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It's that time of year again when I close up my longarm business for the summer so I can spent more time with my family. Our summers are very short up here so I want to enjoy it as much as I can. I won't be blogging as often as I usually do but I will have a few personal quilting project to share over the summer and maybe some fabric dyeing too.
I reached a great milestone with my business this month and that was to pay myself back for the purchase of my Millennium. I had saved up to buy my Mille and I wanted to keep track of how long it would take to pay myself back. I bought my longarm new 3 1/2 years ago and with exchange, duties and shipping it cost me $20,000. On the APQS site it states that if you quilt 10 queen size quilts a month you can pay off your machine in one year. But that isn't exactly true....what about your expenses? If your thinking of starting a longarm business I believe a more realistic goal would be 2 1/2 years to pay off your machine at 10 quilts per month. It took me longer as I take 3 months off a year, have a large supply of threads, batting and pantos, and I really like to have time to work on my own projects so 10 quilts a month is my limit. Another large expense is insurance! For me to run my business and have clients come to my house, which was very important to me, I have to pay $600 a year on insurance. So there are a lot of expense to consider when figuring out how long it takes to pay for a longarm machine. I thought this might be interesting to those of you considering this as a business.
So to celebrate this milestone I thought I would get a tattoo! LOL....no not for me... for my Mille :)
Urban Elementz sell this great tattoo decals and I thought it would be fun to decorate up my machine.
I though I would end this post with some pictures I took while kayaking on our lake a few days ago as this is what I'll be doing instead of quilting the next two months!
Hope you have a great summer....or winter if your down under.... not that you can really call that a winter ;)
Have a great summer Kathy! The lake looks so calm....you'll have to enter some of your photos in "Our Canada" magazine. There's a lot of work to a business to be sure. Will be watching for your posts during the summer. C
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the milestone, Kathy. Enjoy your summer. I sure am enjoying mine. Thinking of you. Thanks for the pics. A
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely a milestone to celebrate! Good for you! Enjoy your well-deserved break with your family. The pictures are gorgeous as usual and the water looks so clear. I really love the Canadian Shield and it looks lovely there. I'm going to miss the activity on your blog, but I'm looking forward to seeing you in July! Have a wonderful summer!
ReplyDeletewell...i think i will come vacation with you for the next 2 months! :) It was interesting to read your 'payback' period for Mille. I bought my Gammill used, and it came with a ton of pantos, templates, stencils, threads...i spent $15 and i was lucky to pay that back in 18 months. Of course, i had an instant customer base that still needed their quilts finished. So i was up and running right away. i felt very fortunate. However...over the past couple years i have spent an additional $1000 on classes and that should be figured into a budget too. I think it's a wonderful business. You have to love it...i do! and one has to have the space.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful summer enjoying your family...look forward to reconnecting in a couple months.
~karen
Congratulations to you Kathy for all your hard and beautiful work. Enjoy your break - you deserve it! I am sure you and your family will enjoy it. You live in a beautiful part of the world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the honesty and info! I think that's all important stuff that doesn't get brought up that often. Have a great summer, looking forward to your lake pictures!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on paying yourself back! Will miss your blog over the summer, but I understand. Oh, and wow, love the kayaking pictures!
ReplyDeleteKathy, have a wonderful summer. Now we're totally jealous of your lake and your beautiful quilting abilities! Thank you for the longarm quilting info. I never realized the part about insurance adding to costs. Makes total sense.
ReplyDeleteLove your quilts. I keep coming back to look at your Winner's Bouquet quilt. That one is just plain gorgeous.
Have a great summer!
Congratulations on paying of your Millie! Enjoy your time with your family. These are special times!
ReplyDeleteThat was supposed to say "paying off your Mille".
ReplyDelete:)
Beautiful scenery, we just got back from a canoe trip, I think you had a little better viewing, LOL Have a great summer.
ReplyDeleteLove the tattoos!!! I think I might get one too :-)
ReplyDeleteHave a great summer, and I hope you'll have nice weather too!
Such a pretty accent on your machine! Thanks for the info on payback time for the expense of a machine. l
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