9/24/26

PIVOT!

I didn’t think that starting a business would be easy, but I also didn’t think it would be insurmountable. Living in an area where a new vape shop is opening every 5 minutes, I didn’t think it would be THIS difficult to secure funding and get everything going. 

I got the idea, I already knew the perfect business partner. I started doing research on business structures and how to start a business. We picked a name (originally “Snip Snip Hooray!”), filed the LLC, got the EIN, and started a business plan. We got a mentor through SCORE, I joined NAWBO. I attended a SCORE workshop on starting a business, went to several NAWBO meetings and sat through classes on networking, marketing, color pallets, funding… We already had some great positive feedback and had a lot of interest. We were on a roll! 

And then it all came to a screeching halt. 

It stared with the bank account. Looking back on it, we should have just left that bank. Having to correct Amanda’s name because the clerk put her on the account as “AMANADA” should have been a sign. We were under the impression that you could apply for a loan upon creating a business account. Nope. We had to bank for 6 months. Ok, no big deal. Two months later, we had overdrawn our account. It made no sense. We had a solid chunk of change in there! The clerk had put ALL of it into the savings portion of the account, when the monthly bank fees for not having transactions is deducted from the checking portion. After correcting that, Amanda asked if my debit card had arrived. It had not. That was a whole thing, I got them ordered and confirmed they were on their way… A year later, Amanda still doesn’t have hers. 

Our SBDC person who initially said we were on the right track got brutally honest and told us, “There is no way you will be open for Christmas”. SCORE’s funding got pulled from the federal government all because they had a webinar on creating an inclusive space. I met with a pro-bono consultant who asked me, “How much can you afford in rent?” When I told her how much I budgeted upon securing a loan, she clarified, “No, I meant, how much can you afford on your income now?” 

That gutted me. 

Her question still haunts me as the cost of living continues to rise… I try hard not to think about that. 

If you’re local, I don’t need to explain the beast that is ‘Buffalo weather’. For the rest of you: following a brutal “forever winter”, we were hit with 2 “fake springs” before finally entering spring. 

During this time, my health took a turn and I was stuck in a 6 month long migraine cycle (shout out to my team at Dent for helping me navigate that! After several infusions, a few med changes, and starting Botox I’m feeling much better!) 

At the beginning of September, the stars aligned and we were able to get together and get the ball rolling. 

First order of business was changing our name. “Snip Snip Hooray!” was cute, but some people thought it was the name of a salon. It really didn’t convey what we were trying to do. A name is crucial to brand building and marketing. It needed to be direct, but also a pun or tongue-in-cheek. 

Our epic brain storm included names from “Quilty Pleasures” to “Fat Quarters and Hookers” — As we were developing a list of shared terms between sewing, knitting, and crochet; my daughter came running out of the house and shouted, “I’VE GOT IT! ‘I’M INTO FAT STITCHES!” 

And thus, “Fat Stitches” was born. 

Over the past year and a half, Amanda has been accumulating fabric and sewing machines. We have enough stuff to make precut fabric to sell and to start some classes. Over the next several weeks, we will be cutting fabric and coming up with some workshops. Lists of local retailers, dates of craft shows, and registration for classes will be posted on our website and socials. 

This is the end of my PTO week from my day job. Today marks day 3 of working my normal working hours (7a-3p) on the business. I’ve changed the name of the LLC (fun fact: you can change the name of your LLC online in New York State, but filing a DBA has to be done in person or by mail), secured the domain name (consultant pointed out that Google’s first hit for “Snip Snip Hooray” is a spay-and-neuter clinic), set up our website, and established our social media accounts. I also applied for some grants. Today, we are changing banks because, honestly, we should’ve done that a long time ago. 

Opening a business is not a linear process, unfortunately. Most of the time it feels like every step we’ve executed has been met with, “Did you do A, B, and C?” The one step forward, two steps back process is maddening! We will still get there, it’s just taking longer than we anticipated. 

While not what we had envisioned, our ‘pivot’ from a store front to a nomadic model is a necessary first step. It allows us to give you SOMETHING, because you deserve it! 

When we build it, y’all will come! I’ve known that from the jump and it’s my biggest motivator. If you find yourself on the edge of your seat impatiently waiting with excitement, we are right there next to you! 

Thanks for hanging in there with us! 

<3 Katie