A Cautionary Tale

Two weeks ago, I was working at my desktop computer, in my office, when I got the notice that I needed to “update and restart” my computer (I am running Windows 8 on a Dell computer). I did the restart and left the room for a cup of coffee.

I came back to my computer and ….., my sign in screen was totally different and my desktop was different too – and ALL my desktop files and folders were GONE!!! I searched deep in my computer and couldn’t find the files!! I wasn’t panicked, yet! (All my programs were still loaded on my computer, just the files and folders were gone!)

Fortunately, for the last 10 years or more, I have used Carbonite.com for my constant, in the background, back up and restore service. I can’t say enough good things about this company and their services. But I am getting away from my story!

I contacted Carbonite, did what they said, and restored ALL my files that I thought had been lost! But wait, there’s more!

When I went to upload information to my websites, the “connection” that is between my hosting service and my computer was lost along with a few other connections that I need for my business. These could all be re-connected, but it would take time and some phone calls, etc. (I can handle doing that, sort of!!!)

A few days later, I realized that one of the programs I used (Quicken, for my personal finances) wouldn’t work – I was using a 2013 version of the software! So, I upgraded my version of Quicken to a current version, and, of course, after it was finished uploading / upgrading I had to do a restart to get Quicken to work. Of course, I did so and went for another cup of coffee.

When I got back to the computer, my old (before all this started) sign in page AND desktop were back! Woo hoo – so I thought, but.., my desktop files and folders were ALL GONE AGAIN!!!! I couldn’t find then anywhere in my computer!

And, this was all happening the day before I was teaching several days of classes!!!

A few days later, after the classes were over, I took a deep breath, contacted Carbonite, again, and this time one of their people “took over” my computer, found my files, and reloaded them for me. Then I had to get information onto the websites and realized that the “connections” that were previously lost, had all re-appeared and seemed to be working, along with all my other connections that I thought were lost!

I am now a REALLY happy camper!!!

How does this relate to quilting??? If I did not have the Carbonite system on my computer, I would have lost (literally) 20 years of my business financial records and 20 years of quilt designs, pattern, writings, articles, etc., etc.

My plea to you is this – get something like Carbonite.com, or any other off site, secure storage system for YOUR computer files. There are several different companies who do this sort of thing, choose which one is best for you. JUST GET IT!!! You don’t know when YOUR computer is going to go “crazy” or, in the case of the California wildfires, tornadoes in the Midwest, flooding in the East Coast, or any other natural disaster,  you have to leave or evacuate your house with little or no warning!

Ask yourself this question, if something happened and ALL my computer files were lost, including family photos and other precious things that are on your computer, could you get them back???

I live in earthquake country – if there were a devastating earthquake and my home was destroyed (I think my fabric collection would keep the house upright) I CAN get my computer files back!!!

I truly hope that nothing catastrophic happens to you or your family, but please, with the way today’s world is, protect your computer files!!!

FWIW – Carbonite.com costs less than $75 per year, it is a legitimate business expense and, with TWO desktop restores in less than a week, this is a price I can – and will – gladly pay!!!

One more thing I have to do is to restore my computer again and see what happens! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that everything comes back the way it’s supposed to, but, if it doesn’t, I’ll be contacting Carbonite.com!!!

Please feel free to post any comments below. I would love to hear from you about this, especially if you use a different back up system.

Charging for Thread Live Online Class

This is the second in a series of LIVE online class about running a successful – and profitable –  machine quilting business.

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As a machine quilting professional, are you charging a separate fee for thread that is being used on your customer’s quilt?

If you are not, you should be!

If you do, are you charging enough to cover the cost of your thread? And to make a profit??

Join Cindy Roth, who has been machine quilting as a business for over 25 years in this LIVE, in person, online class, Saturday, October 12, 2019 at 1 pm Pacific Time as she talks about this subject.

Cindy will talk about –

• Why you SHOULD be charging for thread used in a quilt.
• How to determine how much thread is used in any quilt.
• How to determine the wholesale and retail cost of thread used.
• How to present this information to your customer, especially if you have not charged for thread in the past.
• Invoicing thread charges to your customer.
• And a whole lot more, along with an opportunity for questions and answers!

This is not a class about what kind of thread is best or what thread to use on a quilt. Those are questions that only you and your machine can answer. This is a class on the “business end” of a machine quilting business!

This is the class that will give you the information YOU need to make YOUR business more profitable!

This class will be about 60 – 90 minutes in length.

If you can’t join the class on October 12, the class will be recorded and you can view it at your convenience.

With the busy Winter Holiday season fast approaching, NOW is the time to see if  your thread charges are accurate, or begin to charge for the threads used in your customer quilts.

For more information about the Charging for Thread in your Machine Quilting Business class or to register for this class, Click Here

If you have any comments or thoughts about charging for thread please feel free to leave a comment.