. Once the lease agreement for the premises is signed, you can hang up a beautiful sign for the studio. When choosing a room, you need to consider whether such an opportunity exists.

It is necessary to pay attention to the interior arrangement of the room. It is assumed that it will be possible to divide it into three zones:

• production;
• receiving clients;
• fitting room

It is believed that the total area cannot be less than 20 square meters. meters.

It is necessary that the area used be such that it takes into account the requirements imposed by Rospotrebnadzor and the State Fire Supervision. It is necessary that these institutions issue an act of conclusion that confirms the readiness of this premises for use. It is important to come up with a name that will attract customers.

Next it will be time to purchase the necessary equipment. In this case, it is necessary to find a sufficient amount of funds for this purpose. There are two main options here: your own money or a loan that was received for this purpose. The next step is to hire staff.

A well-conducted marketing campaign plays an important role both at the initial stage of business and subsequently. With its help you can attract clients.

Opening an atelier requires a certain sequence of actions.

Required documents

It is necessary to register the business with the tax office. Registration with the Pension Fund will also be required.

In order for Rospotrebnadzor to give its consent, it is necessary to provide it with:

1. An agreement with an organization that will provide waste removal.
2. Documents confirming that the necessary sanitary measures will be carried out in the premises on a regular basis.

To record work in these areas, logs may be required that will reflect the process of garbage removal and sanitary and epidemiological measures.

To perform their duties, employees must have a sanitary book, which contains a note indicating that they have passed a hygiene test according to the sanitary minimum.

OKVED

During the process of registering a business, it will be necessary to indicate the codes of the activities that the entrepreneur plans to engage in. To work you will need the following OKVED codes, the studio will provide the following services:

• 5 denotes the provision of other personal services to clients;
• 2 is tailoring using textile materials, as well as accessories;
• 21 is a clarification of the previous paragraph - this is sewing workwear;
• 22 - means services for sewing outerwear;
• 24 covers sewing of other clothing, as well as accessories for it;
• 74 provides for the repair of household products or personal items.

In the latter case, we mean the repair of clothing and accessories that are not included in the previously listed categories.

Tax system

When doing business, it is possible, in cases provided for by law, to choose the taxation system used. It is believed that the use of UTII and simplified tax system will be more profitable for the work of the studio. It is allowed to use them simultaneously.

Hiring

The number of workers depends on how many clients come to the studio. At first, it is recommended to hire the following people:

1. You will definitely need a good cutter. It is important that he be a universalist: he can cut clothes for both men and women. At the same time, it is desirable that it can work with both outerwear and light clothing.
2. You need to hire two seamstresses. At the same time, it is advisable that they take turns additionally doing the work of cleaning the room.
3. An entrepreneur can work as an administrator himself, or he can hire an employee for this.

When searching for clients, you need to be guided by the requirements for qualifications and experience.

Salaries in an atelier are often calculated as the sum of a fixed rate and a certain percentage of the price of completed orders. The latter is usually between 25 and 30 percent.

To provide services at a high level, you need to hire qualified personnel

Project implementation stages

The implementation of any business plan for a clothing tailoring and repair shop is much more effective if you strictly follow the store plan. It is advisable to implement the opening of an atelier in the following sequence:

1. Creating a business plan for a sewing studio.
2. Raising funds or obtaining a loan.
3. Official registration of a business - creation of an individual entrepreneur, inclusion in the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs, tax and administrative registration;
4. Purchase or rental of premises, preparation of documents.
5. Purchase and installation of equipment.
6. Search and hiring of employees.
7. Conducting a marketing campaign (it is advisable to carry out this stage constantly or regularly).

Franchise Description

By concluding a cooperation agreement with the Agile Tkachik trademark, the franchisee receives the right to use the patented trademark in any area of ​​its activity. Specialists from the parent organization provide assistance in finding retail space on the territory of which the retail outlet will be located.

It is also possible to re-register an existing lease agreement in favor of the franchisee. A professional consultant goes to the place where it is planned to organize a franchise outlet. He conducts a qualitative analysis of the readiness of the premises for work, analysis of regional development.

Based on such activities, the consultant prepares detailed recommendations for advertising and marketing activities. When developing an individual studio design project, the zoning parameters of the room must be taken into account.

Franchisees also receive the right to receive a full set of sewing equipment, which takes into account regional characteristics. If an objective need arises, it is possible to organize points for the provision of additional types of services, for example, collection and repair of shoes, laundry or dry cleaning. For effective work, franchisees are provided with mock-ups of produced advertising products, content and elements of the company’s corporate style. This allows you to maintain a single concept of corporate style.

