I'm Famous!

It was bound to happen

I live in a small town. People know me, and recommend me for alterations ALL THE TIME

Well, a few weeks ago I was leaving a wake, and saw someone I knew, in line, so I stayed and chatted for a while. Sidebar- I did alterations for her and her daughter the bride a few years ago. While chatting, the woman in front of them turned around and said "Hi Tamara - you may not remember me (and reintroduced herself) but you just altered a bridesmaid dress for me, and I wore it last weekend - it was perfect!" My friend heard this and agreed with the woman regarding my skills with the bridal alterations I had done for her daughter!

Last week, I was going into the grocery store when someone stopped me and said "Hi Tamara, (reintroduced herself) you hemmed a pair of jeans for me not long ago - they're perfect!" 

I love what I do, and am so glad I can make smiles happen! 

Times are changing....

....and like it or not, we all have to change too sometime. It's my time....

What do you think you want to do next? Do you want to increase your business? Make it your full time job? Can you? I could...Will you hire people? Advertise? Move to a larger space outside of your home? All valid questions others have asked me and that I've considered myself over the past 2 years.

Monday March 12, 2018, I found myself at City Hall in Melrose, MA applying for a business certificate. It was time. I've had my home-based business in my town for a very long time (over 20 years!) and my name gets mentioned in several social and online forums as: "Tamara's my go-to", "I highly recommend Tamara", so I wanted to do the right thing by making my business "official".
I went to the bank that same day to open a business bank account. I needed the business certificate for that. You know you're doing well when someone says "you better make an appointment with her before she gets booked up!" and when repeat customers refer their friends, etc...

What do I do? I help people look and feel good in what they are wearing. I specialize in Bridal and formal wear alterations. I am creative. I design and redesign. I am a Seamstress!


When I was going to networking events a few years ago, I'd say "I'm an accountant", but not really embracing that role and not even wanting to delve into what I did at work. I'd often segway into my seamstress title during a conversation. It's my passion. Accounting is what I went to school for, trained many years and put in lots of tax seasons - almost 3 decades! So it has served me well for many years. But as I have grown in life, I realize it's not where my true passion is. Sure, it's where the steady paycheck is, but is that all I want out of life? I like making people feel good in what they're wearing to a special event, or on their wedding day. I like creating a one of a kind christening gown from the mom/grandmother's wedding gown. When a bride gives me a hug and says "it's exactly the way I want it", "it's perfect!", that to me, is pure joy, and I thrive on that! I have had some time to build my sewing "business" from my home and have focused on things I LIKE to do, and am passing up work I would rather not do (like fixing a rip or hemming curtains, replacing a zipper - no more!). I LOVE working on bridal and formal-wear, and absolutely can't get enough of making a christening gown or first communion dress from the mom's wedding gown. That's my passion! I absolutely love the creative process. I noticed in certain work situations, some people hum and tap their pencil when they're focused on their work or reviewing other people's work, and I thought, wow, that person REALLY loves what he/she does. I think staying in the same field I've been in for so long, is not only getting stale to me, but as I am learning, I have to do something in my next job, that I REALLY enjoy. Why be stuck at a job, for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for only a paycheck. Done with that! I was so unhappy at my last job, towards the end of that job I found myself climbing the stairs (51 of them!) in the morning repeating to myself "I hate my job", and knowing that change was evident. Either I would make the change, or I'd be helped along that path. So, my next job search will be a little different from past ones, that's if I actually engage in a search. I want a job where I can be creative, or at least have a lot of moving parts to it.

I have been actively looking for a new "space" for my sewing work for about three years. I started writing this blog more than a year ago. Since then, I now have a local bridal shop referring customers to me, and if you do a Google search for wedding gown alterations in Melrose, I am at the top of the page! So that in itself, has driven the bridal traffic to me. Not only brides, but bridesmaids, Mothers of the Bride and the Groom and Flower girls. Since I now have such a large volume, it makes sense to move it out of the house and lessen the family (and dog) interruptions. It's time. It's MY time!

Update: July 8, 2019 - I have FOUND my space! And it's right down the street! A "studio". It's a good size room on the 3rd floor of a Victorian home, RIGHT DOWNTOWN, and walking distance from my house! They are only leasing to artists, and welcomed me right away! I am so excited to finally have my own space to work in. There are opening and closing hours, so I won't be tempted to stay up until midnight anymore working on a prom dress!!! (thank goodness!) I have no doubt that this move will increase my productivity as well as visibility in my community, and I'm absolutely thrilled about embarking on this new journey in my business expansion!

