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Best Home Business In A Down Economy

By Sarah J Doyle

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Published on this site: December 18th, 2008 - See more articles from this month

In every stage of the economy there are businesses that flourish while others seemingly stand still or regress. The same thing applies to a certain few businesses that grow stronger because of the flat economy.

A Sewing machine repair business is among those that continue to grow faster during the down times in the economy.

Mindel, a world renowned supplier of consumer and media intelligence, has released it's annual prediction of trends for consumers and businesses for 2009. The key theme, according to Mindel, is a return to basics since financial instability tends to make people feel insecure. This company predicts that as budgets tighten, consumers will focus on traditional activities such as sewing, cooking and gardening.

Reuben O. Doyle, sewing machine repairmen for over 30 years and author of Sewing Machine Repair as a Home Business manual, says when the 1989 stock market crash occured and the aftermath of uncertainty was headlined in every newspaper, his sewing machine repair business more than tripled. "I was getting calls from people who were dragging their previously unused machines out of attics and storage and needed to get them serviced so the owners could get back into sewing again". He reported that new sewing classes were popping up in people's homes and as community education programs, and calls for servicing the machines were keeping him on the go constantly.

Tamera Fidler, manager of Nancy's Sewing Basket in Seattle, says their sewing classes are full. She has a business theory. "We started in a recession. It seems that when there's a recession, we get busier. From last year, I'd say business is up 20 percent.

In addition, the sewing surge is apparently one of the factors contributing to the recently reported 70% increase in sewing machine sales on eBay over the past several months.

Jeremy Segal, owner of The Direct Sewing Machine Supply Company in Bristol UK is quoted as saying "when times are hard, the recycling ethic and 'make do and mend' philosophy make a come back. That's what we are seeing now - lots of people are investing in a sewing machine."

At Omaha (NE) Bryan High School, students represent the surge in popularity of sewing classes in the Midlands. Enrollment in sewing and fashion design classes has more than quadrupled since the 2002-03 school year. That's a major change from two or three decades ago, when sewing classes were so "last season" to many teens. Krystal Kolb, family and consumer science teacher at Bryan feels it in her full class schedule. "If we could have more sewing classes, they would take them," Kolb said. "The last two years have been crazy." In 2002, 56 Bryan students took two courses -- one in sewing, one in design. This year, 251 students are enrolled in four - three sewing and one design.

Can you see the trend here? Do you understand why the sewing machine repair businesses not only flourish, but take off flying when the words "recession" and "credit crunch" fill most of us with dread?

Assess your own skills to see if you could fill this particular need. In his book "Sewing Machine Repair As A Home Business" Reuben O. Doyle says that nearly anyone could get into the business. He even recommends buying a cheap machine from a yard sale or flea market and make the repairs on it to get you started and build your confidence for doing repairs on machines for actual customers. The opportunities are endless!.



Sarah J Doyle: Sarah J. Doyle is author of over 25 business, sewing and how-to books; her husband Reuben is author of four sewing machine and serger repair books. Visit SewWithSarah.com for sewing info, and SewMachineRepair.com for sewing machine repair information.

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