How Andrew Snavely Built a Thriving Longarm Quilting Business in Two Years

0:00 All right, so time to get rolling.

0:25 Looks like we have a bunch of people here.

0:28 So Bobby, you want to take it away?

0:29 Yeah, we have joining us today, Andrew Snavely.

0:33 Andrew, we're glad to have you here.

0:36 Thank you.

0:36 So let's start out.

0:38 Tell us, where's home for you?

0:40 Where are you located, Andrew?

0:42 We are located about, I'd say, two hours north of Seattle.

0:49 OK, so you're getting up close to Canada there.

0:52 We are getting close to Canada.

0:54 And how long have you been long arming?

0:58 We have had a long arm for just shy of two years now.

1:03 So we're brand new.

1:07 So did you get your long arm machine specifically

1:11 to run a business?

1:12 Or did that kind of develop?

1:15 We did.

1:15 So when we got the long arm, my husband and business partner,

1:19 he's an enrolled tribal member of MHA Nation in North Dakota.

1:24 And he makes Lone Star quilts and sends them

1:28 back home for ceremonies in the culture.

1:31 But he was hand quilting all of those.

1:33 And he just could not keep up.

1:36 He would come out, and his hands would be kind of balled up.

1:39 And we'd have to open them back up.

1:40 And so we got the long arm.

1:42 Not with a sewing machine or anything, just hand quilting?

1:46 No, no, he was hand quilting.

1:48 You don't see that very much anymore.

1:50 No, no, not very much.

1:52 So we got the long arm in order to kind of keep up

1:55 with that production.

1:56 And shortly after we got the long arm,

1:58 we had somebody just stop by and say, hey,

2:00 would you long arm something for me?

2:01 And then that just kind of became a separate division.

2:04 So I run the long arming operation,

2:07 and he runs the custom quilting operation.

2:10 OK.

2:11 And I'm assuming you have a gamel machine.

2:15 Yep.

2:16 How did you end up choosing to go with a gamel?

2:20 So we were kind of going back and forth.

2:22 We knew we wanted to run it as a business.

2:25 We knew that the machine needed to survive that much use.

2:31 And the name that just kept popping up

2:33 was gamel, gamel, gamel, gamel.

2:36 They said it's a generational machine.

2:38 They're built to last.

2:40 And so that's what we settled on was the gamel Statler Ascend.

2:45 You just went right for the cream of the crop there,

2:47 didn't you?

2:48 We did.

2:50 So I'm curious, just because it went by pretty quick,

2:56 and I'm not sure that I understood it.

2:58 So he's a tribal member, and he had been making quilts.

3:06 And are these a fairly traditional design?

3:10 Yeah, so it's called the Lone Star Quilt.

3:15 Yeah, center star.

3:16 And so he was doing a Baptist fan quilting on them by hand.

3:22 And we just had to keep them.

3:25 That would be at least, what, six months for each one?

3:29 He was able to turn a queen size out in six weeks.

3:32 OK, well, no wonder his hands were all red.

3:37 Yeah, all day.

3:39 OK, yeah.

3:40 OK, that makes a lot of sense to me.

3:43 So tell me about your first customer.

3:46 Do you remember who that was?

3:47 Somebody who realized you had a machine?

3:51 Yeah, it was actually a former employee of mine.

3:53 She had just finished making a memory quilt

3:57 with jersey and t-shirts.

3:59 And I don't remember how we got on the topic of conversation,

4:03 but she was like, oh, could you quilt this for me?

4:06 And we're like, absolutely.

4:09 So that's just kind of how it started.

4:12 And we were like, hey, this is pretty fun.

4:15 Like, I enjoy this.

4:17 I don't, I'd never quilted before.

4:21 Charlie does all the quilting.

4:22 He's been doing it for his whole life.

4:25 But running the machine, running the long arm,

4:27 and doing the designs, and from custom to edge to edge,

4:31 I fell in love with it.

4:32 I love the process.

4:35 So for this memory quilt that you quilted,

4:38 was it you that did the quilting?

4:41 OK.

4:42 Tell me about when she came to pick it up,

4:46 when she first saw it.

4:48 Tell me about how that went.

4:50 Oh, she was ecstatic.

4:51 So her grandfather, I believe it was for her grandfather,

4:57 was into discus as a sport, a main sport.