"Do what you love, and never work a day in your life"....Mark Twain - words to live by

Social Media Marketing and the Small Business

Social media marketing works for my business!

Being a small business, working out of my home, and still working full time to pay the bills, I don’t need a lot of advertising, so I focus on what works:

 

1. Referrals and repeat business from satisfied customers
2. Social media marketing
    
   A few years ago, with sons in high school and attending prom, I was referred by them and their dates, for prom dress alterations! I noticed the demand and the need for someone providing this service locally,(and really loved what I was doing!) so I began to step up promoting my business online.
   Once I “put myself out there” I started getting calls from people finding my business through an online search!  Even contacts from as far away as Cape Cod and Texas!
    
   Someone had searched on LinkedIn, of all places, for a Seamstress to repair a treasured family christening gown! Well, I have had my business listed as one of my “jobs” for a number of years now, but this was a first. I also was contacted last year by a Tailor on Newbury Street in Boston, who found me on Indeed.com through a similar search, because it is also on my Resume. She was looking for someone to hire for her shop! I have found that with the right “buzz” words, people will find me.
    
   I have been mostly focused on formalwear – prom and bridal, but I ramped up my marketing a bit a few years ago after being contacted to make an heirloom christening gown. One made from the mothers’ wedding gown. I had such a great time creating something one-of-a-kind to be treasured and passed on, that I included that on my website with photos, and on LinkedIn profile (under my company summary) as something I enjoyed doing.
    
   So, I now have visibility on multiple platforms for my business: a Facebook page where you can see photos of my work and promotions offered throughout the year, my Blog which I try to keep current, a website, twitter account and Instagram. But I’d have to say, the biggest boost was when I put my business on Yelp! I always ask a new customer how they heard of me, and over the past year, at least 75-80% said they found me through an online search, and my reviews on Yelp are what led them to me!
    
   Paid advertising vs FREE
    
   I like to support my community, so I have paid to advertise in local program booklets, support local causes through advertising on their site, even a church bulletin. I have also tried a few Bridal site listings: The KNOT, Wedding & Party Network, just to name a few. And I joined the Chamber of Commerce in my town for one year to see if that would increase visibility in my town. All of these ran for several months, some ran close to a year. All with absolutely NO results. 
    
   Now, my Facebook page, LinkedIn, Blog, Website and Yelp are all FREE, and here is what I have discovered. Although those paid ads went to good causes and I’ll probably continue to support some of them through paid advertising, it’s the NON paid advertising that work the best for me.
    
   I recently received a voicemail  from a CSR at Yelp, telling me that I recently have had a “huge influx of activity” (no kidding!) and to call him back. No doubt it is to sell me an “upgrade” which I don’t need. Thanks Yelp ! It’s a FREE listing, and it works just fine for me! J
    
   

   

   
   

 

Small business, big world

 

…let’s face it.  In today’s world, many small businesses may find it difficult to break into the greater universe. However, in my experience, the right exposure and key words in marketing your “brand” make all the difference!

It all started with creating my very own Facebook page for increasing my visibility – I was able to “invite my friends” to “like” my page. Wow! In a matter of days I had close to 50 likes. Now I’m at 225. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fashions-by-Tamara/229784013701474?ref=hl

 Ok, so then I wanted to create a more professional version of my services, so I created a website, for free. I just got my domain 2 years ago!  http://fashionsbytamara.com/

 Not stopping there, I began to blog about my business, giving it a person spin.  I actually really like my blog…hope you do too. http://fashionsbytamara.blogspot.com/

 Now, many years ago, probably when it began to be the “thing”, I created a Twitter account. I signed up in 2009 and my first “tweet” was an entry about the Jimmy Fund walk I was about to do. Thinking, that all my then followers (maybe 5 at the time) would re-tweet my post and I’d raise a ton of money! That didn’t happen. I didn’t really use it much until recently when I really learned how to use it for my business. It’s still not my favorite form of social media for my business, but I am gaining followers, so who knows where it will take me! https://twitter.com/tamarakenney

Oh yes, then there’s Instagram (yes I have one for my business as well as personal), Alignable – where you can connect with local businesses, and local advertising (which I don’t get ANY business from, but I like to support schools and organizations in my town). I even put myself on YELP, and have been found that way too!

 So with all this going on, and making sure I use the right “tags” on my blog and twitter accounts, and from a recommendation of another small business owner in my town, I make sure I keep my Facebook business page current with at least one post a week, and pictures of my work as well.  I am told, and it’s true because I’ve googled myself, that when certain specific words are typed in a search, my Facebook page comes up as the #1 search at the top of the page!

 Try it! (buzz words: Alterations, Bridal, Melrose, Seamstress)