The methodological assistance provided, advertising support, and the implementation of effective loyalty programs for regular customers are also of great importance. Quite often, joint promotions are also carried out in order to attract new customers.

According to the terms of the partnership program, the franchisee receives a complete set of necessary documents, which helps regulate the work and apply the latest technologies for implementing a business project. All types of consulting support are provided not only when opening a new franchise enterprise, but in the further process of its operation.

Preparing for the opening

Having chosen the type of workshop and drawn up a business plan for the studio, you can begin to implement it. First of all, you should determine the amount needed to start the project. The minimum threshold, taking into account the purchase of equipment, will be 300 thousand rubles, but it is recommended to calculate it yourself in accordance with the business plan.

Paperwork

You cannot start a business without documents; this may result in a fine, so first of all we legalize our project. You can register an organization as an individual entrepreneur or as an LLC - in the first case, the business can have only one owner, but the process of accounting and paying taxes is simplified. If there are 2 or more owners, you will have to register an LLC. Depending on this, the OKVED code is selected.

It will take 5 days for the tax document to be verified.

It remains to decide on the type of taxation. It is recommended to choose a simplified form. You need to switch to it immediately after registration. To do this you will need to write an application.

Also, to start activities, it is necessary to obtain permission from Rospotrebnadzor and Gospozhnadzor and register with the Pension Fund.

You don't have to do the paperwork yourself, but be prepared to double the cost if the paperwork is outsourced. Registration costs will range from 5 to 15 thousand rubles.

Selecting a room

When choosing a place where a workshop or studio will be located, it is advisable to be guided by the following factors:

• It is most advantageous to locate an atelier in a residential area or a large shopping center (where clothing predominates), and in the first case it will be focused more on tailoring, while in the second, people will be more inclined to seek minor repairs and adjustments; although this is a great way to attract more clients, you need to consider the higher cost of rent;
• location on the first or basement floor of buildings - accessibility is an important factor; the need to climb up the stairs will lead to the loss of potential clients, especially at first;
• the entrance should be in plain sight, preferably from the city side, where there are many passers-by;
• It should be possible to park a car near the studio;
• installing a medium or large sign should not be a problem;
• area from 10 m2;
• availability of electricity and toilet.

It is also necessary to equip the room so that it complies with all official standards, but at the same time looks neat, clean and, if possible, stylish. If the building or room is old, it is recommended to make cosmetic repairs there, hang mirrors, place furniture and take care of good lighting. This way, customers will be able to examine in detail the quality of the clothing offered.

The impression of the place is very important as it will influence the customer's choice. It is unlikely that he will want to return to a dark and dirty room where scraps of fabric and accessories are lying around. “They greet you by their clothes,” and the overall impression forms the image of the atelier.

Recruitment

How many employees you will need to start a business depends on whether you want to open a small repair shop or a large, wide-profile studio. In the first case, it will be enough to hire a repairman and an administrator (at first, his role can be performed by the business owner). The second will require a more powerful team - a cutter, a general tailor, a seamstress, a repairman and an administrator. If in the first case it will take 50-60 thousand rubles to pay salaries monthly, then in the second it will increase to 150-300 thousand. And since from the first days of work it is almost impossible to have a large enough number of clients to cover all business expenses, you need to be prepared for work is in the red for the first few months.

When recruiting employees, it is recommended to give them practical tailoring assignments. This will allow you to clearly check the skills necessary for work, while the presence or absence of a diploma of specialized education is not always an adequate selection criterion.

All business relationships should be documented by drawing up an employment contract, which clearly states the rights and obligations of the parties.

Equipment purchase

You should approach the purchase of sewing and hemming machines, overlockers, cutting tables and other equipment responsibly. Not a single workshop fully utilizes the functions of existing devices. This fact suggests, firstly, that everything needs to be carefully foreseen, and secondly, that investing money in the most expensive units of famous brands at the first stage is unwise, especially if the start-up capital of the business is limited.

A must-have for a wide-profile studio:

• straight-through lockstitch machine and accessories for it: needles, fabrics, shuttles, oil and bobbins;
• Double feed lockstitch machine;
• overlocker (preferably high-speed);
• blind stitch hemming sewing machine;
• loop machine;
• button machine;
• steam generator and ironing board;
• desk and chairs;
• full-length mirror, screen - for the fitting room;
• accessories and auxiliary devices (scissors, rulers, stationery);
• cash register (you can save money by purchasing forms with continuous numbering).

For a narrow profile atelier or a clothing repair shop, you can shorten the list of equipment.

You should not neglect the opportunity to buy some used devices if they are in working condition and such an opportunity arises. In this case, even if you buy a full list of the listed devices, you can spend 400-500 thousand. You can quickly open a studio.

