How do I document my tailoring techniques before selling the shop?

Begin with the work you repeat daily: hems, tapering, zipper replacements, jacket sleeves. For each one, record your measuring habits, your marking method, the order of steps and the usual traps. Short videos recorded at the bench often explain more than pages of text, because the hand movements are the knowledge.

Next, capture the judgement calls. How do you decide a garment cannot be altered further? How do you quote a price? What do you tell a customer who wants something impossible? Buyers value these answers because they protect your reputation after you go. Add your supplier contacts, preferred notions and any regular-client fit notes.

Finally, decide what you will share and when. Your buyer may want the material as part of the sale, or as a training period. Ask your lawyer how to handle ownership of patterns, drawings and written methods, and whether a confidentiality agreement should cover them before a serious buyer sees the detail. Keep original files, not just copies. Test the notes before you hand them over. Ask a capable colleague to follow one of your written methods without your help, and fix every spot where they hesitate. Gaps that you cannot see are the ones that cost a buyer the most.

Key takeaways

• Record the daily alterations step by step, with video of your hands at the bench.
• Write down your judgement calls, pricing logic and client fit notes.
• Ask your lawyer who owns patterns and methods, and whether a confidentiality agreement should come first.