Own business: production of upholstered furniture. Production of cabinet furniture: technology and necessary equipment

Own business today is acquiring a completely new dimension. An increasing number of people prefer self-employed rather than hired labor.

The risk in most cases is justified. The profit from your own business is many times higher than the standard income of an office worker. In addition, it is very promising. It is only necessary to intelligently calculate the ratio of financial costs and profits in order to work exclusively “plus”.

Production of upholstered furniture is becoming more and more popular in the consumer market. We are talking about both budget options for the interior, and luxury sets, the cost of which literally does not fit into the head. As practice shows, this kind of business is very profitable.

In addition to soft sets, the manufacture of cabinet furniture is in great demand. Elegant and durable wardrobes, kitchens, cabinets, computer desks - this is what consumers always need. Let's try to consider this business in stages and affect the maximum possible number of nuances.

We evaluate the potential of the market. Luxury furniture

The level of competition in our case is quite high. There are enough manufacturers of furniture. And if you want to organize your business and work for profit, you need, first of all, to identify the weaknesses of rivals in the market.

What exactly do consumers want and what exactly are sellers ready to offer them? If in your region there are not enough manufacturers of elite upholstered furniture, accessible only to people with a high level of income, then it is quite possible to try to occupy this particular niche.

However, before this, be sure to make sure that prices of this scale will really be affordable for consumers. To do this, do a little marketing research, the results of which will show you the percentage of residents with an income level above the average.

Also take into account the number of owners of luxury apartments. As a rule, they are the main customers of luxury furniture. Be sure to choose some distinguishing feature for your own production.

For example, the manufacture of upholstered furniture using the latest technology exclusively from natural materials without the addition of harmful chemical constituents. Such a “highlight” will surely attract the attention of consumers who want to furnish their apartment not only with taste, but also in full accordance with modern trends. And do not produce a large amount of furniture immediately. Goods of this class are much more valuable if the collections are of a limited nature. Remember the desire of each client to be purely individual in everything.

Potential budget option

Business can flourish, and not only in the production of extremely expensive furniture. Budget options are in great demand by consumers who value concise and practicality in products of this type. Offering customers favorable prices, as well as discounts in the event of the purchase of a full set of furniture, you are sure to firmly occupy a niche in the market. However, be sure to familiarize yourself with the competitors' sales technique.

Remember that it is necessary to maintain a balance between self-interest and the ability to fight for customers. Too much discount will seriously hit your pocket. High prices are uncharacteristic for budget class furniture, so they can’t play into the hands of the manufacturer.Try to focus on the environmental friendliness of all the materials used, as well as manual assembly. Such nuances, as a rule, attract a large number of customers, since this segment of the market is far from always boasting excellent product quality and some of its distinguishing features.

Production of upholstered furniture for children

In this case, you should focus on the bright appearance of the product and the special strength of the fasteners. In addition, make sure that all products are made from natural materials. Such furniture should not have sharp corners. When it comes to the health and safety of children, many parents are willing to pay a large sum only for reliability and environmental friendliness.

You can attract the attention of small buyers by using bright fabrics in the design with drawings of popular characters from animated series. There is an option of making furniture of an unusual shape. For example, a bed in the form of a race car for boys or a royal box for girls. In this case, you can give free rein to your imagination.

Production of furniture facades

If you have no desire to create whole interior items, then there is such an option. Some companies have a separate workshop for creating exclusive facades. Other companies do just that without producing furniture. In any case, if the facades are truly unique, they will be in demand. After all, with their help it will be possible to transform any trivial furniture.

In this case, the role of buyers are other legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who are engaged in the production of interior items. If they want to add chic to their products, draw attention to them and increase sales, then they just need bright and wear-resistant facades. Do not want to make furniture? Want to lower your competition? In this case, the production of furniture facades is the best option.

Making contacts

With whom do you need to maintain good relations in order for a business to please its income? In the case of furniture production, it is imperative to establish relations with firms offering repair services for residential apartments in particular and for premises in general. It is such companies that may well suggest potential customers who have an improved layout at home. And in such apartments, most often they get cabinet furniture.

To properly organize the approach to selling your product, first of all, identify the specific needs of potential buyers. And competently established relations with the owners of other companies associated with this market niche will help you with this.

Do not forget to take into account contacts with potential customers. Ideally, for this it is necessary to create at least the most simple site where interested partners can send you a commercial proposal for the manufacture of furniture. In addition to this advantage, the presence of a company on the Internet significantly increases its prestige. A growing number of actively developing companies prefer this particular method of communication and obtaining information about potential business partners.

Choose a room for the workshop

It is necessary to produce both furniture (cabinet or upholstered) and facades for it in a well and uninterruptedly heated place. Of course, in the summer everything is simpler. Warm outside. In this case, the manufacture of upholstered furniture with your own hands can occur even in the most ordinary garage. But as soon as the cold comes, the question of a better workshop will come up anyway.

You can start your own business in fairly modest conditions. For example, on an area of ​​20-30 square meters. Do not forget about the reinforced doors and bars on the windows. Materials cost money, so don’t just give them away to anyone who wants to make money.

The room should be fairly bright and well equipped.Otherwise, it will not pass all the necessary sanitary checks. In the future, it will be possible to move to a more spacious workshop, when production will reach new volumes. It is much more profitable to rent a room than to immediately acquire ownership. Firstly, the last option will take much more time, and secondly, one-time financial investments, which in the future will pay off for a sufficiently long time.

What we will produce goods from

The list of necessary materials that are used in this business is not that long. The main ones are chipboard and fiberboard. The first option is relevant only solid varieties. The manufacture of furniture facades requires a slightly larger number of items. After all, it will be about finishing.

