| Saving time and money most likely rank within the top | | | | just $12. When you sell your produce for $32, your |
| 10 items of your permanent to-do list as a Work at | | | | profit is $20. You have more than doubled your profit |
| Home Mom or Dad. You created your own site design | | | | for that item! |
| -- or found a low-cost designer to do it for you. You | | | | Another way to look at this is, with the retail fabric, you |
| also filed your own sole proprietor paper work, and | | | | are making $4 of profit per yard. You purchased 25 |
| possibly even requested your own tax-ID number. And | | | | yards, so your profit for that fabric purchase is $100. |
| working at home has saved you tons of money in | | | | With the wholesale fabric, you are making a profit of |
| rental fees, utilities and more. | | | | $10 per yard. For the 100 yards of fabric you |
| Despite the low overhead, you still have expenses | | | | purchased, your total profit is $1,000. Wow! |
| each month. As a manufacturer of baby slings, cloth | | | | Now, that's no so much of a downside when you look |
| diapers, quilts or other crafts, one of your main | | | | at it. |
| expenses is fabric. | | | | Finding Fabric Wholesalers Is Tough Work |
| With Profit Margins Already Slim, You Need All The | | | | 2. Where in the world do you buy fabric at wholesale? |
| Savings You Can Get | | | | I've seen this question asked over and over again at |
| Wouldn't it be great if you could save some money on | | | | WAHM message boards. The most common answer |
| fabric as well? Profit margins are already razor-thin in | | | | is the call the manufacturers of the fabrics you are |
| the WAHM world, so even the smallest increase could | | | | interested in purchasing. |
| give you some breathing room. | | | | Typically, the retailers you purchase the fabric from |
| If you are currently buying your fabric at retail prices, | | | | are very protective of their wholesale sources, so you |
| purchasing at wholesale can save you a bundle in the | | | | may not have any luck asking. Often though, you can |
| long run. | | | | look at the ends of the fabric bolt itself to see the |
| Sounds great! | | | | name. Some fabrics have the information printed onto |
| However, there are a couple of downsides. | | | | an unfinished edge of the fabric. On solid color fabric, |
| Don't Let Minimum Order Requirements Deter You | | | | denim and others, the manufacturer information may |
| 1. Many wholesalers require you to order a minimum | | | | be hard to find. |
| amount up front. While this will make your initial costs | | | | You can also use a search engine in order to find |
| higher, you will save in the long run. For example, let's | | | | wholesale fabric lists. However, be careful to research |
| say that you normally buy 25 yards of your favorite | | | | the company to find out about the fabric quality, |
| fabric for $252. Your wholesaler requires you to | | | | turnaround time from the time you place the order until |
| purchase 100 yards, which will cost $600. Ouch, right? | | | | it is shipped and the level of customer service they |
| Think of it this way though: At retail value, the fabric is | | | | provide. Research can include using search engines to |
| $12 per yard. When you sew your sling, you use 2 | | | | find reviews or forum discussions about the company, |
| yards of fabric. So, you're spending $24 per sling, | | | | asking fellow work at home moms and searching |
| which you then sale for $32. Your profit, not counting | | | | messages boards or resource websites that you are |
| the thread used or other business expenses: $8. | | | | a member of for comments on the company. |
| Now, let's say you went out and purchased the | | | | Finding wholesale fabric for your business maybe a |
| wholesale fabric for $600. You make your sling, using | | | | tough job -- but in terms of saving money, it will be well |
| 2 yards of fabric. Only now, those two yards cost you | | | | worth it in the long run. |