Resources for you and your business
Before You Change Your Prices...
Tracey Browning 
Look at the Whole Studio: The Power of the 8-Module Audit
Look at the Whole Studio: The Power of the 8-Module Audit
It is the most common "New Year" knee-jerk reaction in the quilting world. We look at our bank accounts after the December rush, realize the numbers don't match the level of exhaustion we feel, and immediately decide: "I need to raise my prices."
But here is the hard truth of professional longarming:
If your studio has operational "leaks," a price increase is just a temporary patch on a sinking ship. If you raise your rates by a half-cent but continue to spend three unbilled hours fixing a "Red Flag" quilt, you haven't actually given yourself a raise—you’ve just slightly subsidized your inefficiency.
Before you touch your price list this January, you need to zoom out. You need to look at your studio as a complete ecosystem of 8 interlocking modules. This is the foundation of the Professional Longarm Operational Blueprint, and it’s how you move from a "hobbyist who sews" to a "CEO who leads."
The Interconnected Studio
A longarm business is more than just a machine and a frame. It is a series of gears that must mesh perfectly. If one gear is stuck, the others have to work twice as hard to keep the machine turning. Let’s look at why an audit of all 8 modules is required before you can truly understand your value.
- Studio Maintenance & Safety:
You could charge $1.00 per square inch, but if your machine is experiencing frequent thread breaks or skipped stitches because you haven't followed a "Spa Day" maintenance calendar, you are losing money every minute the needle isn't moving. Mechanical downtime is the ultimate profit killer. - Business Foundations:
Do you have a legal safety net? If you don't have a signed Quality Release Waiver and a fabric bleed happens, the cost of that one disaster could wipe out the profit of your next ten quilts. Professionalism starts with protection. - The Intake Process:
This is where most "Profit Leakage" occurs. If you don't have a standardized physical audit to catch wavy borders or full centers, you are forced to become a "firefighter" on the frame. Thriving studios use the Intake Vault to identify these issues at the door, ensuring they are either fixed by the client or billed as a "Prep Fee." - Pricing & Profitability:
Once the other gears are turning, then we look at the math. Using the Revenue & Stitch-Rate Tracker, you can determine your actual hourly wage. This isn't just about what you charge; it’s about what you keep after expenses. - Technical Mastery:
Artistic growth allows for "Artistic Elevation." As you master ruler work or complex digital motifs, your service moves from a commodity to a luxury. Your audit will show you if your skill level currently matches your pricing goals. - Supply & Inventory Control:
Stopping mid-quilt because you ran out of a specific "Oasis" thread is an operational failure. Maintaining "Par Levels" for your most popular batting and threads ensures that your production line never stops. - Marketing & Community:
You can have the best systems in the world, but they mean nothing if your frame is empty. The Marketing Frame ensures you are telling the story of your technical mastery, keeping a steady queue of "Collaborative Partners" rather than just one-time customers. - Customer Experience & Delivery:
The "White-Glove" delivery is what ensures repeat business. The unboxing experience—complete with care instructions and branded packaging—is what justifies a premium price point in the mind of the client.
The Audit: Finding Your "North Star"
On January 1st, we are encouraging every professional quilter to perform an Operational Excellence Audit. Instead of guessing where your business is failing, you will give yourself an honest score (1–10) in each of these eight categories.
This audit acts as your "Mirror." It might show you that while your stitching is a 10, your Intake process is a 3. That gap is where your stress is coming from. By identifying the specific module that is lagging, you can stop "working harder" and start working on the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that will actually fix the problem.
Stop Guessing. Start Leading.
Raising your prices is a vital part of business growth, but it must be done from a position of strength. When your studio is audited and your systems are secure, a price increase isn't a "hopeful guess"—it is a professional adjustment based on the high-end value you provide.
If you’re ready to see the "Whole Studio" and build a business that reflects your unique artistry, the Professional Longarm Operational Blueprint is your roadmap.
Download the Professional Longarm Operational Blueprint here and start your 8-module audit today. It’s time to trade the overwhelm for operational excellence.
Gold Members:
This valuable tool is now available to you as a benefit of your membership. Please check your community where it is a pinned post for you to access NOW.
Don't forget you can also use the video search guide with keywords to find where we discuss any topic each month since Oct 2020.
Check out your Bonus Resources course to find premade helpful customer handouts that you can brand with your own business logo and information.
IQ Summit Facebook group
Have you joined our community here on Academy or on the FREE Facebook Group for IQ owners? Click on the Facebook icon to join in and see all the amazing designs that everyone has come up with already, building on what they have learned inside this membership. If you are a paid member of IQ Summit or the Gold Members group then we also have a private community inside this platform as well. You can find the link on the top of this page to explore the community you are enrolled in here.
Would you like to have more information at your fingertips to help you with your Longarm Business?
Then head on over to check out the Resources I’ve prepared for you. A really valuable article with a downloadable pdf is a Longarm troubleshooting checklist that everyone should print and use when having machine issues!
We discuss many relevant topics in our monthly live Q & A sessions where we all learn something new and useful each time. From these, courses and articles are created, to build out our library of resources for members to find and utilise when needed.
Then join us in the Gold Member Group of Machine Quilting Academy. If you are already a paying member of IQ Summit then contact me for a special discount voucher to sign up to this service.
