Tips for success in small manufacturing from Karida Collins

Karida Collins The Neighborhood Fiber Co.Karida Collins is a visionary and a doer, when this fiber art afficionado realized she wanted to work with more vibrant, hand-dyed yarns she started making them in her kitchen. She recently opened her welcoming and incredibly well-equipped space and studio store, The Neighborhood Fiber Co. Located in the up and coming Bromo Arts District of Baltimore to allow her to increase her manufacturing and allow other fiber fans the chance to shop and meet to learn and work.

Manufacturing as a business can be very intimidating to most business owners. We recently featured Karida and discussed her path to entrepreneurship. To read that interview, click here.  With this in mind, we asked Karida to share her wisdom and top tips for success when it comes to getting a small manufacturing business off the ground successfully. Here’s what she shared…

What are four tips you would give to someone considering to start a small manufacturing business?

  1. Start as small as you can. It means your initial successes will be small, but so will your failures.
  2. Don’t skip the planning or record-keeping. Having actual measurables will make life easier when you decide to scale up or down.
  3. Value your own work/time. If your pricing doesn’t include your labor, you’ll never be able to afford to pay anyone else.
  4. Trust your instincts. You know best when it comes to your individual business.

Some other resources regarding manufacturing:

Entrepreneur Magazine – 7 tips for a Small Manufacturing Business

Smarta.com – How to start a small Manufacturing Business

Small business.chron.com – How to start a small Food Manufacturing Business

About Karida Collins, Owner of The Neighborhood Fiber Co.

Karida Collins is the artist and entrepreneur behind Neighborhood Fiber Co. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from The George Washington University. After college, she learned to knit from a friend and discovered an unexpected affinity for fiber arts. Collins’s love of knitting prompted her transition from future diplomat to artistic business owner. Motivated to have a fiber arts business, she started Neighborhood Fiber Co. in her basement apartment. Collins also co-authored a knitting pattern book entitled Pints and Purls: Portable Projects for the Social Knitter. Currently, she is working to establish Neighborhood Fiber Co. as a brick and mortar yarn store and fiber arts education resource in her hometown of Baltimore, MD. Read a previous interview with Karida, which discusses her path to entrepreneurship as well as lessons learned and how she defines success by clicking here.

About Neighborhood Fiber Co.

Neighborhood Fiber Co. provides uniquely hand-dyed yarns, inspired by urban landscapes to knitters, crocheters and fiber artists around the world. Founded in 2006 in Washington, DC, the fiber arts company now occupies a former firehouse in Baltimore’s burgeoning Bromo Arts District. To learn more about what they do and their classes click here.

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