A Sewing Business -
Share the Passion!

I am Lynne Woods, the owner of a sewing business called Kalico Fabric. I do lots of sewing, and also knit, crochet, quilt, weave, spin, felt, embroider and dye. I am an avid fabric and fiber enthusiast. I live among the oak trees in Central California with my husband of 30 years and two cats, Harry and Nimbus.

Like many crafters, I buy too many craft books and have a huge fondness for fabric and yarns. I love workshops that teach me new skills or help me try out new ways of creating things. I now have two big rooms for my sewing and craft stash and equipment.

So, how did I learn about all those fiber arts? My fiber adventures began at age 7. I remember begging my mother to let me help sew the stuffed animals that she and my older sister were making for a toy drive. My mom was using her Singer machine (which I still have, by the way), to stitch up cotton animal shapes. She let me help with the stuffing, and I got to keep one of the toys that didn't turn out very well. I loved that misshapen little animal, and my needle and thread fixed him on a regular basis.

At age 8, I was intrigued by some yarn and knitting needles in a closet, and asked my mom to show me how to use them. She said she hadn't really learned how. So she bought me a little booklet "Learn to knit and crochet" (yep, I still have that too), and I taught myself to knit. Crochet came next, from the same book.

By the age of about 13, I was sewing my own clothes too. I was passionate about fashion, and spent every spare moment making garments, still using my mom's old Singer. As a middle school graduation gift, I received a new Kenmore sewing machine (which, you guessed it, is still being used by my oldest daughter).

In the late 60's, I graduated from high school and enrolled in college, as was expected of a teachers daughter. But, I never went to classes, preferring to work instead. (As a former high school counselor, my students loved that story!)

When my parents found out I had flunked out of college, my dad went and found a college that he thought I would love. He was so right! I gladly drove an hour each way to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising(FIDM). I loved my classes, and earned a fashion merchandising degree.

But then, life got in the way. I married, divorced, and married again - all the while never using my fashion degree to get a job doing what I loved. I graduated from a 4-year college to be more marketable, raised two daughters, (and got to sew their clothes), learned to weave and spin, and worked full time.

For 30 years I spent my weekends pursuing every type of fiber craft - taking as many workshops and classes as possible to scratch my creative itch. My dream - to have my own sewing business - doing something I was passionate about! Craft shows, sewing and weaving demos, teaching sewing, trying to sell yarn and looms were all part time business activities.

In the early days of the internet, I decided to try and sell yarn and weaving looms on my own website. Using a free program, I designed and posted my own website, which produced an occasional sale. But certainly not enough to make a profit!

Years later, I finally took the plunge to follow my passion. I enrolled in a Women's Business start up class, wrote a business plan for a real sewing business, then quit my full time job. I was living on my savings, but the fabric sales and teaching at my shop were not enough to make my well planned sewing business profitable. I decided it was time to build another website to spread the word.

I began my research for a web host and the best program to use to build my own. I knew that I had to write all the content, so I didn't want to pay someone else to build one for me. One day, I came across a video on the web that was to change everything.

In the video there was a woman, just like me, who was trying to make a living following her passion. She talked about how she used a website called Site Build It, and was living her dream of a career in crafts. I was intrigued by how honest and real she seemed in the video.

So, I did more research. I went to the link, and read about the philosophy behind the SBI website, other testimonials, and most of all, the case studies from real people. Site Build it wasn't promoting the usual get rich on the internet scheme. They told me, flat out - this is going to be a lot of work. It's not something that I would complete in a day, week, or a month. It was for the long term. They wanted to help me succeed, and would be there every step of the way.

I realized that this would be a good thing for a person like me. Yes, I know the basics of computers, but I knew nothing about html, rankings, or google ads. I'm certainly not a graphic designer, and I didn't know how to post pictures. But SBI told me about the complete step-by-step program, the verbal and written detailed directions, and the forums filled with people who could help me.

Once I took the plunge, I realized that I'd found what I consider to be the best, most thorough, and totally worth the cost business tool that any aspiring online sewing business person could ask for. With SBI, I built my sewing business website step-by-step, and my business grew, little by little.

There's no doubt in my mind that I would have closed up my sewing business and gone back to work full time if I hadn't found Site Build It to help me.

Instead, I'm living my passion. I still work on my sewing business website and answer emails everyday. But,I work my own hours, get to travel to sewing workshops, and talk, every day, with people that are interested in what I love - fibery things!

As a former career counselor, I know how important it is for people to do what they love. I spent years telling students to follow their passion, but didn't do it myself, except as a hobby.

So, now that I have a successful sewing business, I've decided to post the video I first saw when I was looking for a way to make my dream viable. It's here for you to watch, until I learn (thru SBI, of course) how to make my own video and post it instead.

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