Part-Time Business Requires Full-Time Effort

Part-time decorating takes persistence and prioritizing … and, at times, more than 35-hour workweeks.
December 01, 2006

Operating a part-time decorating business has its obvious advantages: choosing your own hours, prioritizing production schedules with other responsibilities and taking a Monday off here and there (to name a few). But, while a less-than-35-hour workweek can offer flexibility, it also can be overwhelming. Many part-time embroiderers and screen printers are logging late production hours after their 9 a.m.-to-5 p.m., Monday-through-Friday jobs. Full-time parents-turned-part-time decorators balance carpooling and laundry with purchase orders and thread shopping. While a part-time entrepreneurship may not mandate 35 hours a week, several decorators agree it often takes full-time effort to keep their businesses afloat.

THE BALANCING ACT

"It's hard balancing it with other responsibilities," says Mary Pat Marzoli of her home-based business Monograms, located in Basking Ridge, N.J. "It could be more structured and I could set up a logical schedule." But being a full-time mom doesn't allow her to be completely organized and scheduled. "There's always interruptions," she explains. While there are days when Marzoli doesn't put any hours into her embroidery and monogramming business, she says there are others when she works from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"Time management is always a challenge," says Barry Stallard, owner of Firehouse Fashions and fire captain for the San Jose fire department. "The biggest thing is juggling [the business] around my career and family."

Stallard outsources his company's printing and embroidery to local businesses. "My forte is selling," he says. He puts in part-time hours meeting with potential clients, sending out fliers, inputting orders and making deliveries. Balancing his position as fire captain with his side business, Stallard says he "can't do as much as the [decorated apparel] industry will allow me to do."






FULL-TIME EFFORT

Startup part-timers may find themselves with more downtime in the beginning, but as word spreads and their business's reputation gains favorable light, some decorators put in full-time hours to keep up with the influx of orders. "Sometimes you'll go for eight, nine or 10 hours," says Charo Tobian, co-owner of Fur Brained Ideas, Fenton, Mich. "We've really grown fast for what we were expecting," she says of her three-year-old embroidery and heat transfer business. "I thought it would remain part-time, but it's become more full-time."

Tobian completes all digitizing requests, applies heat transfers and updates Fur Brained Ideas' Web site in addition to her full-time position as a business analyst. "I have to do my real, paying job first," she says. "Then I can focus on the fun stuff."

"The fun stuff" is what attracts hobbyists to the idea of a part-time business. Tobian and her business partner, Candice Petty, enjoy the creative aspect of their business, and hope it will become full-time in the future. Marzoli, who sewed her first dress at age 7, emphasizes that while she enjoys embroidery, it is now her business — not just a hobby. "I had to learn how to run a business," she says. "I had to get a tax ID number and learn how to do sales tax and order products."

TAKING THE PLUNGE

While some part-timers hope to go full-time, others have no intention of expanding their hours. "The minute this turns into blood, sweat and tears, I don't want to do it anymore," Marzoli says. "I [started this business] to bring in a little extra money and to enjoy [it]. I don't want to be doing 1,000 shirts a week and having my head spin."

Full-time occupations offer benefit packages that part-time entrepreneurships can't, which is another reason part-timers are hesitant to rely solely on their decorated apparel businesses. For Stallard, running Firehouse Fashions full-time is not an option because he has 10 more years in the fire service before he's eligible to retire. "[The fire service] is my bread and butter," says Stallard. "It pays for all of my benefits." And with health insurance costs rated as a top concern by 31% of decorators surveyed for the 2006 IMPRESSIONS/EMB Decorated Apparel Universe Study, it's no wonder part-timers aren't ready to take the full-time plunge.

Another restraint from going full-time is income. While only 27.4% of decorators indicate they are part-time, nearly 57% of low-volume decorators (those with sales of less than $100,000 a year) fall into the part-time sector. "Income is holding us back from going full-time," says Petty, who originally ventured into business with Tobian to help build profit for animal rescue organizations. "There's all the overhead costs, and payments [for our equipment]. The company doesn't pay me enough to pursue it full-time."

PART-TIME PAYCHECK

Part-time business can be expensive, especially during the start-up phase. "When you're a startup company, initial cost is a big deal," Petty says. "Honestly, it's a struggle just with time. Billing requires a lot of time."

Putting in the hours to run the production and accounting aspects doesn't leave much time for marketing. Plus, with equipment and supply costs racking up, many part-time decorators find it hard to set aside advertising expenses. "If we could hire someone, it would definitely be for a marketing and advertising [position]," Petty adds.

Without an advertising budget and the time to market door-to-door, part-timers find it difficult to boost business. "We're not able to head out and recruit sales," says Petty. "We're dependent on sales coming to us."

Plus, forking out the money for advertising can be risky. "Advertising and marketing is so expensive," says Mikki Shepherd, now full-time at Drifters Custom, Rantoul, Ill. "You can try one thing, and [if] it doesn't work, you're still paying for it." Marzoli says advertising has been a real eye-opener for her. "I sent out 150 postcards, and not one person called me," she says. "I even put magnets on my car, and haven't gotten one call from that."

Advertising isn't the only budget part-timers lack. "We'd like to go to the industry's trade shows," Tobian says. "But it's tough for part-timers to come up with travel expenses." With such little time available in her busy schedule, Tobian says it's hard to take the time off to visit trade shows and learn more about the industry. "For now, we look online for [business] advice."

Snapshot:
Revenue: $82,863

Net Profit Margin: 19.6%

No. Full-time Employees: 1.9

Revenue/Employee: $44,307

No. Embroidery Heads: 3.0*

Revenue/Head: $27,869*

No. Screen Printing Machines: 1.6*

Revenue/Machine: $52,780*

Years in Business: 8.3*