WAHM Fuzzies: Punchwork Studios

Kris of Punchwork Studios:

How did you start your business? After getting my Masters Degree, and doing
a lot of research I set my mind to running my own business and applying all
of the things I learned to the business. I learned from trial and error
over the next couple years following that…which is a great thing because
it allowed me to narrow down and focus on what is viable, and enjoyable.

What are your favorite colors? Black and blue. However I did not choose
those for business colors…they are my personal favorite colors. For my
business colors it is toned down and softer to be more visually pleasing and
not harsh on the eye, and Jen at Four Little Ducks did a great job with the
pastel green, tan and teal on my website. I use that same template and colors for business cards too!

When did you open your store? 7/1/2005 was the official date on my business
license. I went online as an additional marketing and shopping tool for
added exposure in 2006. Today I do the bulk of my custom embroidery for
local small business and groups offline and in person; and the bulk of my
embroidery design sales are online because those with an embroidery machine
like to receive their designs right away while shopping online.

What advice would you give to a new WAHM? Educate yourself in the business
world. The best thing I could have done was to get a masters degree. Going
through the process, doing the research papers, the presentations, and
studying other companies really helped! Another thing is to conduct focus
groups or do market research. If you are selling a tangible product, have
samples ready and ask people in your targeted demographics how much they
would be willing to pay for such an item, and ask their opinions on the
appearance and quality of the item, ask if they think the item has staying
power etc. Know what your customers want and their opinions on it. Then if
it is decided it is a viable product, you next need to calculate your costs
to produce the product (or your cost to purchase it wholesale and resell
it), and determine if your price point is suitable.

What is your best selling item? Offline my biggest seller is doing custom
embroidery orders for other small businesses locally and helping them come
up with an identity through embroidered shirts with their logo stitched on
them. On my website my biggest sellers are the embroidery designs.

How has the Shop Kit Plus helped you? The Shop Kit Plus is amazing!
Embroidery and Digitizing is my area…computer programming, shopping carts,
html, etc is not my area. I leave that area up to Watersweb Solutions and
am very pleased! I have learned how to add my own products, put in photos,
add new pages to my website, add attributes to my product pages, modify
categories etc. Once you read the manual, it is very easy to use…when you
want to try something new, and do not know how, the helpdesk is right there
to support you. The best part is the helpdesk! They REALLY help when I do
get stumped. I have never had any problems with SKP, nor the service behind
it. It is wonderful.