Sewing shop owner gets tailor-made solutions to problems

Jeanie Joe is scrambling to keep her South Pasadena sewing shop humming while juggling on-site sewing classes and designing the eclectic handbags she sells in the sunny store.

She knows that Sew Joe Stitch Lounge needs to hire its first employee, but she’s worried that she’ll be tied up with payroll paperwork and time-draining training.

“I don’t want to become just a supervisor,” said Joe, 56, who opened the Mission Street store two years ago after quitting her longtime career as a bartender. And with sales of just $60,000 last year, she has little money to pay a new worker.

Joe expected operations to run more smoothly when she opened the store in 2007. But the 700-square-foot shop has taken more energy than she expected. Joe has tried part-time help, but, she said, “I feel so unorganized, like I have to micromanage, to do their jobs and mine.”

After talking with Joe, consultant Adam Traub, a senior business coach with E-Myth Worldwide Inc., reports that she has a good foundation in place but is not yet ready to hire an employee.

“She will be soon, but she realized she needed to get organized,” Traub said.

He recommends that Joe begin to think more strategically about her business by taking the following steps:

* Create a game plan. Joe needs to decide on her vision for the company and put it in writing. The document can be just a page or two, but should include the purpose of the business and her idea of optimum employee and customer satisfaction. She should also include goals for sales and profits over the next five years.

“It’s a guiding light for her, because every action she takes in the business should be about fulfilling that vision,” Traub said.

* Set up a tracking system. Joe should have a system that allows her to monitor her progress on a monthly basis.

“It’s like the score card,” Traub said. “You can see where you stand: Here’s where we are today, here’s our vision. Are we getting closer or farther or making no movement at all?”

For example, Joe could track how many people come into her shop, how many buy something and what the average purchase is. That would help her make changes to improve the numbers.

* Write a position agreement. Unlike a job description, which typically lists tasks, a position agreement outlines results that Joe expects from a new employee. It should include the work and skills needed to achieve those results.

A potential employee should be told in writing why the business needs a particular job done, what systems he or she will use and what the performance standards and needed skills are, in detail. “Try to take discretion out of it,” Traub said.

* Get an accountant. Sew Joe Stitch Lounge needs one who can serve as a financial guide for the owner, not just an annual tax preparer. The accountant could help Joe understand basic financial reports and key numbers to track cash flow and other financial trends.

* Consider a partly commission-based employee. As Joe gets closer to hiring her first employee, she should think about paying a combination of a base salary and a sales commission.

Motivated by a commission, the employee might increase sales, and Joe could use the money to expand the company. That would help Joe reach her expansion goal while she spends time on the designing she loves.

“I absolutely, 100%, see that as possible,” Traub said. “But she is not going to get there from here until she actually writes out her vision.”

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