Alexis,
I am sorry for re-titling this post, but I am hoping that it will make it
easier to find in the archives one day.
Your questions are ones and several h-costume members in the past have asked
these types of questions over the years. Since you didn't say where you
were located, I will assume you are in the U.S. I remember when Margo
started her pattern business and we discussed it on h-costume in great
detail. You might want to check the archives for Margo's messages. Margo
if you are still on h-costume can you please tell us what year you were
starting your business.
Education:
Textile conservation is a field generally requires a degree. There are
several universities that have a textile program. The programs are in all
kinds of departments now, since the Home Economics title disappeared from
most school catalogs. Maybe do a search for colleges for textile science,
consumer sciences, etc. The schooling for textiles covers chemistry, burn
tests, dyes, etc. I believe the state of North Carolina's universities have
these types of program because of all the textile mills in the state. The
reason you might want a degree in conservation is because of liability.
When someone is wanting something conserved, they will want to see proof of
your education and experience you have. College is also a good way to get
internships in some of the nice conservations labs at museums. If I
remember correctly Colonial Williamsburg wants graduate level students for
internships in their textile conservation labs. BTW, there is a textile
society of America. You might want to write them and ask what you need to
have in education to go into textile conservation. I know in Richmond, VA
we have a local society.
As for the reproduction design business:
You can learn a lot by reading h-costume. Several people are in business
for themselves. You can also learn more in-depth costume history here than
in most university costume history classes. The schools I attended required
three semesters of costume history and two semesters of costume research.
BUT because of a big cut in the funding of university art schools, the
costume history classes are being squeezed into one semester. I have been
listening to professors complain about this for a year or so. If you are
interested in one certain time period to design for, maybe list members can
suggest some good email lists for that specific period. If museums are
available in your area with that period of costumes, ask to visit the
storage areas to research.
Going into business information:
If you want to go into business, I do suggest that you take business
classes. So many people start out in business and do not realize how much
they needed that education until they go belly-up or the IRS is knocking at
their door. You can take business classes at a community college, or the
Small Business Administration (SBA). Either one is a lot cheaper than going
through a university. The SBA will also assign you a business mentor. Even
though the mentor may not have the same kind of business you will have, they
can teach you rules that all businesses have to play by, examples: filing
local, state, and federal taxes, book keeping for these govts., business
licensing, business laws, trademarks, copyrights, self-employment taxes,
etc. You can also learn from the SBA about networking, marketing strategies
and planning, advertising, small business loans, business plans, etc. A
business owners' education is an on-going process, even after being in
business for several years... laws change, the market changes, new
technologies, etc.
Many businesses fail because they didn't have a firm understanding or
education of how to run a business. The majority of businesses do not pull
a profit in the first five years. Profits are re-invested back into the
business. Something to look into, if you are planning a home-based
business, check with your city or county has your home zoned to do so. My
business is run out of my home and is zoned to do so. I know someone else
had a home based business for a year. A neighbor reported her for having the
business out of her home. Then she had to pay big fines to the county and
the govt. shut down her business because her home was in an area that was
not zoned for home-based businesses. Always check and don't assume!
Another good source to look at are business magazines. My favorite business
magazine is Entrepreneur. I have yet to see a fashion/costume business
profiled, but I have learned so much from this magazine. Barnes & Noble has
a nice selection of business magazines. I would call the SBA and ask what
magazines do they suggest for a business. The federal govt. has several
free publications about starting a small business.
Some things to know about owning your own business:
***You never sleep the first few years. The business is on your mind 24
hours a day, especially a costume business. Every one wears clothes! Even
while on vacation, watching TV, a film, etc. you are thinking about
costumes. Overall, most business owners on average work 80 hours a week.
***Except if you have an investor lined up, plan to fund your business with
your own money. Banks are very leery about making loans to start-up small
businesses.
***Keep receipts on everything for the business. Make sure to document on
the back of the receipt, the vendor/store name, what the item is for, the
date of purchase, and sub-total before taxes. The ink on those receipts CAN
fade over time and so can your memory. If you don't have it documented, the
IRS will not count it as an expense.
***Be organized with your records and stay consistent over the years of your
business. I use Microsoft Excel (spreadsheet) to keep all my business
records. If you don't know how to use spreadsheet software, there are lots
of classes at community colleges. Our county school system has adult
education classes for very cheap prices. One class for is Excel for Small
Businesses. I think it cost $60. If you put your records on a computer,
have several backups copies, and paper hard copies.
***Hire a professional company to do your taxes. Get several referrals from
others business owners in your area. Before hiring someone to do your
taxes, have in writing that the tax preparer company will go to IRS meetings
if you are audited. I learned this one the hard way. Many moons ago, I
owned a home-based child care business. A private accountant did my taxes
and verbally promised to go to bat with the IRS if I was audited. Well, I
got audited for one year of taxes. The accountant disappeared! That one
year audit, turned into a three year business audit, and my business owing
$10,000 to the IRS. With my current business, I use a national
tax-preparing business. Every year they hand me a contract with their
signatures, stating that they will go to all IRS audits and interviews, AND
they will pay the difference if there are any mistakes. A very hard lesson
learned. BTW, this scary audit was what encouraged me to go back to college
and take as many business classes as I could. My college professors told
me, you don't have to take the accounting majors classes to be successful in
business. But you do need to know enough accounting that if the
accountant/bookkeeper is cheating you.
I hope this advice helps you with your decision. Best of luck to you!
Penny E. Ladnier
Owner,
The Costume Gallery, www.costumegallery.com
Costume Classroom, www.costumeclassroom.com
Costume Research Library, www.costumelibrary.com
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