But if you want in your production to focus on high quality and European level of goods, then you need to regularly conduct market research on the emergence of new materials.

Of course, they will be more expensive than the usual ones. This will also affect the final price of the goods. However, consumers have already noted for themselves that low cost does not always justify itself. Therefore, competent advertising of upholstered furniture, cabinet, nursery or facades will help convey to potential buyers the idea that the high price of your products is fully and fully pays for the similar quality of the goods.

At the initial stage of production, pre-test materials from different suppliers. This will help you in the future to avoid large-scale marriage and losses. In addition, there is an opportunity to immediately make a choice in favor of bona fide suppliers whose materials have a very reasonable cost. If you become a regular customer, there will be a chance to get a nice discount for regular cooperation.

Pay particular attention to fabrics and printing if you are opening upholstered furniture. The convenience and appearance of the product depend on this. The fabric should not be too brand, sufficiently dense, pleasant to the touch, and also wear-resistant. High-quality packing differs in that it does not form hard lumps over time and keeps its shape well. Fittings should not be scratched much and lose their luster. Elite materials must be combined with the same expensive varieties of natural wood. For furniture of the budget option, using luxury fabrics is impractical. It is better to opt for material with a more reasonable price.

If you mean the manufacture of cabinet furniture, then in this case it is necessary to take into account the following subtleties. For the production of internal boxes, smaller chipboards will be required. For example, if the standard parameter is about 16 mm, then sheets of 12 mm are needed to make these furniture parts. The fastening material must be durable and reliable. Only in this case, the furniture will last a long time and withstand active use.

When choosing a supplier, consider its location. The farther it is, the more money will have to be spent on transporting materials. And this will increase the cost of production and its final price. Always have 2 or 3 suppliers in stock in case of force majeure. If the main option you choose is not able to provide the right amount of materials, the spare ones will always help out and will not let the production stop.

What equipment will be needed

The manufacturing technology of upholstered furniture implies the presence of special equipment. When choosing equipment, it is necessary to focus, of course, on quality. There is a hand tool and machine tools.

The first is for single products. If you are planning to start manufacturing limited editions of exclusive furniture with hand-carved and sophisticated decorative design, then there is clearly no need to buy a machine.

But mass production will require modern technology.The most complex and expensive equipment is equipped with software control. However, for the initial stage of the business, acquiring such a machine is extremely problematic. It is best to buy medium-level equipment and easier to maintain. It will not cost you so much.

Be sure to purchase the machine taking into account the margin of productivity. If you need to expand or enlarge the scale of production of upholstered furniture, you do not have to immediately buy additional equipment. At first, it will be possible to use the existing one.

The final choice of technology will be influenced by the form, as well as the size of the individual parts. Not every machine can give the basis a complex appearance. But the manufacture of furniture facades or limited collections of headsets often requires multifaceted and curved parts. In this case, you will have to work manually or order complex equipment, which, if necessary, can be rented. Details of a rectangular shape of a standard type are made by the simplest machines.

We select staff

If you feel the strength and knowledge in yourself to establish the production of upholstered furniture or cabinet options yourself, then in this case you will not have to recruit staff. But remember that such a layout is possible only for limited collections, which you will probably have to do based on reputable buyers. After all, even a very experienced master will not be able to make many interior items. Employees will help to solve this problem.

Personnel must be selected with particular care. You can do it yourself or make a contract with a special company that provides services of this kind. You do not know how to open furniture production at minimal cost, since you have never tried yourself in business?

In this case, it is better to trust the professionals. As a rule, such recruitment companies take a small commission, but at the same time cope with the task as soon as possible. You yourself will probably spend a lot more time.

To offer your employees a decent salary, pay attention to the proposals of competing organizations. It’s better not to promise sky-high money right away. The best option is a small salary and a percentage of the work done. Overfulfillment of the plan may well be financially encouraged.

In this case, employees will be directly interested in making as many pieces of furniture as possible. But watch out for quality. In addition, sometimes there is a theft of materials or their replacement with cheaper ones. Such situations need to be monitored and strictly suppressed. Otherwise, the reputation of the company as a whole may suffer.

Organizational moments

Before you ask yourself how to make upholstered furniture, you need to think about the legal intricacies of such a business. First you have to register as an individual entrepreneur or legal entity. In both cases, there are advantages and disadvantages. As a rule, it all depends on the amount of initial cash investments.

However, it is worth noting that for individual entrepreneurs, doing business is still a little easier. In any case, you will have to collect the necessary package of documents and go through the mandatory registration procedure to start your own business. The next no less important step is opening a current account in a commercial bank. Be sure to pay attention to the amount of fees for servicing legal entities and individual entrepreneurs in the selected organization. In different banks, it can be very different.

Open an account only with a reliable credit institution with many years of experience in the market. Remember that funds in the accounts of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, in the event of bank liquidation or bankruptcy, are practically not returned. Deposit insurance does not apply to them.But you need to open an account without fail. In addition, the technology for the production of upholstered furniture is such that you have to constantly make settlements with suppliers and customers. And most often, without a current account, this is simply impossible.

Minimize costs

To calculate all the initial and subsequent costs of your own business, you need to draw up a business plan for the production of upholstered furniture. It needs to describe in detail all the costs of materials, equipment and wages for workers, transportation costs, rental premises. Having calculated with their help the approximate cost of one unit of goods, you can already set the final price, taking into account profit. A well-designed business plan will allow you to adequately look at specific figures and, if possible, reduce production costs where it is really possible.