We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gail Kelley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gail below.

Alright, Gail thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

We never have had employees; all our instructors are sub-contractors, responsible for their personal class schedules, pricing for their classes, and of course, taxes. Our instructors are mostly semi-retired creative individuals with vast sewing experience of all skill levels. We were very lucky in that a beloved local fabric store that held sewing classes was closing it’s brick and mortar location. Other instructors were interested due to the dedicated sewing instruction model. No selling of fabrics, etc., Just teaching. And our great commission rate. I brought with me another instructor, Jamie, who is an important person in the Studio. Currently we have seven instructors.
Our interview philosophy is to be a very intensive interviewer. We ask to see sewing examples. We want to hear how they feel they will add to the current class inventory.
I don’t think I would do anything differently if presented with the same situations.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

This is my retirement ‘gig’. I have always enjoyed sewing, when I had the time. I wasn’t ready to fully retire, so I thought about what activities I really enjoyed: sewing, gardening, reading. I found a small job with a local fabric store teaching and through that job I met Jamie Hevener. Jamie had been in the business of teaching sewing for quite a few years and we bonded over the thought of a dedicated sewing instruction studio. I found a building near where we both live and The Sewing Hive was born. We, there are seven instructors now, teach people sewing skills from beginner to advanced. Our instructors have a wonderful skill set, from couture, to costume, to understanding how your machines work……there is almost nothing we can not provide. The goal is that you walk out with a finished garment, and the ability to make another on their own. There is too much to say about each instructor, so simply go to our website, Sewinghive.com, and select our teachers. There you will find a bio of each instructor.
We have free or low cost seminars on a regular basis on topics such as: How to Purchase Fabric Online, How to Sew with Knits, along with community giving. Our Sewing for Good days are always filled, as are our Sewing Meet-ups.

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

Before opening the Sewing Hive, I sold a successful franchised business that I had owned for 26 years to two long term employees. That had been my goal from the start. To do this, I shared with everyone in the company, managers to front line employees, my monthly and yearly Profit and Loss statements…..scary to some, but not to me since the previous company I worked for did the same. This allowed employees to see the potential and to become savvy business people. We had three individuals that were interested in purchasing the company. I financed the purchase which also allowed me to gain the interest that would have gone to a bank, and it was easier for everyone. The topic is very long, so reach out directly to me if you have an interest in learning more.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met Jamie Hevener while we were both working at a local fabric store teaching. Jamie has been in the business for many years, much of it using local rec centers, or schools, etc. I did not know the exact intricacies of teaching sewing, but had a good understanding of how to run a business, and be profitable. We were a good match. Jamie has a heart of gold and people instantly warm to her method of teaching. She has taught be a lot about mentoring young people.

Contact Info:

• Website: Sewinghive.com
• Instagram: thesewinghive
• Facebook: the sewing hive
• Linkedin: the sewing hive
• Youtube: thesewinghive
• Other: [email protected] [email protected]