Choosing a room to open a clothing tailoring or repair shop

One of the most important issues in a business plan for opening a studio with calculations is the correct choice of premises. As a rule, it is recommended to open such salons in shopping centers or on the first floors of residential buildings. Remember that the place should be very walkable - especially if you plan to specialize in the repair of clothing or fur products. Let's look at each option in more detail:

1. Shopping mall. When choosing the specifics of your activity, focus on repairing and adjusting clothes - a client can purchase an item in one of the local stores and immediately contact you to have it hemmed to fit. An excellent service option would be an urgent fit. The disadvantage that you may encounter is that the rent is quite high.
2. First floor of a residential building. A good option for a full-fledged tailoring studio and developing your own models. You may prefer a large room, since the cost of renting it will be quite low.

It is also possible to combine the two presented options - in this case, the point for receiving and issuing orders will be located in a shopping center, and the direct production will be in a residential area. However, this option is recommended for those companies that have already acquired their own client base.

Now let’s look at the basic requirements that a room must have:

• The minimum area of ​​the establishment is 30 square meters. Each employee should have 4-7 square meters of space for comfortable work. You will also need space for a reception area, utility room, warehouse, fitting room;
• The key attention should be focused on the design of seamstresses' workplaces. First of all, it is important to organize a high-quality lighting system - it must fully meet the requirements of SanPiN 2.2.1-2.1.1.1278-03. There must be access to a 380 V network for efficient operation of sewing equipment;
• the room must have a high-quality ventilation system. The walls are finished using high-quality washable material. The floor should also be finished with a material that is easy to clean. It is not recommended to give preference to carpeting - it is very difficult to remove sewing waste from it.

Be prepared for the fact that you will need to carry out repairs in the selected premises in order for it to fully comply with the required standards.

Drawing up a financial plan

A financial plan will allow you to roughly calculate the time it will take for your business to break even. To compile it, you need to calculate the costs of opening it and regular expenses.

Next, you need to calculate the business income. This is done based on the average cost of a tailoring order and the average number of customers per day. For example, a clothing repair shop can process about 20 orders per day with an average cost of 500 rubles. For a tailoring studio, the number of clients will be several times smaller, for example 5 people per day, but the average cost of 1 order will also increase. We calculate how much we can earn within a month, after which we subtract from this amount the amount of monthly expenses, including contributions to the pension fund and tax collection. The remaining figure will be an indicator of monthly income.

The costs of the first month (rent, salaries, fees and charges, purchase of consumables) should also be added to the costs of the initial period, since they were incurred before the first profit was received.

To find out the payback, you need to divide the total costs by the monthly income. An indicator of 6-10 months for such a business is considered normal, but if the studio pays for itself in more than a year, this is an unhealthy sign.

Despite the fact that today it is very easy to download a ready-made business plan for a sewing studio for the production of clothing, we recommend that you draw it up yourself or calculate it by substituting your own indicators.

Fact #3: Assortment

The website of a good studio will definitely have examples of work. Even a non-professional will be able to form a subjective opinion, if not about the quality of the products, then about the taste of the craftsmen working in the studio.

The quality of photographs plays an important role - after all, ateliers that are proud of their work allow you to examine the clothes they sew in the smallest detail.

It’s good if in one place you can sew not only a suit, but also a shirt to go with it and even shoes! This total look should be cheaper than if you ordered things separately from different places.

Advertising company

During the first time after opening the studio, you should pay close attention to good advertising. You should not save on this, since subsequently all costs will pay off, provided that the business is run correctly.

In the sewing business, competition is always quite high, and then it’s not easy to build a customer base. You should use all available methods for this:

• leaflets;
• advertising in the media;
• social media;
• invitations;
• advertising in large shopping centers.

Thus, the question of how to open a profitable clothing tailoring and repair shop is not so difficult, but for the success of the enterprise it is necessary to constantly improve and learn new things - both in the sewing business and in business and not to forget that the main thing is people, not clothes .

Additional Information

Support provided

• Services are provided for initial training and familiarization with the work of existing enterprises.
• Assistance is provided in personnel selection and training of newcomers.

Target regions

• No limits.

Requirements for potential franchisees

A potential franchisee must have a commercial premises with a separate entrance and storefronts, and the premises can be owned or long-term leased. The Agile Weaver Studio can also be located in a shopping center if appropriate conditions exist.

The studio should be located near busy streets with convenient access conditions. A ventilation system and electrical power of no less than 4 and no more than 6 kW are required. The franchisee's own working capital must not be less than $20,000, and he must comply with the terms of the agreement and be financially disciplined.