5:01 And I actually found a pattern, took a while

5:04 to find a pattern of discus, a man throwing a discus.

5:07 And when we found it, and that's what I ended up

5:09 putting on the quilt, and she just loved it.

5:13 Just loved it.

5:14 She was ecstatic.

5:15 And then we bound it for her.

5:17 So when she came to pick it up, it was done.

5:21 A lot of people wouldn't know how to bind it anyway.

5:24 I always have to get somebody to do binding on any quilt for me.

5:29 Our customers like it when we tell them,

5:31 we have binding services.

5:32 And they're like, really?

5:34 Yeah, we'll bind it.

5:35 You drop it off in pieces, and then pick it up,

5:37 and it'll be a full quilt.

5:39 Awesome.

5:42 So when you first started this long-arming part

5:46 of your business, at the time, did you

5:52 have a feeling of what kind of customer base

5:55 you would have out there?

5:58 Was there enough business available in your area

6:02 to support that?

6:04 Like I said, when we started, it was originally

6:05 just to support the Star Quilts.

6:07 And so we hadn't really put much thought

6:10 into long-arming for customers.

6:13 When we decided we were going to take a look at that

6:16 and see if it would support its own operation,

6:21 yeah, when we started pulling up the quilt guilds in the area,

6:24 the quilting shows, I'm 20 minutes from the La Conner

6:29 Quilt Museum.

6:31 So we saw very quickly that there's

6:34 a prolific amount of quilters in our area.

6:37 So do one or both of you have other jobs

6:41 besides your work from home?

6:43 Or are you strictly self-employed?

6:47 We are strictly self-employed.

6:49 So besides our quilting operation,

6:50 we also run an urban farm.

6:53 Which I was checking out your website earlier.

6:56 Before we get to the end, I'll make sure

6:57 that we give people the website address.

7:00 I don't think they're going to be ordering boxes of tomatoes,

7:03 probably.

7:03 No, I don't think so.

7:05 But I thought I really enjoyed looking at your website.

7:08 I thought it was nice.

7:09 Thank you.

7:09 Vegetable slash quilting business.

7:12 Yes.

7:14 So I'm going to skip over one of the questions

7:18 as to whether you have the same machine today,

7:20 because you just got it less than two years ago.

7:22 I would hope so.

7:25 How did you find your customers?

7:27 The first one kind of fell in your lap.

7:28 It was somebody you already knew.

7:30 It did.

7:31 Yeah, the first one fell in our lap.

7:32 And then we started making some business cards

7:36 and just trying to spread the word.

7:38 So we went to like Joann Fabric and the different fabric

7:41 stores and just putting our cards on their pegboards.

7:47 And then we started talking with some

7:50 of the smaller individualized shop owners

7:52 and leaving cards and brochures and kind of partnering

7:56 with them to get our name out there,

8:01 but also to set up a drop-off location, drop-off and pick-up

8:04 location.

8:06 And a lot of our customers enjoyed that.

8:09 So instead of having to drive here to meet with us

8:12 or mail them in and wait for us to get the quilt top,

8:15 they can go to their local fabric store

8:18 and drop off a quilt. And they reach out to us and say,

8:20 hey, you have a quilt?

8:22 Then we drive up and pick it up.

8:23 And it's much more comfortable for them.

8:25 Pick up a little yardage while you're there.

8:28 Yeah.

8:31 What kind of arrangement do you have with the fabric stores?

8:35 Or is it different for each one?

8:37 It's different for each one.

8:38 So we have there's one here on the island.

8:43 And honestly, we lived here for almost 10 years

8:46 and didn't even know it existed.

8:47 And then somebody told us about it.

8:49 And we went out there and talked with them.

8:51 It's family run.

8:53 And so we left some cards with them.

8:55 And then kind of in turn, we advertise for them as well.

9:00 So if people are looking for wide back backings,

9:03 we'll just send them out towards the island

9:05 because it's less than 10 minutes from us.

9:08 And so and here in town,

9:10 we don't have a fabric store or a quilting store in town.

9:14 So they have to leave the area in order to get them.

9:18 So it was a good partnership with them.

9:22 Yeah. Well, I think small businesses in a lot of ways,

9:26 we're inclined to stick together.

9:28 Right.

