About Us
We specialize in embroidery, sewing and sublimation. We also digitize designs so almost everything can be custom created. I also conduct private and classroom education for digitizing software, embroidery and sewing projects upon request.
How We Got Started
Artistry is my passion. Handcrafting occupied all my leisure time while I persevered a less inspiring "job" and dreamt about eventually doing what I love. I researched entrepreneurship and took classes at the Art Institute of Houston.
When domestic computerized embroidery machines hit the market, I purchased one, along with some digitizing software. Then I studied and practiced until I felt competent enough to retire and take that leap of faith.
As a sole proprietor, success is slow; but each new client brings an opportunity to practice and learn. When asked to be an instructor for my machine dealer, I gained new clientele and student referrals. By keeping an open mind to new ideas and techniques, I find ways to broaden my areas of expertise. There's a lot to be said for "learn and grow".
Mostly, I enjoy my clients' pleasure when they see their visions come to life. Their word-of-mouth referrals bring me great satisfaction.
At times I have to pinch myself -- I'm living my dream!
The products and services we offer
Recommendations Received (5)
"Our customers are exclusively horse owners. They can come from anywhere and everywhere. You may..."
Read more
"Our customers are exclusively horse owners. They can come from anywhere and everywhere. You may run across one. Jayme"
Products & Services
We can create custom patches and attach them to clothing, totes and other items.
We create & customize fashion accessories in Splendora. Think purses, totes, scarves, jackets. We also can use upcycled materials like old jeans, h...
Even a little giveaway can keep your business top of mind. Call Meiko Enterprises LLC to learn about keychains and key fobs we can customize with y...
Recommendations Given (5)
"Very clean and relaxing atmosphere. Expert technicians who really care."
"It's a comprehensive healthcare system and there are different plan levels for medical services..."
Read more
"It's a comprehensive healthcare system and there are different plan levels for medical services so you can find one that fits your budget. You can even have access to specialists (dental, vision, mental health and women's health). It's worth looking into if you're shopping for medical care alternatives. "
Recent Activity
Nothing is more powerful than word of mouth, especially in the highly competitive embroidery industry. I specialize in home decor and fashion wear embellishments and I also digitize designs. Delivering quality products and great customer service is very important to my clients so it's a high...
(more)
Nothing is more powerful than word of mouth, especially in the highly competitive embroidery industry. I specialize in home decor and fashion wear embellishments and I also digitize designs. Delivering quality products and great customer service is very important to my clients so it's a high priority for me. By meeting and even exceeding their expectations, I have loyal clients who are more than happy to recommend me to their family, friends and business associates. This also keeps my business manageable, since I am a sole proprietor and don't have any employees.
I also found that getting involved in community events is also a great way to meet other small businesses and residents in surrounding neighborhoods.
These things don't break my marketing budget and they're fun too!
I would never use copyrighted artwork to create designs without getting the proper licensing from its original creator. The reason is because it's theft and it would go against every fiber of my integrity. If you want to build trust with your clients, you must maintain integrity and earn it. It's...
(more)
I would never use copyrighted artwork to create designs without getting the proper licensing from its original creator. The reason is because it's theft and it would go against every fiber of my integrity. If you want to build trust with your clients, you must maintain integrity and earn it. It's not just a promise you can include in your ads. Your actions speak so much louder than your words.
1 Reply
I provide quality customization services. If a potential client feels my prices are too high, I explain the steps involved for my projects and if they still think they're too high, I point them to other embroidery businesses who do bulk work.
(more)
I provide quality customization services. If a potential client feels my prices are too high, I explain the steps involved for my projects and if they still think they're too high, I point them to other embroidery businesses who do bulk work.
I provide custom embroidery services, so quality is definitely most relevant. I am not in the mass production business as most of my clients are looking for personal expression in home decor and fashion accessories.
(more)
I provide custom embroidery services, so quality is definitely most relevant. I am not in the mass production business as most of my clients are looking for personal expression in home decor and fashion accessories.
Not really anything holding me back now. My website and social media are in construction. I'm also devoting some time to branding myself.
(more)
Not really anything holding me back now. My website and social media are in construction. I'm also devoting some time to branding myself.
Giselle, hello. I reviewed your website as requested and have these insights as to why you may not be getting hits on your site. I spent many years in HR, Training, Finance and Multi-Media so I hope you find my feedback helpful.
1) With identity theft and info leaks prevalent in the news these...
(more)
Giselle, hello. I reviewed your website as requested and have these insights as to why you may not be getting hits on your site. I spent many years in HR, Training, Finance and Multi-Media so I hope you find my feedback helpful.
1) With identity theft and info leaks prevalent in the news these days, businesses may not be anxious to outsource "at risk" information to a sole proprietor. (I assumed you are a one-person act because on your site you say "I can ..." when you propose tasks that can be accomplished by your business.
2) While your title infers "virtual" which typically is off-site, your byline states "YVC provides on-site services in the Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin and New Orleans Areas." and later under HR Services you state "YVC provides on site services in the Houston area." So do you have other office locations in TX and LA and, if so, do you have additional staff that can go on location? This was confusing to me. Put your business address (a real street, not a PO Box) on the site. Let people know you are a real business and have a real office location.
3) Put your contact information (phone & email) in several places. Right now, it's in tiny characters at the very bottom of your website. I suggest you add it at the very top of your site and under each of the service areas you provide. No one should have to scroll at any time to find out how to contact you.
