# Question about hiring sewing contractors..



## therunbunch (Oct 5, 2009)

I'd like some guidance on hiring people to sew for my company. Has anyone ever hired for this before? Ever BEEN hired for this before? 

My company manufactures cloth diapers but the company has grown so fast over the past several years that I can't really keep up anymore. We are managing several sales team start-ups this year which means that demand will only grow. It's time to take that step to increase production but I'm scared.

I know I'll need contracts drawn up to product the designs and trade secrets. Patenting cloth diaper patterns is not a real common practice and only 2-3 major companies even bothered with that step. I think this time next year I'm hoping to have the office set up for at least 4 dedicated sewing staff, plus our local sales reps and manager. I just don't know how to ease my anxiety here.

I've never gotten bad advice on HT so it's usually my first-stop-shop for advice! I need to learn a lot about this process.. what to pay, how to pay.. (per piece or by hour?) etc. This is all definitely "growing pains"!


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

When I was about 15 I did piece work for a woman who had designed a doll. She paid by the piece, provided all the materials (thread, buttons, fabric already cut). All I had to do was sew following her instructions. She paid by the piece, but that was a really long time ago (more time than I care to admit to on an open forum.lol). You might want to speak to your attorney about a non-disclosure agreement and if paying piecework is legal in your state.

Now are you looking only for local folks to do this work or distance not a problem for you? If you will work with people outside of your local area, you'll want to include a postage paid way for them to return the item to you.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I don't have your answer, but Karen has worked in a legal office and should come up tonight or tomorrow and probably have some good advice for you.


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## PonderosaQ (Jan 12, 2004)

You could find out a lot (not about pay rates) by looking up contractor vs employee on google before you even consider hiring people. You can get yourself in a big mess legally and financially if those boundaries are not clarified from day one. I just had a friend go through a big mess in this area and would hate anyone else to go through what she did. Hopefully Karen can give you some advice. Good luck in your endeavor, wonderful to hear of companies growing in this economy and even nicer when they are in an eco friendly field.


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

The laws vary in every state, but if you're in a "Right to Work" state the laws are more flexible and, I think Maine is a RTW state.

I know it's expensive, but I promise you that in the long run, seeking the guidance of a good business attorney is worth every penny of what it will bring you in piece of mind, knowing your rights, and your responsibilities to your employees, as well as their's to you. Plus, you get the benefit of having things set up right from the start which will save you money too. A business attorney can also help you go in the right direction regarding how to pay your employees, taxes, etc.

Regarding having your employees sign a non-disclosure agreement, the only practical application of such an agreement (as well as a not-to-compete agreement) is that your employee is more likely to 'think' it's binding. In reality, it's not that difficult for an employee to challenge such an agreement and you will generally spend more defending it than would in any loss due to competition. In fact, some states don't even recognize such agreements in a court of law.

However, if you patent your design, then you would be in a much better legal position. The downside is that it takes forever (*literally* years and years), is often difficult legally and is very expensive to patent a product or design. You can expect it to cost some where in the neighborhood of $15,000 and up. You can also invest a lot of money only to find out your product/design doesn't qualify because it's too similar to another already patented product/design. 

One word of advice, do NOT attempt to use a patent company. They are not attorneys even though their websites will claim them to be. All they have to do is have an attorney on their staff to make that claim (pay him $100 to say he's on staff). These companies are rip-offs and almost always will not get you your patent or you could be sued by another manufacturer for copyright infringements, etc. when your product comes to light because they didn't have a patent attorney to do the diligent searches, correct legal documents, etc. Then you're left holding the bag and loose all you've already paid plus having to get a 'real' attorney to defend against their mess up....well, you get the picture; it's a catastrophe. They can make it sound so inexpensive and easy; trust me on this one, it's not.

As you can see, patenting a product/design is not just a simple matter of filling out a US Patent application. It's a very complex and expensive process and one that you will need to weigh to determine whether your profits versus your costs is significant enough to even attempt to obtain a patent. A legitimate attorney will generally not recommend you going for a patent unless you have an _extremely_ novel idea or design from anything that currently has never been patented before. Note that even if you know no such product/design currently exists, it doesn't mean a patent doesn't exist. Even if a product/design has never even been on the market, it's still protected under patent laws just as if it was. 

There is also a danger in attempting to obtain a patent. Patent holders are dead serious about their patents; after all, it costs a great deal of time and money to obtain. They frequently check for new patent applications and rejected applications (the patent process is public record). If your product/design is anything at all like their patented product or design, you could be sued for every penny you have made from your own product, plus their attorney's fees in obtaining a judgment, court costs, and other damages. So unless your product and design are very significantly different from any other product ever made, you're at a very high risk. This truly is not to discourage you, just giving you an idea of how complex and pitfalls there is to process. 