9:29 Because I mean, everybody knows where Walmart is.

9:32 You don't have to.

9:32 Right.

9:35 Well, Andrew, do you have an estimate

9:40 about how many hours per week

9:42 that you spend actually doing the quilting?

9:45 That part of the business?

9:47 Yeah, with the exception of our guild days.

9:50 And that usually falls within a couple of days.

9:52 I'm in the studio full time.

9:55 So eight to 10 hours a day.

9:59 So how many quilts per month does that represent?

10:05 I think that varies depending on what quilts.

10:08 I try to limit the amount of custom quilts I do

10:10 because of the length of time that it takes.

10:16 So we do a lot of edge to edge border work.

10:19 I do custom, but I try to limit the number per month.

10:22 But I know since we've had the machine,

10:25 we've done over 600 quilts.

10:27 Mm-hmm.

10:28 Wow, that's pretty impressive.

10:29 That is.

10:31 Busy.

10:32 Yeah.

10:34 And so, Dee, would you say you do 90% edge to edge or?

10:40 Yeah, I'd say 90% edge to edge,

10:43 maybe 5% semi-custom and 5% fully custom.

10:48 Okay.

10:49 And do you charge by the hour or by the square inch?

10:54 How does that work for you?

10:55 For edge to edge, we charge by the square inch.

10:58 And then for custom, I charge by the hour.

11:02 What is the square inch rate going for on edge to edge?

11:06 It's gotta be higher there than in the middle of the country

11:10 because your expenses are higher.

11:12 Yeah, so we start at 3 cents per square inch

11:15 for edge to edge,

11:17 but that includes your batting and your thread.

11:20 Gotcha, okay.

11:22 Yeah.

11:24 Very good.

11:25 And at your shop, do you also,

11:30 you provide all the batting and wide back fabrics

11:35 and things like that?

11:37 So I do have, we keep a supply of fabrics

11:41 in the piecing shop.

11:43 Not a lot to sell, mostly for our custom quilts.

11:48 We do sell our fabrics for backing,

11:51 but I don't carry any extra whites.

11:53 So the wide backs, I'll piece a backing for a customer,

11:57 but we don't usually carry the wide backs.

11:59 And then we do carry batting for sale.

12:03 Gotcha.

12:04 So, and like you'd indicated before,

12:09 if somebody needs help with binding

12:11 or they don't know how to piece their back or,

12:15 I mean, sometimes I know that a quilt top

12:17 actually has to be taken apart

12:19 before it can be put together.

12:21 Yes.

12:22 So I guess you guys have the skills to do all of that.

12:27 So what's really been the hardest part

12:30 of growing this business?

12:34 Honestly, it's been getting our name out

12:37 and really getting people to come to us.

12:41 It took a while for people to kind of trust us.

12:43 And I was telling you guys a little bit,

12:45 like when we started joining the guilds,

12:48 that was really nice to see

12:50 the quilting communities in our area.

12:52 But both my husband and I are over six feet tall

12:55 and the only men in our guild.

12:57 And so most of the time,

12:59 well, especially at the beginning,

13:01 they're like, ah, do you know where you're at?

13:03 Are you in the right spot?

13:05 Are you lost?

13:07 The NRA meeting is in the next room.

13:09 Right.

13:11 So yeah, once we got to know everybody,

13:14 then more and more of the quilters in the area

13:18 started coming to us, which has been awesome.

13:23 And how long has it been

13:24 since you started getting involved with the guilds?

13:29 We've been involved, we started joining guilds

13:32 and being involved in the guilds beginning of this year.

13:36 And have you noticed, have you had fruit from that?

13:40 Do you notice a difference with being involved?

13:44 Yeah, we've doubled our business load

13:48 just from guild members.

13:51 Do you feel that the guild has been

13:55 the most business rewarding?

14:01 I mean, more than cards

14:04 or whatever else advertising you've done?

14:08 I think for direct clientele,

14:11 the guilds have definitely been,

14:14 it's hard to pinpoint how the cards are doing

14:17 or how word of mouth is doing,

14:21 but definitely the guild seeing them,

14:23 interacting with them,

14:25 and then bringing our quilts,

14:26 our own, the ones that we've made

14:29 to every single quilt show

14:30 and doing show and tell every single quilt show,

14:33 something new so they can see what we do has really helped.

