Deb Luttrell, founder of Stitchin’ Heaven

Can you tell our readers about your background in business?

I had a 20+ year career in telecommunications and sales management in Dallas, which gave me a strong foundation and confidence when it came to starting a business of my own. I worked extremely hard with my sales teams, at one point leading us to win the Malcolm Baldridge Award in the Customer Service category. While I really enjoyed my corporate career and getting to hone those important skills, I came to point in my life where I wanted to be able to dictate my own schedule and the projection of my future.

What inspired you to start your business?

After leaving my job, my family moved to the small town of Quitman, TX with the intention of starting an emu farm. Alas, I quickly realized that emus and I were not meant to be, and instead turned to quilt, a hobby I had been around my whole life but only really picked up around the time my son (and now business partner) Clay was born. I taught myself how to quilt after seeing my 65-year-old aunt pick up quilting. Something about it was very magical to me. Even before the internet boom, the quilting community both locally and nationally was intensely passionate about sharing their craft and getting connected. I wanted to provide my town and the surrounding area with a place where they could find the best product and come together to learn and share.

Where is your business based?

Quitman, a small town in east Texas with a population of 1,800.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

After moving to the country, honestly, I was bored, and I began to think about this whole idea of owning a quilt shop. I found the perfect location in a little shopping center. I started with a $70K loan from the bank, wondering how in the world could I ever spend $70K. Of course, the money went quickly. I attended the quilting and sewing industry trade show prior to opening to get ideas and make some contacts. The fabric representatives who took me seriously came out to my location to work with me. We wrote some fabric orders, started getting the space ready and planned a Grand Opening.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

The rise of social media has been crucial for our growth, which in turn results in a tremendous amount of word-of-mouth awareness. From Facebook Live Q&As to YouTube tutorials, we do everything we can to encourage engagement with and between our followers. We have also made it a priority to form and nurture relationships with vendors and creators in our industry. Forming business friendships and partnerships has resulted in countless collaborations, projects, great deals, and offerings for our customers, increased awareness, and mutually beneficial marketing campaigns—this has really been one of the most important parts of our business and one of the quickest ways to establish credibility.

 What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Staying in business for the first five years was a big challenge. I was in an exceedingly small community 100 miles away from a large city and I had to answer the question, “Why would anyone want to drive 100 miles to do business with me?” By asking that question, I was driven to seek out unusual opportunities and events to make my store a destination stop. The other big challenge came in 2005 when I decided to expand and open a second location about 50 miles away from my home store. It was a beautiful, large store but just I did not do my homework and I did not evaluate the situation honestly. I closed the store in just 10 months and had to absorb the inventory from the second store into my home store. In addition, the lease agreement was very vague, and my landlord came after me for the money spent to improve the building. He had deeper pockets than I had to keep paying attorneys and I ended up settling with him for $40K. Ouch. Many good lessons learned with this experience!

How do you stay focused?

When I have something I must get done, I email it to myself as a reminder, and then I do not delete the email until it is done. By doing this, every time I open my email I am reminded.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

We are constantly looking for ways to diversify the types of products and experiences we can offer our customers, providing several ways for a quilter to spend money with us. This results in multiple revenue streams on the business side, and also gives our customers a reason to keep coming back to our store or website. From quilting classes led by industry experts to curated cruise vacations and unique subscription opportunities, we find ways to adapt to consumer trends or world events.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Email by far is still the most effective marketing strategy in the crafting industry. We keep our emails fresh and interesting by including recipes, personal stories, and even “The Light Side” at the end where we provide a joke or a funny story.

 What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Do not try to do it all yourself. Remember that your business requires your vision to succeed and it is your job to create and manifest that vision. If you are putting up inventory or waiting on customers or teaching classes, you cannot work on your vision. Do not be afraid to hire people to do those tasks when doing those tasks will generate revenue for your company.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

My favorite app is my banking app. I love it that I can check my money balances briefly, and I can deposit a check online. My favorite blog is Seth Godin. He blogs every day. Every. Day. It is inspiring that he has that commitment. Good books include The Culture Club, Traction, The E-Myth Revisited, Indistractable.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

From the book Traction, we discovered the Entrepreneur Operating System and I will say it has changed our organization immensely. There is input from the organization leaders, we get things are done that need to be done, and we communicate more effectively.

Who is your business role model? Why?

I would say that it is my son. He joined me as a partner a few years back and it is nice to have him to not only learn from but also to bounce ideas off. He occasionally must talk me off the ledge and has often told me to “let go of the vine” when it comes to allowing our EOS to work rather than stepping in and doing it myself.

What is your beauty routine? What are some of your favorite products?

Oh gosh. I have always taken care of my skin and I believe in taking care of myself. I frequent our local spa and treat myself to a massage at least quarterly. I have a facial every 60 days. I love Sisley products and now can afford to buy them, fortunately.  I have always been a Merle Norman girl and still use the lash primer and mascara.

How do you balance work and life?

I have taken time for myself from the beginning. If I felt I had to work Saturday, I would always take off on Monday. No one should work 6 days a week. When I feel stressed, I head to the spa. My grandchildren mean the world to me and they know MoMo is coming with gifts which is a delight for me to see their smiling faces. I visit with my son and daughter in law about non-work topics – it is the rule when we are away from the store.

What is your favorite way to decompress?

I have a pond in my backyard with a little fireplace on my patio, so I love to go out there to just sit and listen to the waterfall. I have my occasional cocktail with my Shih Tzu Jack snuggled up in my lap. And of course, I sew!

What do you have planned for the next six months?

We are breaking ground on a really exciting addition to our property – a retreat center and cottages that will sleep more than 60 people. This will allow us to further our goal of becoming a destination store and hold more retreats, classes, conferences, and events for our customers across the country.

On a more personal note, I will be teaching myself how to play the piano! This is something I have wanted to do for years and during this pandemic-stay-at-home time I made the commitment to do it. I found a lesson system that I can teach myself from, bought a Yamaha keyboard, and am ready to go!

How can our readers connect with you?

I go live on Facebook frequently to share tips and interact with our followers at https://facebook.com/stitchinheavenquiltshop. Join us or drop us a message and I’d be happy to answer your questions!