u/Ok_Plenty9213

Hi all 👋 I am very new to earnestly researching how to start up my own fibre arts business.

I just came here from exploring other entrepreneurship related subs this week and am thinking I should have just started here. The men in the other threads are absolutely ruthless. Also, why is it so obvious that that the unhelpful responses are from men? The first post I read in r/Entrepreneur had a thesis "The truth is most of you shouldn't be entrepreneurs" and everyone unanimously agreed - Man. Freaking, ugh.

Anywho. I'm a 37F mom of 1 and boy have I already been dissuaded from even exploring the entrepreneurship route from the limited interactions I've had with others in my first couple days of asking questions. Currently licking my wounds and will muster up some courage to also ask this group some questions, possibly even dumb ones.

Here's hoping ya'll are like supportive and stuff! 🤞❤️

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some hard-won perspective, reality checks, or advice from anyone who has successfully upended a stable, lucrative corporate career to jump into business ownership.

My Conundrum:
I currently make $200k a year as a senior designer at a major tech company. On paper, I’ve made it. But internally, working in this industry is leaving me increasingly disenfranchised. Everything in the tech space is shifting toward automated, friction-free, digital uniformity, and I’m losing my passion for it. For years, I’ve dreamed of owning a physical, tactile business, but the financial leap feels terrifying. I cannot grasp how a boutique brick-and-mortar/e-commerce hybrid can ever scale to replace a high-six-figure corporate tech salary, and the fear of failure is keeping me paralyzed. And yet, I think about what it would be like to run my own operation all of the time.

My Qualifications:
I have a formal university degree in fashion, with a deep background in retail operations, editorial styling, e-commerce systems, and user-experience design. I have a keenly honed eye for design and style, know how to build digital products, and convert users online.

The Idea: 
As an avid sewist, I want to launch a highly curated, premium apparel fabric and fine notions supply store.

Traditional fabric retail is stuck in the past—it mostly consists of chaotic, poorly lit stores and warehouses where you have to sift through hoards of cheap synthetics. On top of that, garment sewing is an incredibly isolated hobby with equipment tying people down at home.

My vision is an intentional, design-forward retail atelier and community maker studio. It would feature a tightly edited, high-end collection of durable, long-lasting natural garment fibers (heavy linens, utility twills, raw denims, designer deadstock) paired with premium construction hardware. The second pillar is a bright, social workspace hosting late-night sewing socials and technical masterclasses, housing specialized industrial equipment (cutting tables, sewing / smocking / embroidery machines, heavy-duty rivet presses, gravity-fed pressing tables, etc.) that home makers want to use but can't justify buying for a spare bedroom.

My Plan to De-Risk:
I am currently on parental leave until October, meaning I am completely off the corporate clock. I have about $25k to $30k in personal capital allocated to bootstrap this, and intend to explore other funding models if needed. My plan is to start strictly online using a limited, password-protected pre-order model to validate inventory demand, with a 5-year runway to open a physical space.

Where I Need Your Advice:

1. For those who left high earning, corporate roles to start your own business, how long did it take you to realistically see a comparable income? Is it foolish to expect this kind of niche storefront to scale to that level?

2. What would you recommend to validate this concept without spending my capital? If you were in my shoes, what metrics would make you say, "Yes, this is worth leaving my tech career for"?

3. If your business involves physical, heavy inventory logistics (cutting yardage, importing freight, managing fabric rolls), what was the biggest operational blind spot or hurdle you didn't see coming when starting out?

I’d love to hear from anyone who has stared down this exact ledge and jumped.

Thank you!

Hey all,

I've been doing part-time EC training with my baby since he was about 3 months old. While he has never been stellar at cuing, I've previously had a lot of success with anticipating when he needs to go within his daily routine.

Previously, he had no issues and would happily hang out on his potty, but after he started teething, being introduced to solids and learning to crawl (all starting around 6 months old) he started resisting the potty. Now he just straight legs, refuses to sit and cries as soon as I put him on. I have tried potty specific toys that seem novel, and using a toilet seat to see if being on the toilet is better for him now that he is more mobile and discovering standing.

Unfortunately, nothing has worked and I've largely backed off trying to put him on the toilet/potty at all as I don't want to build any negative associations for him.

That said, any words of advice or insight on how to go about handling this massive lull? I understand that EC training isn't necessarily linear but this is starting to feel like we've fallen off the wagon entirely.

Thanks in advance.