14:39 Yeah, quilters are very visual.

14:41 I mean, that's why we enjoy the quilts

14:44 because we like to look at them.

14:46 Right.

14:47 And so that makes a lot of sense.

14:50 I've always felt like the show and tell

14:52 is really the only important part of the guild meeting.

14:55 Sometimes they've got real boring stuff.

14:58 I mean, they just do.

15:00 Just tell us how you feel.

15:01 Well, I was in a guild meeting one time

15:03 and they were going over the line items in the budget.

15:06 And I was like, oh, please, please.

15:11 And I'd say that the second part of that,

15:14 for your question, the struggle,

15:16 is when the customer brings you a quilt top,

15:20 when you're piecing a quilt,

15:21 most people get an idea of what they want the quilt

15:23 to look like in their head,

15:25 but articulating that idea to a long armor is complicated.

15:30 So trying to pull what they want out,

15:34 what their imagination is telling them

15:37 and make that a reality for them.

15:39 That was a learning curve for me

15:41 to try to understand their artistic eye

15:46 and be able to put that onto their quilt.

15:50 That's a skill that you have had to develop,

15:53 getting out of their mind and imagination.

15:56 Right.

15:57 What they're talking about, yeah.

15:59 I think part of that is interview skills to some degree

16:03 because somebody may say something

16:06 and they think they've communicated it

16:07 and you think you've heard it.

16:10 But unless you ask a clarifying question,

16:13 to really pin it down, it can be...

16:17 I know that there's lots of times

16:18 that people do pick up a quilt

16:20 that's finished from a longarm quilter

16:22 and because they're real nice

16:25 and they don't wanna be offensive,

16:27 they pick it up and they write the check and they leave.

16:31 But in the back of their mind,

16:32 they're thinking,

16:33 this isn't what I thought it was gonna look like.

16:35 Right.

16:36 They'll actually seldom bring it up

16:38 because they kinda know to some degree

16:41 it was their own fault

16:42 for not communicating clearly enough or whatever.

16:45 But I think for you to be really good at your job,

16:48 part of it is quizzing people real hard

16:51 on what their vision really is.

16:55 Yeah, sometimes I feel like I'm interrogating them

16:58 and it's like, I wanna get a real good feeling,

17:01 knowing what their idea was,

17:04 where this quilt is going,

17:05 what its intended purpose is,

17:08 all things that will help me design their quilt out

17:11 the way they want it to be.

17:13 Because I would dread having somebody leave my studio

17:17 and being like, man, he sucks.

17:21 And Andrew, for those who are watching this,

17:25 which a large percentage of them

17:26 are people who are starting businesses,

17:29 do you have any...

17:30 Have you been doing it long enough

17:33 to have any stories of any negative experiences

17:39 or any difficulties in dealing with customers

17:43 or difficult customers?

17:44 He's done 600 quilts.

17:45 He's got a story.

17:47 Yeah, I think the biggest one, for me at least,

17:50 was there's a lot of hobby longarmers in the area

17:57 who charge little to nothing.

17:59 And trying to run a business

18:02 and my prices aren't going to be

18:06 what Mrs. Jones is charging down the street

18:09 who does one quilt a month.

18:12 So that, yeah, I've had a few customers buttheads

18:18 and unfortunately I've had a few just not bring quilts back

18:22 because I can't lower my price

18:26 to what somebody else would charge

18:29 who just does it as a hobby,

18:30 who only charges enough to be able to buy the material

18:33 for the next quilt.

18:36 And I have to pay my mortgage.

18:39 Yeah, but mortgages are pesky things that way.

18:42 Yeah.

18:44 I have a question that is,

18:46 it's one I've not asked anybody on these interviews before,

18:51 but since you've only had your machine a couple of years,

18:55 I wonder if you could tell us,

18:58 I don't know what you're gonna say,

18:59 but I'm just feel like asking the question anyway,

19:02 how hard was it for you to learn to use the machine?

19:07 Well, the software, it feels a lot like CAD system,

19:13 an architectural CAD system,

19:16 kind of a simplified version of that.

19:18 And I, in my previous job, used CAD a lot.

19:22 And so learning the system was not very difficult for me.

19:28 So what were the hard parts though?

