Baby Quilts and E-Biz – Top 5 Differences

Although quilting and starting an e-biz share some common grounds, the two projects are commonly seen as the two opposite ends of the business spectrum. Discussing their differences is not intended to glorify the one or to undermine the other and knowing them will not make you the Kaffe Fasset of baby quilts or the next e-biz billionaire. It will rather help you learn more about baby quilts and e-biz. Here are 5 differences for you to consider:

1. Process. An e-biz site is never finished and every successful e-preneur will vouch for that. E-biz is work in progress - constant adding, removing, rewriting and tweaking. More often than once, quilters wished they had this opportunity too. Thankfully, that's not the case; otherwise we might have never known the art of quilting.
2. Final Product. The virtual nature of an e-biz site limits its effect on our five senses; here is where the makers of baby quilts have the upper hand to the e-biz owners. Even the best e-biz site can't be felt against your skin, held in your hand, wrapped around a newborn or given as a baby shower gift.
3. Audience. Who you would make a baby quilt for is very different from who you would make an e-biz site for. An e-biz site tries to meet the needs and wants of a broad audience with already developed tastes. The audience can be selective, critical, demanding and sometimes with questionable taste. A baby quilt, on the other hand, besides being pleasing to the parents, has to satisfy the needs of the least demanding and most innocent customer of all - the baby.
4. Purpose. Quilting is not only an expression of creativity and skills. Besides bringing comfort and beauty baby quilts are made to show love and care, to create and store memories from truly special times. The purpose and the very existence of an e-biz are defined by profit. Virtual as it is, it is still a business like any other and emotions and good intentions are not enough to sustain it.
5. Tradition and Longevity. Quilting has been around for centuries and quilts have a long history of tradition. Quilting was known to the Ancient Egyptians as well as the Romans. It arrived in Europe in the 12th century and became popular in North America in colonial times. Throughout the years baby quilts went in and out of fashion but even when they fell in popularity families kept their little treasures. The capricious trends were never able to affect the baby quilts' heirloom quality and they continued their journey from generation to generation. As far as history is concerned Internet and e-biz don't have much to brag about - they are relative new comers to the world business stage. But I would not hold this against them; their dynamic progress and immense popularity more than make up for their short existence. However, I still find it difficult to see an e-biz being passed from generation to generation but I might be wrong. Only time will tell.

In a previous post I already introduced the similarities; now, you know the differences between making a baby quilt and starting an e-biz. Did you manage to figure out which one is easier and more rewarding? If so, please let me know as I am still searching for the answer!

-------------------
I didn't become Fairy overnight and I have all the Fairy powers to help you with your baby crib bedding and nursery decor. For handmade baby quilts, baby girl bedding and baby boy bedding visit my baby bedding boutique TheQuiltFairy.com

Baby Quilts and E-biz – Top Five Similarities

 Although making baby quilts and creating an e-biz seem like vastly different projects, they have more things in common than one might expect. I can't promise you that knowing the similarities will make you a world renowned quilter or a millionaire e-preneur. But it will give you five good reasons to appreciate the work of the other. Here they are:

1. Piecing bits and pieces together. In making baby quilts like in an e-biz, the final product is a combination of different materials and techniques. Both projects have been called 'something out of nothing' but in real terms that's quite far from the truth. Shopping carts, codes, optimization and links are for an e-biz what patterns, fabric blocks, batting, backing and threads are for a baby quilt, to name only a few. There are thousands upon thousands of bits and pieces available out there but on their own they do not account for much. Choosing the right ones and piecing them expertly is what the master quilters and e-preneurs excel in.

2. Precision and patience. When making a baby quilt or starting an e-biz 'One block at a time' principle applies for both. There is a natural order of creating a quilt or an e-biz and skipping a step might be quite costly. Neither one of the two projects is an overnight one; in quilting as in e-biz it might take longer than a few months to see the final product. Accuracy and precision are another key point in creating baby quilts and an e-biz. Half an inch here, half an inch there and the quilt ends up in the scrap bag. A typo here and wrong code there and the e-biz links point to the competitor's site.

3. Knowledge and "How-to" manuals. You'll need to know how to make a baby quilt just like you'll need the know-how to make an e-biz website. Quilting and e-biz both benefit from a good preliminary research on techniques, materials, tools and terms but learning on the go is part of the process too. There is an abundance of "How-to" manuals for creating baby quilts just as there are multiples upon multiples of manuals on how to make an e-biz site. There are also many real and self-proclaimed gurus and choosing who to follow could be quite frustrating.

4. Sloppy work - sloppy product. An e-biz site as a baby quilt will tolerate occasional 'oops' and mistakes. However, there is a limit to that and sloppy work is always costly. Poor quality of an e-biz site destroys credibility, drives away potential customers, and kills profits. A baby quilt that's falling apart, with poor construction or with an awful color combination does not tell a very favorable story of its creator and shows lack of care and love.

5. "Start-up" enthusiasts and "drop outs" aplenty. Making baby quilts and running an e-biz are not 'get rich easy' formulas as some might want you to believe. The 'burnout' factor is quite high and even though there is no statistical data the numerous 'ghost' e-biz sites and unfinished baby quilts can testify for that. In 2006, the Quilter's Newsletter Magazine estimated that 27 million Americans, 17 percent of the US households, enjoy quilting as a hobby. With the vast amount of retiring baby boomers this number is growing steadily. In 2007, the Netcraft Web Server Survey found 108,810,358 distinct websites but how many of them are e-biz sites is unknown. As more and more people are actively seeking to develop new sources of income the e-biz startups are experiencing a significant rise in popularity.

These are just five of the many similarities between creating a baby quilt and an e-biz. Now, if you are wondering if the best quilters are the most successful e-preneurs you are forgetting that there are differences too; which, however, are the scope of my next post.
---------------------
I didn't become Fairy overnight and I have all the Fairy powers to help you with your baby crib bedding and nursery decor. For handmade baby quilts, baby girl and baby boy bedding visit my baby bedding boutique TheQuiltFairy.com