Timing plays a pivotal role when we are talking about business decisions. Especially, when it is about very important business decisions. As embroidery business owners, you know what digitizing for embroidery designs means for your business. Are there any more important inputs for your business than embroidery digitizing designs? I presume there won’t be more than a few.
Therefore, any decision that affects such an imperative aspect of your business cannot be taken randomly. The iron has to be red-hot before hammering it to perfection. As I said earlier, timing has got to be right in any business. A decision taken today can be fatal, but the same decision after a year might be your best business move.
BUT the million dollar question is how do you know the time is right? How do you know when to move digitizing for embroidery in-house instead of outsourcing? How do you get that iron is hot now? Too many questions, huh?
Don’t worry, we will break it down for you.
I wish there was a turn-it-in method to do that but, since there is not any, the best way of dealing with it is to be informed. Be informed about your business and resources it utilizes, and then make an informed decision. Know your embroidery digitizing costs. Effort and time it takes to find and outsource to an embroidery digitizing service. The efficiency of the process. The more informed you are, the better are your chances of getting it right.
Instead of spilling it all over the place, let us look into different considerations and factors individually and then take it from there.
Software Cost & Features:
If you want to have in-house digitizing for embroidery designs, getting a software is inevitable. Yes, it’s a substantial investment but there is no other way around it. Period.
Deciding an exact version of the software provides you with an exact cost. Knowing the exact cost is important because once you are done this cost along with other overheads will be compared with the total cost of outsourcing digitized designs. Getting where I am coming from?
Before you start your search for the digitizing software, be mindful of your requirements. Knowing your must-have features is vital.
Otherwise, it is likely that you will get lost in the plethora of options available. Remember that you are not supposed to get a digitizing software that comes with hundreds of features. If you will not be using those surplus features, you are spending on what you don’t need.
Read More: Embroidery Digitizing Software: A Comprehensive Buying Guide
Getting An In-house Embroidery Digitizer:
The biggest cost factor in moving digitizing for embroidery in-house is going to the cost of hiring a digitizer. There are various ways to go about it. Firstly, obviously, you can hire a digitizer like you would hire another employee. The second option is training one of your employees and getting them digitize designs for embroidery. Thirdly, you can do it yourself.
Now, all these options have their pros and cons and are best suited for a particular size of business. let us see where you stand.
Hiring an embroidery digitizer:
It is the most expensive option on the list. With that being said, it is also the most efficient option when it is about in-house digitizing for embroidery. You, as an embroidery business owner, don’t have to worry about digitized designs. You know they will be great because after all, you have got a pro on site.
Since it is an expensive option, most small-scale embroiderers will not look up to this as a workable option. Apart from the budget, there should be sufficient work to keep the digitizer engaged. If you don’t have enough work, you will still have to pay them for the same number of hours.
Clearly, not what you want, right?
For such embroiderers, it is probably not the best time to move digitizing in-house. The best way out for them is to find a try few digitizing services, settle for a great one and work with them for the long term. By doing this, you are getting great digitizing for embroidery done economically and professionally.
Connect with us if you want to collaborate on long term basis. Discuss your requirements with us or directly place an order. By the way, we offer a whopping 50% Discount for all our new customers.
Training an existing employee:
The second option is to train an existing employee and gradually allowing them to completely take over your digitizing. This option takes time and investment for some time before you actually start benefiting from it.
An important part is choosing a particular employee. To start off, make sure that the employee is not very important for the production process. An ideal employee is someone who does routine work at your embroidery and has some acquaintance with a design or a graphics software.
The biggest benefit of training an employee is that in the long term digitizing expenditure is practically going to be zero. With this method, there are substantial costs that a business has to incur in the beginning.
Firstly, you have to pay for training them. Not only the training itself but also for the time they are putting in getting trained. Obviously, while they are learning, you can’t rip their salary off. Remember that during this time you won’t be getting any immediate return of this investment. In fact, once they are adequately trained, you still can’t expect them to completely handle your orders.
If your business doesn’t have the required financial and operational muscle, this option is probably not for you. Especially, when there are no short-term returns.
Going All-In Yourself:
Passionate business owners often over-occupy themselves, thinking of it as their dedication towards their work. It definitely exhibits their dedication but is this dedication always fruitful? Perhaps not.
Every machine embroiderer should ideally have some know-how of digitizing. The more they know about the skill, the better it is. Knowing a skill doesn’t mean, that you have to put it in action. The only downside of this option is that it is likely to hinder the productivity of your business.
Small and medium sized embroiderers have this tendency of taking too much on their shoulders, only knowing afterward that they have set it up for a disaster. Digitizing embroidery yourselves leaves you with less time for core business activities. Consequently, it affects the management as well as the growth for your business.
Saving few bucks at the cost of your business productivity is not really a great choice. This does not mean that small embroiderers should not get their hands on the software. The skill is still handy in evaluating the work of digitizers, training your employees or occasionally preparing digitized files.
If you feel that you are still small and have sufficient time for digitizing embroidery yourself, just go for it. Make sure that you are not keeping yourself in delusion and your decision is not affecting your business adversely.
Sort It Out:
To keep your business flourishing, you need top-notch digitizing for embroidery. Any option or solution that compromises on it doesn’t fit into the recipe of a successful machine embroidery business. One of the best ways is to find a trustworthy and professional embroidery digitizing service and outsource your machine embroidery designs to them.
In-house digitizing might seem like a lucrative option with an enhanced control over your business. As you can see above, this is not always true and if you are not financially, operationally and mentally ready for it, don’t even think about digitizing embroidery in-house.
Enhanced control is achievable even if you outsource but it depends on how your embroidery digitizing service handles its business. It is a two-way process. The service has to be professional, punctual and on top of all, they have to consistently deliver high quality digitizing for embroidery. It is important that you, as an embroiderer, also contribute towards ensuring smooth working.
Get to know more about embroidery digitizing here. For receiving high-quality digitized designs every time, don’t hesitate to reach us. If you want to try us out, we have an exclusive 50% discount for our new customers. Get a digitizing quote or directly place an order.