19:30 Because obviously, okay, I can see that the software

19:33 would have been a snap for you.

19:36 What were the hard parts?

19:38 The hard parts for me was learning how to manipulate nodes,

19:44 really understanding how to manipulate nodes

19:48 and doing pattern design myself.

19:52 Like sometimes it kind of, the software field

19:56 can feel a little clunky when you're starting out

19:58 making your own patterns.

20:00 But once you get really comfortable with nodes and all the drawing features,

20:06 it's like at one point it just goes click. Now you're doing things though that people who've

20:13 had their machines for 10 years have still never designed a pattern. People who've had

20:18 their machines for 20 years have never designed a pattern. Did you find all of the resources that

20:26 you needed to learn the software just within the software itself? Yeah, so within the software and

20:33 then prior to my machine's arrival, they send you the links to the different videos and the

20:41 educational portals to kind of get familiar with it prior to the machine coming. And the moment

20:47 those links came in, that's all I did is I sat down and I watched all those videos and I read

20:54 the manuals and I had SAM downloaded on my computer and I was playing with it. I was like,

21:01 I'd rather sit on my computer here and play with the software because I can't really break it.

21:06 And then once this came in, I knew what I was doing. So they dropped off the machine, I set it

21:12 up, they walk you through all of the maintenance and basic information and my husband Charles

21:20 comes in when they leave with a quilt top and says, go. And so I had a quilt done for that very first day.

21:27 Fantastic. So for the people watching, it sounds like you think that

21:35 learning, becoming familiarized with the system and the software is kind of important

21:43 maybe before you get the machine even? Well, we give people access to the class two weeks before

21:49 delivery for that very purpose because. And some of them do not even. I know, but if the delivery

21:55 guy shows up and you're already warmed up, then he can basically just basically make sure you're

22:02 not going to do something stupid, like drive it into a ditch. Yeah, no, absolutely. I think,

22:12 I mean, this is a business. So the longer we take to learn the machine, the longer we take to learn

22:19 the software, the longer it's going to take to start turning a profit. And that educating yourself

22:26 is part of the investment that you put into it. Absolutely. I have not stopped learning.

22:32 I mean, like you guys said, I've only had it for a couple of years. Every quilt has kind of taught

22:37 me something new, something different to look at, something different way to approach things.

22:44 So, so who's been your biggest cheerleader? Who's been your support system? And it might be,

22:50 it might be, I don't know, a customer, family. Who's, who's been behind you?

22:59 So my husband. So he's, if I don't have a customer quilts on the machine, he's usually

23:06 running from the piecing machine going, I have another one. I have another one. I have another

23:10 one. So we kind of support each other that way. And my, my family has been great. And especially

23:16 now that we're in the guilds and we're interacting with the community and they've opened up and kind

23:24 of let us in, that's, that's been a reward itself is to really, you know, be part of the quilting

23:32 community. In fact, we'll be at our very first quilt show this, this coming week.

23:39 Yeah. It'll, a little nerve wracking having something on display, but.

23:44 In those, in those guilds, in those quilter groups, you meet some of the kindest people.

23:50 I mean, some of the best people are there. And also there's always that one lady and

23:55 you wonder who let her in the club. You know what I mean? You better.

23:59 Yep. I think, I think each guild has that one lady, but at the same time, each guild has that

24:06 one, one lady that feels like your grandma and she brings treats and she gives you a big hug

24:11 every time. And I love that too. But even the mean ones can teach you something.

24:20 So, so tell me about the, this being a business owner and running this long arm quilting business.

24:29 And now that you have control over your schedule and control over your income, what, what has that

24:36 meant to you in your life? I love that. I mean, being your own boss and setting,

24:42 setting your own schedule is, there's nothing like that. So my, my husband's a morning person.

24:50 One of those obnoxious wake up and start singing and dancing. I am not, I, I am lunar powered.

24:57 I'm a nighttime person. And so it's nice because I can go to work in the evening or at nighttime

25:05 when I have my energy and then he's up in the morning and it, it just works so well.

25:11 And we have a 15 year old is, you know, doing sports and running around. So having us both

25:17 available to, to be present with them is, is awesome.

25:26 So can you think, I know you, you've been doing this for a couple of years. Is there,

25:33 is there anything you can think of that information that you wish you would have had

25:39 when you first started? What should somebody have told you, but they weren't there to tell you?

