I agree. Do it. Start with one 6 Head (Barudan, ZSK, Tajima or Happy). Don't but ANY Chinese clone. Once that's running 5 days a week add a second. There is definitely a learning curve. Hire someone with experience, don't hire a trainee.
We did this in 2015.
- We purchased a brand new 4 head Chinese clone (mistake #1).
- We did not hire an experience machine operator and opted to teach ourselves until business warranted a full time person for the job (mistake #2)
- We went with cheap digitizing and fast turn around times (mistake #3)
Fast forward to today.
- We recently picked up a new-ish single head Barudan and it's LIGHT YEARS ahead of our 4 head paperweight
- We hired a full time embroidery person with 10 years of experience
- We are going to adding a 6 head Barudan later this year, after we get moved into a large building.
I disagree with needing a 12 head to make a go of it in contract work. The more the better I agree with. 6 head machines make the most sense for us. Many of our jobs are 12, 24, 36, 48, 72 pieces. We do get some 144-1000 pcs orders throughout the year but most jobs are in the lower range.