3)You're offering virtual assistant and virtual HR services. It's best to specialize if you want to stand out because otherwise it sounds like you'll take any kind of work. That lessens your credibility. Being considered an expert earns credibility, trust and recommendations. Later, as you expand and add staff, you could branch out into virtual assistant services, unless that's where you want to start. Key is to specialize in something.
4) Add more information about your credentials. While all the initials after your name are well earned, most small businesses don't know what they mean and don't care. They want to know WHY you should be their go-to HR person. This website is not only a sales ad.., it's your resume. Add credibility to your degree -- where did you go to school, what was your major, what have you done since then (add clent testimonials to the site). Add the HR thing that is your favorite to do.
5) Your site is very clean, crisp and easy to read so its layout is great. Add your personality to it with a video. Be personable, yet professional -- not standoffish. Your prospective clients are small businesses and they rely on personal interaction with clients for their income. Your business should be the same way.
If you're a one-person business right now, you may have to do some door knocking, cold calling and get your business cards out there (I assume you have these ready to go). Place ads where small businesses place ads and join some business networks. There are lots of women's networks where you could meet women-owned businesses and get your foot in the door with some of them. Pick up business cards local businesses that you can call from beauty salons, coffee shops, ice cream parlors, and other service businesses that have bulletin boards. Don't forget to add yours, too!
Best of luck in your business. Hope these insights were helpful!
Amazon is a monster competitor for sure. If your products are branded by someone else, then you may find this competition too difficult to equal or beat. However, if you can't beat them, maybe you can join them by creating and branding your own products and listing them online also!
I actually...
(more)
Amazon is a monster competitor for sure. If your products are branded by someone else, then you may find this competition too difficult to equal or beat. However, if you can't beat them, maybe you can join them by creating and branding your own products and listing them online also!
I actually have an online store, LeaningPineAcres.com, and listed many products on Amazon in the past. The inventory from my store is managed by a dropshipper and includes many home furniture and decor items as well as garden furnishings and decor. In the past, when listing prices on Amazon it was hard to keep up with inventory because it wasn't coordinated automatically through my website so I was constantly doing that manually which became burdensome for over 2,000 products. As a result I discontinued that even though I was making a profit because it was very time-consuming. However, there's an update coming to my website soon, I'm told the web builder will incorporate some features to make it easier to manage inventory when listing with Amazon and eBay, I'll probably consider listing items again in the future if it does that automatically.
I'm also planning to add my own personally created items in a new department on that website called "From Our Home To Yours". I may consider Amazon and eBay for those. Currently I'm researching other possible marketing opportunities for those items. My items will have my own brand, "Meiko's Art Box", and I'll be doing the shipping on those items myself unless I can meet find a more convenient method (like Amazon fulfillment).
Whatever you do, make sure your shipping and return policies clear and accurate. Returns can be very costly so you want to include how you handle returns for different scenarios -- if received damaged, if decided they don't like it, it item was incorrectly listed, etc. I don't pay for shipping of returned items and I charge a restocking fee. This discourages "When I got it, I realized I didn't really like it". However, if the item was damaged on receipt, or isn't as advertised, or didn't work as it should, then I have the discretion of refunding for shipping. Also, there's a time limit for requesting a return and they must contact me to get an Return Authorization Number (RA#) before any returns will be accepted.
I hope this has some answers that will help you. In the end, it really depends on what kind of products or services your marketing, how flexible you can be, and how much money, time and effort you are willing to expend.
The first call should be to get to know that business, not to sell them yours. Building a relationship with other businesses in the community works much better than pushing sales. It's also easier. Be honest -- you're working to gain the trust of a potential future client/customer.
(more)
The first call should be to get to know that business, not to sell them yours. Building a relationship with other businesses in the community works much better than pushing sales. It's also easier. Be honest -- you're working to gain the trust of a potential future client/customer.
Referrals are the best way to get new business, yet I've never known a furniture business that has had an official referral program -- maybe I just missed those. I don't know of any company that has one that feels it wasn't worth having.
Most referral programs offer incentives for current...
(more)
Referrals are the best way to get new business, yet I've never known a furniture business that has had an official referral program -- maybe I just missed those. I don't know of any company that has one that feels it wasn't worth having.
Most referral programs offer incentives for current customers to do referrals so the incentive would have to be something the current customer really wants, probably in the form of cash back on their purchase. Of course, something could be offered for the new customer too (e.g., a % discount off their purchase) which would motivate them into your store vs. a competitor's store. A designated number of referral cards could be given to customers to pass on to friends. When the friend shows the card and purchases an item, the referral card could have all the information needed to distribute the incentives. Having several cards the current customer could get a large portion of their purchase back. As an ongoing program, the new customer would be motivated to do the same thing.
Advertising is a lot more expensive than having a referral program. I say go for it! As a matter of fact, I'm going to work on one for my business too!
Typically I respond, "All projects require a setup fee. Once I add on the cost to sew out your project, you may find the price is higher than anticipated. I can give you a rough estimate right now so you have a perspective of what the work would cost." Most prospective clients have a general idea...
(more)
Typically I respond, "All projects require a setup fee. Once I add on the cost to sew out your project, you may find the price is higher than anticipated. I can give you a rough estimate right now so you have a perspective of what the work would cost." Most prospective clients have a general idea of what they want to pay for my service. If they've never heard of setup fees, this may come as an unanticipated added charge and would be enough to lead them elsewhere.
