Impressions - January/February 2025 - 39

" I like that my staff can take something
from the beginning and go all the way
through to handing the job for that customer
and seeing them go 'Wow!' We get
that sense of accomplishment. "
Marketing Your Niche
Dane is an avid fisherperson and shared that
passion with her boys. She continued her
involvement in the fishing industry even
after she started her embroidery business by
fulfilling the embroidery needs of the boat
captains she knew and the fishing tournaments
she competed in. Another market
she's found success with is the construction
and skilled trades industries. The latter
proved essential during the pandemic, as
her HVAC, plumbing, catastrophic recovery
and construction customers continued to
place orders, helping her business survive
while many other apparel-decoration businesses
closed.
Being " half-crazy " is one of the mindsets
required to operate a successful embroidery
and apparel decoration business, according
to Dane. " I think you must have a good
sense of humor because you've got to be
able to laugh at your mistakes. There are a
lot of them when you first start out, even
as a machine operator. As an owner, if you
can't laugh at yourself, you're not going to
last very long. "
She continues, " Having a good imagination
helps as well. Sometimes the general
idea that you learned at the beginning of
how you run your company or how you
do this specific design doesn't always work.
You must be able to come up with a new
or different way to approach the situation.
You need ingenuity to figure out how to
accomplish it this time. "
Dane learned early on to ask questions
and seek advice from other people when
she faces a new challenge. She supports her
staff by letting them figure out how to do
jobs in the way that works best for them.
" I used to be right on top of them, " she
says. " Then I figured out that if what I'm
making them do doesn't make their job
more efficient and easier, then I'm kind of
missing the point. The way that my embroidery
manager hoops things is completely
different than the way I would do it, but it
works for her. She does an amazing job. I
look at one of my trimmers and think, 'How
do you hold the scissors like that?' But she
does a good job, so it doesn't really matter
how she holds them, does it? "
Two of the best sellers for KDdid Designs
are ball caps and letter sweaters. She
jokes that she wishes she owned stock in
Richardson hats, she's decorated so many of
them over the years. The letter sweaters are
Dane and team take pride in their
showroom displays. Photo courtesy
of KDdid Designs, LLC
popular in the South, and they do hundreds
and hundreds of them for several colleges
in Mississippi.
Longevity Meets Loyalty
Many of Dane's customers have been with
her for years. She credits her staff for creating
top-quality work and the fact that she
builds relationships with her customers as
the reasons why they keep coming back.
" If you form the right relationships with
the right people, " Dane explains, " You've
always got somebody you can count on. You
can tell them, 'We're a bit slow right now.
Is there anything we can do for you? We
can get it back to you quickly.' The people
who we've built relationships with really
appreciate that. Or you see a kid that you
did their lunchbox for them in kindergarten
and now you're doing a graduation gift for
them. That is truly something. "
Another thing that Dane says she enjoys
about owning her business is the fact that
no two days are ever the same.
" I might be done if it ever stops being
fun, " she says, " I'm still enjoying it. There
is always something new. And I have the
best staff in the world. They are KDdid
Designs just as much as I am. How much
they care about their work has a lot to do
with the quality that we turn out, they
really care. "
Dane also really loves walking her customers
through the workroom. " They always
say, 'Wow, I did not realize that you did
all this right here!' " she chuckles, though
she says she and her staff do not appreciate
the frequent comments receive about how
all they do is " push a button. "
Word of mouth has consistently been
KDdid Designs' most effective marketing
strategy. They encourage customers to
take business cards, and when asked about
their decorated apparel and products to
let people know where they got them.
They also directly ask for their customers
to post a Google review. Finally, Dane
invites customers to send her photos of
their events and/or staff wearing their new
products. Dane then posts these images,
with permission, of course, on social media
and the company website.
Offering Wisdom
Dane's most important advice for other
apparel decoration professionals is this,
" Don't be a bottom feeder! " She emphasizes
that if you start out as a bottom feeder, it
is hard to break out of that mold. Speaking
from personal experience, she says used
to meet or beat competitors' prices. But
she soon realized she was going to end
up having to get another job to pay for
what she was doing if she kept pricing her
work that way.
The other advice she offers is to develop
your business plan. " I know that sounds
so textbook, but making a business plan is
big, " Dane says. " Because then you know
who your audience is, you know who
you should go after, you know who you
can go to find a support group if you're
not near your family or friends who are
business owners. "
Looking to the future, five or 10 years
from now, Dane says she would like to own
a building. " The goal when you build a
business is to build it so that eventually,
you can sell it. I want to sell the entire
package, the business, the building, and
everything that comes with it. " 
As the founder of the National Network of Embroidery
Professionals (NNEP), Jennifer Cox has worked with
thousands of embroidery and decorated-apparel business
owners to help them build successful businesses
for over the past 25 years. NNEP supports members
with services, savings and programs designed to
help its members find customers, keep customers
and make money. To find out more, or share any of
the challenges your own company may currently be
experiencing, go to NNEP.com.
Jan./Feb. 2025
P.39
http://www.NNEP.com
Impressions - January/February 2025

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