Full Text of the Excerpt

KIERAN TAYLOR:

Now were you able to carry your old clientele?

LAURA B. WADDELL:

Yes, my clientele followed me.

KIERAN TAYLOR:

They did.

LAURA B. WADDELL:

I was afraid of that because leaving downtown, Broughton Street, coming into almost to a residential area and predominantly black area, I was afraid that my customers would not come. Some of them were reluctant to come for a while, but they finally, followed me and knowing the kind of business that I was familiar with, how my first employer got jobs. I tried to follow some of that pattern, and that means that I went to some of the stores and asked them did they need alteration, the ones that did not have in-house seamstresses. I started doing alterations for some of the stores, and they would bring the stuff to me. I didn't even have to go get it. They would bring it to me, and sometimes I would see that they got it back, but we did what was necessary to get the job done. If it was convenient for me to pick it up, I would pick it up. If it was convenient for them to bring it to me or come get it, if they needed it in a hurry, they came and got it. I ended up doing work for at least two stores, and when business kind of got slow with the stores, I went to the Savannah State College where I did alterations for the NROTC. I also did alterations for the Army, put, sewing on patches, whatever was to make money we had the alteration department.

KIERAN TAYLOR:

Did you ever have any kind of business training or running a small business?

LAURA B. WADDELL:

Never had business training.

KIERAN TAYLOR:

It's just kind of—

LAURA B. WADDELL:

Never, never.