Susan Hyder, owner of Hyderhangout in Cleveland, Tennessee, expanded her lifelong love of sewing from a hobby to a business. She o ̄ers advice to other shop owners.
“Pick one thing that you want to optimize—something that you really dislike doing, for example—and look into technology that could help you,” she says. “My job is so much more enjoyable because I get to spend my time doing the things I love most—quilting and
connecting with my customers!”
HOW DID YOU GET INTO QUILTING?
My love for sewing and quilting started at a young age. At 6 years old, I started sewing, and by the time I was 10, my Barbie doll had 500 hand-sewn outts. I loved everything about sewing; it became a passion. When I turned 12, my step-grandmother from Costa Rica taught me how to make a quilt. As with all quilts, we started by making the top, and the next day we were going to start quilting. But for me, the fabric wasn’t perfect and my seams didn’t match. I got up in the middle of the night, cut it up into a million pieces and threw it away. In hindsight, I wish I still had my rst quilt to show other quilting beginners.
When I was 18, I started a ve-year stint doing alterations at Fines Department Store in Savannah, Georgia. I was the youngest of the 18 women in the department and they taught me everything. But my heart was in quilting. I opened my own factory in Florida for a while, which focused on small-quantity garment manufacturing with a screen-print component. Eventually, I went to school to become a nurse and I used quilting as a form of stress relief.
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO OPEN YOUR OWN QUILTING STORE?
In 2008, I quit my nursing job—I was burned out—and I had always had a passion for quilting,
so why not make my passion my job. I opened my business in my basement with fabric that I had purchased from a store that was closing the year prior and invested in a big lighted sign. However, because the store was in my home, it didn’t see the traction of a regular storefront.
In October 2009, I found a place in downtown Cleveland, Tennessee. We were at that location for about a year and then I found the place where Hyderhangout is now located. In that move, we were able to expand the store from 600 to 3,000 square feet, and we’ve been expanding ever
since—both in-store and online.
WHAT IS THE MOST FULFILLING PART OF OWNING YOUR STORE?
I’m passionate about what I do. I love quilting and I love interacting with people who want to quilt. However, I’m a business owner rst, a quilter second, so I have to remember that my business decisions are di ̄erent from what I would make if what I was doing was just a hobby. I focus many of my business decisions around my customers. From spending time helping customers nd their fabric to guring out their measurements to o ̄ering classes and clubs, I try to set our store apart from other quilting stores, and I believe that’s why we’ve been successful.
HOW HAS TECHNOLOGY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN HOW YOU OPERATE YOUR STORE?
When I rst started Hyderhangout, I wanted to encourage the “hangout” part—spending time with customers and helping them have the best quilting experiences. In 2009, I was introduced to Like Sew, which is a point-of-sale system for quilting andsewing retailers. I could choose the features I needed for my store, such as e-commerce, inventory, measurements and sales. I’m still using the platform today. I emphasize to my employees that they should spend all the time they need to with a customer, and we’re able to do this because of technology such as Like Sew. At times, we will spend up to an hour or two helping somebody nd fabric and gure out measurements. This helps us make friends rather than just customers. Because of Like Sew, I’m not sitting in an o3ce looking at spreadsheets or spending hours trying to manage inventory, online stores (eBay and Etsy) and employees. It has transformed the way I conduct my business, focusing on
quilting and connecting with my customers.
WHAT PARTS OF THE BUSINESS HAVE BENEFITED MOST FROM TECHNOLOGY USAGE? Technology has been most benecial in inventory management, specialty fabric cutting and e-commerce. Managing inventory is a core part of our store’s physical and online operations. Our system tracks everything we sell in-store and online. As we make our way through bolts or products, we know what is selling well, prompting the need to order more, or if we should just let it sell out. We also use technology to understand what types of fabric or supplies are selling better than others and ensure that our stock accurately re£ects the desires of our customers. With regards to fabric cutting, we can manage fractional yards and precuts through Like Sew. For example, if a customer wants a fabric measurement that’s not a common fractional,
we can cut it and the system is programmed to give an exact price for the material. We don’t have to do the math to gure out how much the customer should be charged. It makes a huge di ̄erence for us and our customers when we’re able to streamline time at the cutting table and know that checkout will go just as smoothly.
E-commerce has played a huge role in our business, especially over the last few years. In particular, 2020 was an interesting time. There was a lot of doubt everywhere about what would happen to businesses during the pandemic. We had our e-commerce store set up, and Like Sew was super quick to add an in-store pickup feature; it was game changing for us. Within days of the world shutting down, my online sales had skyrocketed. I went from a few orders a day to 20 to 50 a day. We spent hours packing orders— a lot of people wanted kits for quilting and mask making—in an e ̄ort to make a really hard time for many a little bit easier and, hopefully, enjoyable.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ANOTHER STORE OWNER?
There are so many things you have to think about as a shop owner. You have to be able to multitask and be £exible. On top of that, you have to build the relationships with your vendors, suppliers, employees and customers. There is so much that you can learn from everyone you surround yourself with. One way to do this is to use technology to help you. Don’t waste time trying to do everything yourself. Resources can change how someone approaches their business. I know Like Sew will give me the data and insights I need to make my business decisions. Sales processes are more seamless and I can give better, data-driven recommendations based on our sales history. It gives me the ability to focus on my customers in a way that I could have never done without the support of their system and their team.