Note that I'm only a paralegal and I can't give legal advice, rather just give you a general idea of how things generally work; however, I can tell you that it is of the utmost importance to get proper advice and direction from a good and legitimate attorney; and yes, despite popular opinion, there are many good and honest attorneys.

Regarding how employees are paid, here in Virginia (a RTW state), there is still a huge sewing industry. Most of the employers here are paid according to production quotas. If you do not make production, you receive minimum wage (which all states now require). If you make production, you receive a bonus per piece you produce over your production quota. But, if you continually cannot make production over a _specified_ period of time (and it must be specified in writing), you lose your job. There are a few independent companies that pay a straight hourly rate, but those do not provide any company benefits and employ mostly part-time sewers. In your state, you will probably find you have have many options according to your profit margin. 

BTW, sub-contractors usually have to work outside of your business location and are paid a _much higher _wage due to having to pay their own taxes, insurance, bonding, etc. Most businesses find it's more economical, you have more tax breaks, your product is better controlled and on-time by having in-house employees.

It's so wonderful that your company is going so well that you need to expand. It's really the best problem you could have! I'm so happy for you and congratulations. I can't wait to hear how things go from here. :banana:


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## therunbunch (Oct 5, 2009)

Karen, you're a wealth of information! We're in MA (Massachusetts) actually, but I'll have to see the laws. In-house employees is what I had in mind. I want to be on-site to answer questions, monitor work, and check for quality.

Growing a business is NOT the fluffy awesome picture I thought it would be. Growing hurts like crazy and is really scary! Yes, the money is great but it's really much more stressful. It's not the pretty picture most people think it is (or at least what I thought). 

We've gone the patent route before and got as far as paying for the patent drawings. In the end it was just a PITA and very expensive. Plus, even if I spend all the thousands on a patent, am I going to spend thousands every year tracking down people who may or may not be using our designs and prosecuting/cease desist? Sigh. I think not.

In the interim, I've raised the price of the products to slow production. It's really worth my time now when orders do come in. I'm at the point where if a product is made and ready to ship.. it sells. We're trying to focus on one area of the business.. corporate sales. We landed 20 new hospital accounts today alone. It's wonderful! It's painful. I just want to learn as much as I can so that I don't have a huge faux pas that costs me tons of time/money.. and most importantly.. the image. Bad press is not good at all so I want to make sure I don't oversell and under-deliver. Thanks for helping to point me in the right direction!


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

> Growing a business is NOT the fluffy awesome picture I thought it would be. Growing hurts like crazy and is really scary! Yes, the money is great but it's really much more stressful. It's not the pretty picture most people think it is (or at least what I thought).


I totally agree. I've been through from living out of car and selling an item, to 4 businesses and about 20 employees, and all the legal stuff with it. It was sole owner by my then hubby, but I cannot tell you the hours I put into it.

There is something to be said about growing slowly and considering what you are willing to give up to have the income/headaches from your own "successful" business.


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Been there too as I've had several successful businesses (and frankly a couple of unsuccessful ones too) between my husband and I. We've had a commercial cleaning company, a Christian bookstore, Christian concert promotion company, a children's Christian cable TV show, and Christian rock radio show. So I can relate to the problems of growing a business. But if you're going to have business problems, the need to grow really still is the best ones to have! 

One thing that you may need to consider is if it's worth it. Having a bigger business means bigger stress, more problems, bigger waste, bigger bills, a bigger reputation to keep, and more of 'mark' you are for competitors. 

You certainly do sound as if you are well aware of those pitfalls and take them very seriously, but do sound like perhaps you're not sure you're ready to move into such growth? The actual reason that most small businesses fail is not due to commitment or lack of initial funds, but rather because of getting bigger before they are ready (both financially and mentally) to do so. 

Money isn't everything. Your sanity and family are much more important. It doesn't mean you are less successful if you choose to not move into expanding your business. It means you're so successful that you couldn't! Don't allow customers or other people to pressure you into expanding your business if you don't feel ready to handle the extra pressures. It's easier for others to say because they forget it's _your_ pressures and _you're_ the one that has to deal with life being very different. Remember there is nothing wrong with turning down sales because you're maxed out. If you're product is the best one out there, then they will wait. 

If you decide to go ahead, IMHO, you're right on track on with in-house employees. Monitoring your product means monitoring your reputation. I also think you're wise to not proceed in your patent unless _you know _it will be more profitable by doing so. Isn't it just a shame that it has to be so costly and complicated. Sure isn't fair to the little guy who has a great idea.


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