People constantly need new clothes, so the business of manufacturing and repairing them can be a very lucrative idea. But, as in any other business, this has its own subtleties and secrets. Let's try to figure them out.
Features of the sewing business
Opening an atelier for sewing and repairing clothes, you should not wait for quick profits. At first, the income will go to buy the necessary equipment, because acquiring everything at once is quite expensive. Costs also depend on whether you will rent or purchase a room.
One way or another, the investment should be serious enough. The average business plan of a sewing atelier for a small business suggests that the establishment will pay off in a year. If you plan to deal only with repair, starting a business will be much cheaper. In this case, the room may be smaller, and only a couple of sewing machines will be needed from the equipment.
Opening an atelier is a little more difficult, because it requires more employees and special devices. In general, a stable income can be expected from a sewing workshop of any format, even if its level will not be very high.
Format selection
Before starting work, it is worth determining how wide the profile of the institution will be. At the initial stage, you can deal exclusively with repair, but in the long run it is not too cost-effective. Therefore, it is worth immediately deciding whether your company will be narrowly specialized or if you plan to cover a wide range of services. In the first case, you will need to try to achieve maximum quality in a particular area, for example, in sewing wedding dresses.
The second will require more special equipment and staff. The best solution would be a combination of several types of services, for example, clothing repair, sewing accessories and outerwear. An experienced seamstress in the studio should be a universal specialist in order to, if necessary, work on any order.
Paper questions
Once the atelier format has been selected, it is worth doing paperwork. You need to start with the definition of the legal form, and then purchase or rent a room, where you can register officially. It is important to decide in advance whether you are planning to open an IP or LLC.
For an atelier for tailoring and repairing clothes, the first option is more appropriate, it will be easier to keep tax reporting and accounting calculations. When choosing a direction of activity, indicate a mixed direction indicating such items as the provision of personal services to the population, the production of clothing from textiles, the repair of household goods and personal items. It is also necessary to register with a pension fund, obtain a work permit from the fire department.
Seat selection
One of the important initial stages is the selection of premises. For the first time, it is best to rent a suitable territory, and in the future it will be possible to purchase it. Choosing a place is best where there are constant flows of people. For example, you can rent a point in a shopping center.
Still good options would be an atelier for making and repairing clothes in a sleeping area or a workshop near a specialized fabric store. It is also good when there are household services nearby, for example, for the manufacture of keys. This increases the likelihood that the client will go on the way there and to you. To begin with, a room of up to twenty square meters will be enough.Try to find a place with the optimal ratio of the number of visitors and the amount of rent.
Equipment purchase
The range of special tools and machines for tailoring is simply huge. Acquiring everything at once does not make much sense, it is better to buy only the most necessary. To get started, you will need a professional model sewing machine that performs various operations, an overlock with which edges and seams are processed, a sewing machine needed to process the bottom of skirts and trousers, a good steam iron for an atelier and an ironing board, a cutting table.
In addition, you need accessories such as special scissors and spreaders, needles, rulers, threads, measuring tapes and thimbles. It will also require a dressing room for the studio. When choosing equipment, try to acquire new and reliable models. After buying used devices, you will have to spend money on debugging and repairing them.
Furniture and interior details
In addition to sewing equipment, before you open a clothing repair studio, you need to purchase furnishings for him. 
The cozy atmosphere will not do without good lighting and places for expecting customers, the administrator will also need a workplace.
Pay attention to the quality of lamps and ceiling lights - in a dim light it is unpleasant and difficult to work. Furniture for a sewing studio should be as comfortable as possible, this also applies to sewing tables and sofas for visitors. The dressing room should have mannequins and hangers on which clothes will be displayed.
In addition, a certain number of fire extinguishers will be required. To find out how many of them are needed, you need to find out in the fire safety service. Before you begin, you will also need special forms for receipts or a cash register that will print checks. To receive money for their services without documentary evidence of their provision is illegal, such activities are punishable by fines.
Recruiting
Even a carefully thought-out business plan for a sewing atelier for a small business can be useless if you choose the wrong personnel.
The success of the enterprise to a large extent depends on the level of the masters who work in it, so experience and skill level are of great importance. Pay attention to recommendations from the previous place of work.
However, newcomers can also turn out to be very good employees, so you can recruit employees by posting job advertisements in specialized colleges. The optimal solution is to establish a trial period, so you can surely make sure that the selected seamstress really cope with the tasks. For the initial stage, two workers will be enough.
Set the minimum salary for employees, which will be unchanged, and add to it the monthly surcharge, which will be determined by the percentage of the studio's revenue. If things go well, the staff can be expanded along with the number of services provided in the workshop.
Place advertisement
So that the opening does not go unnoticed, start promoting the workshop even before it opens. Distribute leaflets in the mailboxes of the nearest homes in your area, and leave business cards in clothing and fabric stores. If your business plan for a sewing atelier for small businesses involves such costs, pay for the messages in newspapers or on television.
Look for specialized sites about tailoring and arrange with their owners about advertising. Make a partnership with your nearest laundry or shoe repair shop. Mutual advertising in such institutions is quite effective and costs extremely budget. Such a set of actions will allow you to start activities without downtime in anticipation of customers, as people will already be informed about your establishment.
On the opening day, you can coincide with any advertising event to attract maximum visitors to the studio. For example, give first customers discounts or offer free tailoring of a children's dress when ordering clothing for adults. Such a move will surely provide an influx of customers, and then word of mouth will already work for you.
Opening of the institution
When compiling a business plan for a sewing atelier for small businesses, set aside part of the cost of designing attention-grabbing signs and posters in the nearest streets. 
Before starting work, consider the length of the working day.
Most often, such establishments are open from 9 am to 8 pm so that visitors can enter on the way home from work. This schedule allows you to take about ten orders daily. In different seasons, the figure may change, as some months are characterized by falling demand.
So that at such moments the institution does not go into minus, try to advertise it more actively. If buyers from the nearest clothing stores will be sent to fit you specifically to you, the flow of orders will not run out throughout the year. If things go smoothly, the business plan of a sewing atelier for a small business suggests that the establishment will pay off in twelve to eighteen months.
