Impressions - October 2014 - 53

any purchased or provided item customized or personalized.
"Our showroom has many, many different items," Hayward says. "Some of
our favorite items are ones we know our
customers love. We have to be careful not
to create too much of a clutter effect, because the space we occupy is limited. But
we try to carry as much as possible before
getting to that point. When we look at a
new product to bring into the shop, its
square footage imprint is very important"
The showroom is divided into sections:
new arrivals; school spiritwear; engravable
items; embroiderable gifts for him and her;
a gourmet section (with some favorite seasonal food and drink); its Simply Southern
line of pocket tees and preppy shirts; a
personal line of customizable goods specifically designed for monogramming; and
its baby room, which features Stephen
Joseph and other newborn items.

we did have quite a bit protecting them."
The lesson, as Hayward preaches to
anyone and everyone, is to have good insurance and software back-ups. The shop
had replacement coverage on the machines and, because the shop's software
was backed up, everything was restored
and running in no time.

'LUCKY' CUSTOMERS
Absolutely Specialties services three
types of clients. The first is retail customers.
The second group is local schools. Hayward and company provide spiritwear,
field-day shirts, embroidered polo shirts
for school staff, etc. In fact, its "GuaranTeed Profit" spiritwear program has been
a huge success for elementary and middle
school PTAs. The third group is comprised
of corporate customers, which include
small businesses with one or two employees, to those with hundreds.
The diverse customer base has helped
deliver a number of interesting stories, including one involving ladies from the small
country of Montserrat. They asked Hayward
to replicate the country's flag on hundreds
of goods, both embroidered and printed.
"They wanted to take them back to
their country and sell them," Hayward recalls. "They also brought in a large piece of
white fabric and asked us to cut it into 4" x
6" prayer cloths, and then print bible verses
on them so their pastor could bless them
and give them out to the congregation. After he blessed them, they brought one back
to me for good luck. I guess it has worked."
If you know anything about Absolutely
Specialties' story, then you would know
Hayward could be referencing the "luck"
surrounding a lightning strike that hit its
embroidery machines. "There is almost
no amount of surge protection that could
have protected them," she recalls. "And yes,
impressionsmag.com

The shop's showroom includes numerous items, including embroiderable gifts and a
line of customizable goods specifically designed
for monogramming.

EYEING THE FUTURE
When Hayward considers the future,
she sees a marketplace ripe with opportunity. Her son, Dan Jr., who just received
his Master's degree in business administration from the University of Miami, saw
even more growth potential for the company. "He had all these great ideas for the
business and I said that I couldn't do any
more by myself," Hayward says. "So I asked
him to join us as a business partner. Thank
goodness he said 'Yes.'"
The Haywards see the monogramming
segment continuing to grow from its current stronghold in the Southern states.
They also see more opportunities to ship
items ordered from the shop's online store
to the northern and western markets.
"Our marketplace has stayed consistent," Hayward says. "Even through the
financial crisis of the mid-to-late 2000s,

there was consistency. Business faltered
a little bit, but it didn't appear to be as
affected as other industries were."
Hayward has seen pattern trends evolve
for the past three to five years, from a large
demand for animal prints, such as zebra, to
polka dots. Today, the market is on the tail
end of chevron, as Greek key and geometric patterns are starting to take off.
"Being in the Southeast, we are in a
huge market for monogrammed goods,"
Hayward says. "We don't see that dying
down anytime soon. People have always
wanted towels for their houses, college
dorm rooms, gifts for friends or loved
ones, etc. And we suspect and hope they
always will. There is just something special about seeing your name or initials
on a gift."
Absolutely Specialties also expects
to continue finding success marketing
its brand through social media. "This has
been and continues to be the biggest impact on our business," Hayward says. "We
really committed to it just over a year ago.
In that time, we have seen our Facebook
friends increase by about 500%. It is an
incredibly cost-effective and efficient way
to get the word out about new products,
news - really almost anything."
Hayward says success in this business
comes when you find what you love to
do, and do it correctly. "It's about finding a
niche," she says. "Fortunately, over the last
20-plus years, we have found many niches.
I guess our first niche was 'extreme customer service.' Basically, we did whatever
it took to get an order out on time and
correct. We have seen many embroidery
businesses start up over the years. Three or
four of my former employees have tried.
They all have gone out of business."
Why? Hayward says it's because this is
not a 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday business.
"You can't do that and be successful or
profitable", she says. "We have had to stay
up all night to meet a deadline or to exceed
our customers' expectations many times
over the years. Not that we are Nordstrom,
the Ritz Carlton or the Four Seasons, but
when you perform that kind of customer
service, you get a customer for life."
Michael J. Pallerino is an award-winning
writer who has written for a number of national consumer and trade publications. For
more information or to comment on this article, email Michael at mpallerino@gmail.com.
October/November 2014 | Impressions