25:45 Yeah. A warning you should have been given. Encouragement you should have been given.

25:54 Information you should have been given.

25:58 You know, nothing really comes to mind. I I'd say,

26:04 I'd say I'd go back to the pulling ideas out of people. Like had I known that, I mean, it's,

26:13 you really have to kind of pull ideas out of them or curtail ideas. Cause some people come

26:18 in and they're like, I want this and this and this and this and this. And you're like, whoa,

26:22 whoa, you're, you're cool. It's a wall hanging. I don't, you can't put all that on there.

26:29 If you're not a people person, get out, join a guild, talk to people, get comfortable talking

26:36 to people. And now it's going to make your world a lot easier.

26:41 Not a people person, become one.

26:44 Well, get more comfortable. I mean, you can't become a people person if you're not, but get

26:48 more comfortable because you are selling your business and your advertising and your networking.

26:56 And it's it, that's a full-time job all by itself. And then you throw on,

27:01 you know, your, all your online, your website development, your social media.

27:07 Um, we film and photograph everything that goes on the long arm. So,

27:12 you know, learning that software and learning editing. And so there's, yeah, there's aspects

27:18 of the quilting industry that nobody really talks about. It's behind the scene. They talk

27:23 about the quilting. They talk about the long arming, but they don't talk about

27:27 everything else that's behind it. Taxes, business licenses. Yeah. Once, once you get the right people

27:34 in place and you have your lawyer and you have your accountants and everything's organized,

27:40 the quilting is at the top point there. And you're not divided and spread out over the

27:47 week going, Oh, did I pay the taxes? I think I did. You know?

27:53 Well, we did get, uh, we have a comment from Yolanda said that, uh, just hearing what you're

27:58 saying has been very encouraging to her. So thank you Yolanda for sharing that.

28:04 Yeah. I thought we had a question, but in fact, we had an encouragement. So, um, I was going to,

28:10 uh, comment just because you mentioned all the other aspects of running a business.

28:15 If, uh, if somebody does want to have help with that, we have a, uh, a program that wasn't

28:21 available when you got your machine, it's called accelerate. And, uh, it loads a whole bunch of

28:28 classes in to your training portal that are, that handle things that you wouldn't know how

28:34 to handle if you don't have business experience. And it's basically just a great big shortcut.

28:41 And, uh, the, I think my favorite part of it though, is you get a 12 month coaching program

28:46 where you get one-on-one, uh, uh, mentoring with somebody, uh, who's got the chops to help you with

28:52 all those problems so that you can, um, you know, avoid a bunch of the pitfalls that are normal. So

29:00 if somebody wants to get that, they can look it up on gamble.com.

29:04 Um, oh, it looks like Shandy posted the link to, to the chat there, but it's, uh,

29:10 info.gamble.com slash accelerate. Um, the, uh, I was going to ask you one other question,

29:20 uh, earlier, and I kind of buzzed right past it, I think. And, and this is a question that a lot of

29:25 people struggle with the question of, you know, where, where am I going to find the money to get

29:30 a machine? Obviously we have lenders. Uh, how did you guys, uh, decide to handle the purchase of the

29:36 machine? Cause that's a big chunk. Yeah, it was a big chunk. Um, we, we loaned from our personal

29:47 side. We loaned our business, the money for the gamble, and then we bought it outright.

29:54 So you're still paying yourself back for that? Probably. Absolutely. So for us that made the

30:00 best sense. So instead of taking a loan out, um, and paying somebody else, the interest,

30:07 we loaned our company the money and we pay us the interest. So we kind of became our own bank.

30:13 Mm-hmm. And one of the popular options that people always tell us that they're using

30:19 is, uh, and I don't, you know, obviously details, you have to talk to somebody who's an expert, but

30:24 I know a lot of people will do a, uh, a loan out of their retirement account because

30:30 the retirement account, uh, you'll, you have to pay it back, uh, but it's a loan from you to you.

30:36 And so all the interest goes to yourself, which is nice. They usually have a small fee every year

30:42 for administering it, but it's like 50 bucks a year or something. It's not a big deal.

