Q&A: KERRY AND DAVE HUBBARD, QUILTYCLOUD

 

For many quilters, the idea of turning their hobby and passion into a business can be appealing. But it takes more than a good longarm machine or an eye for design to make a quilting business successful. And the process of managing the actual "business" of a business can be overwhelming.

 

Such was the case for QuiltyCloud co-founder Kerry Hubbard upon launching her quilting business several years ago. So, she enlisted the help of her husband David, who was able to use his background in business and his tech know-how to help develop a program that would simplify the process of managing a quilting business.

 

The result was QuiltyCloud, the duo’s cloud-based business system designed specifically for quilters. For this edition of eInsider, we spoke with the Hubbards about their product, and how it can help professional quilters put the focus back
on quilting.

 

 

eINSIDER: First, please tell us a bit about each of your backgrounds, and how they prepared you to develop your product?

 

KERRY: I have a law enforcement background in record management and have been a hobby quilter for 30 plus yeas. I began a quilting business several years ago, but the business aspects were overwhelming, and I found myself distracted from my first love: quilting! Almost at the end of my rope, I approached my husband’s company about creating an easy business system I could use, so I could focus on quilting.

 

DAVE: I was happy to help Kerry and it sounded like an interesting challenge. As a high-tech entrepreneur for 25 years, our company has software and business systems know-how.

 

What started as a favor turned into a full-featured business system that runs in the cloud (the cloud is just a fancy term for running software on computers at a secure cloud provider rather than your personal computer). Since it’s accessible over the internet, a person can use any smartphone or laptop to access the system. Other examples of cloud-based services include Google Drive, DropBox, Facebook, SalesForce, Apple iCloud, Intuit Mint, and so on.

 

KERRY: I was a great guinea pig for Dave because of my knowledge of quilting and my record management background. The two of us were the perfect combination to get QuiltyCloud off the ground! Because of my law enforcement experience, what Dave sees as “business process,” I see as “evidence!”

 

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eINSIDER: Explain what exactly QuiltyCloud is, and give us a breakdown of some of its features.

 

HUBBARDS: QuiltyCloud is an online business system for quilters that transforms hobby quilting into a business. It’s ideal for longarm, T-shirt, and custom quilting businesses.

 

With QuiltyCloud, a quilter can easily build a database of contacts, pricing, and inventory. Professional quotes with the business logo can be email to their customers with the push of a button. Beautiful thumbnail photos of the quilting designs and thread are included with the email. Using the information collected from the quoting process, a quilter is then prepared for tax reporting with very little effort.

 

Sales tax is automatically calculated and added to the quote. When sales taxes are due, a simple report can be run with grand totals using custom date ranges.

 

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eINSIDER: You also have an affiliate program. Can you explain how that works?

 

HUBBARDS: One of the biggest challenges in business is lead generation, which is why affiliate programs are so popular. The challenge is the administration of coupon codes, discounts, payments, and taxes. The QuiltyCloud affiliate feature automates this process.

 

For example, let’s say there is a quilt shop in town with booming business and lots of customers. By making that quilt shop an affiliate, they are motivated to provide coupon codes for your quilting services. It’s not only a discount to the customer; it also rewards the affiliate—in this case, the quilt shop owner—with a commission check. You, the affiliate, and the customer all benefit.

 

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eINSIDER: Finally, what would you say to a quilting hobbyist who is considering making the move into business? What are the benefits, and what are the mistakes to be avoided?

 

KERRY: Owning a quilting business is a great way to pay for all of my fun quilting toys! It’s gratifying to see a return on investment with every project I sell. In addition, there are potentially great tax benefits, but I highly encourage your readers to consult with their CPA first.

 

As with any business, it really requires focus and perseverance, but I would say the biggest challenge is marketing and finding new customers. Joining your local quilt guilds is always a good idea. I also recommend partnerships with quilt shops using a win-win affiliate program.

 

For more information on QuiltyCloud, visit their website or check out their video tutorial below.