53


http://www.impressionsmag.com

Impressions - October 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - October 2014

Impressions - October 2014
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
Product Gallery
ISS Conferences
Let's Get Digital!
On the Move
The Heat is On
Hitting the Right Target
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Production
Screen Printing Production
Screen Printing Graphics & Design
Digital Decorating
Classifieds
Online Directory
Ad Index
Impressions - October 2014 - CT1
Impressions - October 2014 - CT2
Impressions - October 2014 - Impressions - October 2014
Impressions - October 2014 - Cover2
Impressions - October 2014 - 1
Impressions - October 2014 - Contents
Impressions - October 2014 - 3
Impressions - October 2014 - First Impressions
Impressions - October 2014 - 5
Impressions - October 2014 - From the Show Director
Impressions - October 2014 - 7
Impressions - October 2014 - FYI
Impressions - October 2014 - 9
Impressions - October 2014 - 10
Impressions - October 2014 - 11
Impressions - October 2014 - 12
Impressions - October 2014 - 13
Impressions - October 2014 - 14
Impressions - October 2014 - 15
Impressions - October 2014 - Product Gallery
Impressions - October 2014 - 17
Impressions - October 2014 - 18
Impressions - October 2014 - 19
Impressions - October 2014 - 19a
Impressions - October 2014 - 19b
Impressions - October 2014 - ISS Conferences
Impressions - October 2014 - 21
Impressions - October 2014 - Let's Get Digital!
Impressions - October 2014 - 23
Impressions - October 2014 - 24
Impressions - October 2014 - 25
Impressions - October 2014 - 26
Impressions - October 2014 - 27
Impressions - October 2014 - 28
Impressions - October 2014 - 29
Impressions - October 2014 - 30
Impressions - October 2014 - 31
Impressions - October 2014 - 32
Impressions - October 2014 - 33
Impressions - October 2014 - On the Move
Impressions - October 2014 - 35
Impressions - October 2014 - 36
Impressions - October 2014 - 37
Impressions - October 2014 - 38
Impressions - October 2014 - 39
Impressions - October 2014 - The Heat is On
Impressions - October 2014 - 41
Impressions - October 2014 - 42
Impressions - October 2014 - 43
Impressions - October 2014 - 44
Impressions - October 2014 - 45
Impressions - October 2014 - 46
Impressions - October 2014 - 47
Impressions - October 2014 - Hitting the Right Target
Impressions - October 2014 - 49
Impressions - October 2014 - 50
Impressions - October 2014 - 51
Impressions - October 2014 - Shop Spotlight
Impressions - October 2014 - 53
Impressions - October 2014 - Embroidery Production
Impressions - October 2014 - 55
Impressions - October 2014 - 56
Impressions - October 2014 - 57
Impressions - October 2014 - Screen Printing Production
Impressions - October 2014 - 59
Impressions - October 2014 - 60
Impressions - October 2014 - 61
Impressions - October 2014 - 62
Impressions - October 2014 - 63
Impressions - October 2014 - Screen Printing Graphics & Design
Impressions - October 2014 - 65
Impressions - October 2014 - 66
Impressions - October 2014 - 67
Impressions - October 2014 - Digital Decorating
Impressions - October 2014 - 69
Impressions - October 2014 - 70
Impressions - October 2014 - Classifieds
Impressions - October 2014 - 72
Impressions - October 2014 - Ad Index
Impressions - October 2014 - 74
Impressions - October 2014 - Cover3
Impressions - October 2014 - Cover4
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/202003
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201908
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/20190607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201905
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201904
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201903
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/teamactive_2019spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201902
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201901
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/dd_2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201810
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201809
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/teamspirit_2018fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201808
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201805
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201804
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201803
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/teamspirit_2018spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201802
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/teamspirit_2017fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/20170607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201704
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201703
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/teamspirit_2017spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201701
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/sportsfanretailer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/teamspirit_2016fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/20160607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/teamspirit_2016spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201602
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201601
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/sportsfanretailer_201512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/digitaldecorator_2015fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/teamspirit_2015fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/20150607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/digitaldecorator_2015summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/sportsfanretailer_201506
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201503
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201502
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/201410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/impressions/sportsfanretailer_2014fall
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