small business
among her friends and their friends in the making of smart blouses.
The girl should always remember that poor work is never worth while.
Her blouses should be better than anything her clients can buy at a store.
They should have distinction and style of their own, and a fineness and
individuality which the stores cannot rival. If her gift is undeniable but
her workmanship is poor, she should take lessons at a school of dressmaking
and make herself a first-class worker. She may possibly undertake dresses,
although blouses generally are more useful and more possible for the girl
at home. In the same way, the girl with a gift may specialize on hats, but
her hats must be professional in workmanship and individual in style.

Perhaps the girl at home is a born cook. Home-made bread is always in
demand. But it must be the best that can be produced. A specialty in
home-made cakes of certain kinds may be made profitable. Candy-making is
often carried on successfully as a home industry. But the home girl who
does work of any kind for profit must have business sense. She must
itemize her expenses accurately. Cakes or bread which have not turned out
well should never be offered for sale. To do so is not fair to the worker,
for one of her most valuable assets should be the fact that her work is
always satisfactory.

The work of the home has changed greatly in the last fifty years. Once
rugs, carpets, blankets, yarn, soap and candles were made at home. If the
girl can find a market for home-made rugs she might make rug weaving a
profitable employment. The same is true of soap. In these days of thrift
and economy, days when work must be better done than ever, a girl might
induce the women of a neighbourhood to let her become a local soapmaker.
But she would have to be certain of herself and of the work. A co-operative
canning kitchen would be a great benefit to the women of any community, and
two or three home girls who could count on a certain amount of time for
this work could manage the kitchen. This work would be specially suitable
for girls in a small town or country district. They could arrange for a
market in a neighbouring town or city. The arrangement could be made
through a local Women's Institute or Home Makers' Club. "Canning circles"
have been managed successfully in some parts of the country. If the girl
wants a small business of her own in preserving fruits and canning
vegetables, she may develop a marke