Couple thrive in stitches

PRODUCTION LINE: Sharlene Curtis of Dannevirke company StitchMe setting shirts to embroider on the $50,000 six-head machine which is programmed with a flash drive. The machine can take nine threads at once and has the capacity to run at 900 stitches a minute but the Curtises operate it at 600 stitches a minute. PHOTOS/CHRISTINE MCKAY

A Dannevirke couple are running a very successful home-based business, which is bucking the trend in tough economic times.

David and Sharlene Curtis have said goodbye to their secure, fulltime jobs, determined to grow their own niche business, StitchMe. And it's working, David said.

"After our first year we increased the business by 24 per cent and then by 44 per cent at a time when we were both still working fulltime. To March this year we've grown the business by 217 per cent on last year and to date we're 40 per cent ahead of last year.

"When we first started I knew in the back of my mind we had to grow and the business has, beyond expectations. I'll be happy if we increase our workload by 15 to 20 per cent a year, raising customer numbers which stand at more than 300 at the moment."

So what's driving this growth against reports that our regional economy is stuck in a low growth rut?

"It's a combination of good customer service and a can-do attitude," David said.

In November 2010 the couple purchased their first single head machine which could produce one item at a time.

"We had friends who had this machine and I was so jealous, so when they offered it to us we didn't say no," Sharlene said. "We were both working fulltime and we set up in a 3m by 3m bedroom here at home."

If there were 10 designs to go on shirts, the couple had to do all 10 separately, David explained.

"In December 2012 we took the plunge and purchased a six-head machine from Whangerei at a cost of $50,000. Our investment grew to $120,000 as we extended our garage to build a production room capable of handling it."

In May 2014 David was made redundant after 38 years in banking and his wife resigned from her job at The Warehouse.

"The business was too much for Sharlene who was working 90-hour weeks to keep up and we knew this business would develop and it has," he said. "The business has taken off and really I don't know why, but I think it's a local can-do attitude and as we work from home, we can be available to clients 24/7."

Sharlene said just having the courage to take the security blanket of fulltime work away was the key to working at home.

And being home-based in small town Tararua has been no obstacle to expanding the business and meeting client needs.

"We're willing and open all hours if needed," David said. "And of course we're only a courier parcel away from our markets and suppliers so we can order garments for a client from Auckland at 11am and I can pick them up here in Dannevirke at 7.30 the next morning."

Being a banker, David said his figures told him the business would work.

"As a business couple we know what we're capable of and at the moment 75 per cent of our total turnover would be from the Tararua, but we're getting more work from out of town and at the moment we're quoting for a job in the South Island.

"We're going in the right direction and there's absolutely no disadvantage in being based in Dannevirke and in fact this town has been great to us. The support from businesses, sports clubs and schools has been absolutely superb."

At the moment StitchMe is sustaining the Curtis family, David, Sharlene and their two teenagers aged 17 and 19.

"If I wasn't made redundant I'd still be in banking," David said. "I had a great life in the bank and there are similarities between that and StitchMe. It's the satisfaction of helping people and there's no difference in selling money or garments.

"If I was still in the bank Sharlene would have resigned anyway to work fulltime in the business."

With their company slogan, "if you're not branded, you're naked", the Curtises like to think outside the square.

"If a design has to be digitised we use a world-class digitiser in Tauranga and we always source everything from within New Zealand. We don't believe in going off shore," David said. "Nor do we believe in just doing the job and sending a bill and giving someone a heart attack. We try to fit our client's requirements to what they really need and can afford because repeat business is important."

Being based at home hasn't been a disadvantage for the couple's son and daughter and Sharlene said she can come into the house and cook tea while in the middle of a job if need be.

"If someone rings us outside normal business hours we don't say no and we're always happy to help whatever the time," she said.

"Last Christmas we had a desperate phone call from a woman in Palmerston North who wanted towels monogrammed in a hurry. She couldn't find anyone over there to do the job, but she came over here, sat down and had a cup of coffee while I got the job done."

The couple have also worked as a tag team to make sure they deliver a big order.

"Sharlene worked up until 2am and then I took over at 5.30am," David said.