30:49 Yeah. Being, if you can being your own bank is, is a nice way to go. And there's the whole

30:55 situation on the back end that really benefits the owner. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, so

31:06 what advice would you give to somebody who is, uh, listened to your story and they are,

31:13 they're nervously considering, I think I could do this. I might want to do this. I would love

31:18 to do this. If I could make it a reality, what advice would you give to that person?

31:24 Um, well, uh, when I started, I never quilted at all. Not, not a lick. I'd never.

31:31 You started from scratch two years ago. Yeah. I started from scratch. Um, and I'd never quilted.

31:38 I maybe sewn a button on, you know, in elementary school. And

31:44 if I can do it and learn it, then honestly, as long as you put in the effort

31:50 and you treat it like a business, you're going to do awesome.

31:54 Mm hmm. Like you really just jump in, don't be afraid of it. And if you don't have a customer

32:00 quilt in your studio, throw one of yours on or throw some fabric on there and try the

32:07 different features out, drop the belts, try some free motion. It's, it's so fun.

32:15 So, and, and you, of course you don't know everybody in the country or world situation,

32:22 but in general, you, you feel like somebody who kind of has a heart to start a quilting business,

32:31 you think you feel like in, in general that it's doable.

32:36 Yeah, absolutely. I, I used to think that the quilts were just kind of going away. The,

32:43 the craft was going away. And now that I have both feet in the, in the quilting community,

32:49 it's not going away. No, it's not going away. And from what, so one of the guilds I'm in is a

32:58 long-arming guild and it's just long armors. And what I'm seeing is the older long armors are

33:06 starting to retire. And I, as they've retired, I'm having more customers come in to me saying

33:14 my long armor is retired and you are recommended. And so I have, I have one I'm about to load today

33:21 and that's exactly what happened. Her long armor is retiring and we're not taking any more quilts.

33:26 So yeah, absolutely. Get, get in there and, and do it. One note of one thing that I've often seen

33:35 is that people will build a business. And part of goal for building that business is that they

33:41 want to justify and pay off the machine and get the kids through college and stuff like that.

33:48 But as they get a little bit older and the machine has long since paid off, a lot of times then they

33:55 kind of like, well, I want to just do the ones for a couple of my close friends and do my own quilts.

34:00 You know, because in life, one of the real luxuries that we have here as Americans is we can kind of

34:07 do what we want. We can, you know, if you, if you put in some effort, you can do what you want.

34:14 So that's, yeah. And we kind of jumped in with a different thought. I, yeah, I want to pay

34:22 this machine off. I want to reimburse our, our, our savings, you know, for that loan,

34:27 I want to reimburse that. But our goal is to get that second machine. And so we're,

34:35 we're halfway to our second machine. And in two years, that's awesome. So hopefully soon the

34:45 company itself will pay for the second machine that we won't have to then loan the money back

34:50 in and do that over again. Right. And your time will definitely be spent more efficiently with

34:55 two machines because there will always be one of them that's ready for a bobbin or a roll forward.

35:02 Okay. All right. Well, that's all the questions that we have for you today. I really appreciate

35:10 you sharing your story with us and, and the encouragement. I think, you know, we haven't

35:17 had very many people that started their business post pandemic. And, and so, because it kind of is

35:26 a different world that we're working in. And so I really, really appreciate you being with us today.

35:35 Now, I'd mentioned before that I visited your website and the first thing I saw was tomatoes

35:44 and what looks like zucchini or cucumbers. I'm not sure which, and I wasn't sure I was at the

35:50 right website, but it is birdsbillmercantile.com like the bill of a bird mercantile.com. And

36:02 you've got a lot of stuff there about your quilting as well as the farming, which is really

36:07 cool. I would, and if people want to check you out on social media, where do they do that? Yeah, we're

36:13 on Facebook, Instagram, and Tik TOK. And soon we just started a YouTube channel. So we'll start

36:22 posting some YouTube channels on basic how to's and then work our way from there. And what term

36:29 would they use to find you on those places? Birdsbill Mercantile is on all social media. So

36:36 at Birdsbill Mercantile on all social media platforms. Awesome. Excellent. All right. Well,

36:45 thank you so much for joining us today. And if you've enjoyed this episode, don't forget to

36:51 subscribe and we will be back next week with another victim, interviewee. Thank you and have

36:59 a nice night. Thank you, Andrew. Thank you.