Starting a business in a rural area

jkisom · December 10th, 2010, 05:29 PM

My husband and I live in rural New Mexico and love it. We are both currently employed, but would like to start a business that we can operate in the country, preferably from home and that we can do full time when we retire. We are researching the embroidery industry as a possibility, but are wondering about the challenges of operating in a rural area. Any advice? We are both 'net savvy and have experience selling via the 'net, building websites and maintaining websites, and using social networking for marketing and we have good Internet access even though we are in the sticks. Is it realistic to operate a business like this in a virtual store front? We would also be networking locally, but want a business that can go beyond brick and mortar. Thanks!!

Fattyonamoped · December 10th, 2010, 07:47 PM

Take the business to them....

Custom Embroidery Trailer Mobile Business For Sale

SunEmbroidery · December 12th, 2010, 10:00 PM

My business is 98% internet. I started locally (I live in a costal resort area where business is seasonal) but found it much easier and profitable to get customers on the internet. Initially I did a lot of local marketing (chambers of commerce, BNI, advertising) but that was costly and time-consuming to maintain and didn't result in many customers. One of the problems I encountered was that many local business owners (plummers, carpenters) weren't web savvy and for them providing artwork meant dropping off a worn shirt that was previously printed by another decorator or asking me to "just design something" but not wanting to pay for artwork. With internet customers I receive clean vector files. Another issue was payment. I tried collecting a deposit for most local customers but sometimes didn't because it was too much hassle but then I had a couple of people back out of orders after I had already started their artwork. I've also received bad checks from local people and had trouble collecting payment from others. In comparison, payment from online customers has never been a problem because I require full payment upfront. For me, doing business on the web is much more profitable and problem-free.

EnMartian · December 14th, 2010, 12:27 PM

If you can design a good website and you understand how to market it, you have a shot at building a decent business. You would also have to find a good supplier of garments, as that will be one issue. Another thing to consider might be adding sublimation to your business as well, as this would allow you to sell more items than garments.

The nice thing about the internet is that it doesn't matter where you are located. If you have a reliable internet connection and a good web host, you can start and run a business from almost anywhere.

SunEmbroidery · December 19th, 2010, 09:17 PM

If you decide to cater to local customers and don't have a storefront you'll have to choose where you can meet. If in your home are you okay with strangers coming to your home? Will people travel to it if you're in the sticks? What hours will you set? How will you handle customers who show up during non business hours? How will you handle proofing? will it be in person or sent digitially? What if your customer doesn't have email or they don't know how to view an attachment? How will you handle customer provided items? Rush jobs? Will you be expected to deliver jobs? If you deliver and expect to receive payment and they forget the check do you deliver without payment or make a second delivery?

Web Star · January 10th, 2011, 05:35 PM

No business is too small or too rural as long as you have internet.
You said the business location is preferably from home in the country.
Online business is the perfect choice. You maybe want to consider starting
a business that you can order blanks for customers instead of applying
embroidery on items from customer. Because asking customers to send you
their items will be unrealistic.

We can help you with all your digitizing needs if you do open an online store.
Please feel free to visit us at http://www.webstar88.com
We wish you all the best!!

DigitizingService.com · January 18th, 2011, 07:16 PM

We operate our business in a rural area out of our home. In my previous experience, I worked for a large internet-based embroidery company. They were based in a rather large town and actually discouraged walk-in traffic. We used Adwords extensively to acquire new customers, sometimes spending $3-5/click for terms with high conversion rates.

Acquiring new customers on the Internet with Adwords advertising is expensive and you must be able to convert clicks to customers. Once the customer places the first order, if you can deliver a quality product, make a profit and continue to promote your business to them, re-orders will make up for the cost to acquire the customer over time.

DesignerIQ · October 23rd, 2011, 01:25 PM

It's totally feasible if you have experience in internet marketing. You can advertise your work and gain customers. Best of luck!