The organization of a business for the production of any type of furniture requires certain knowledge and skills, as well as substantial capital injections. If at this stage you do not have all of the above, then you can offer furniture repair as a business. This service is quite in demand, and the contractor should not have any special skills. In addition, here we can talk about minimal financial investments.
Essence of the idea
Even people who are very far from the furniture industry can well learn this craft, using various sources of information, such as magazines, books, articles or videos, as a visual aid. Furniture repair as a business is a very good idea, since there is a huge amount of information on this topic that allows you to quickly get used to it.
Thanks to modern trends in furniture and interior design, the laboriousness of work associated with restoration is minimized. Recently, old furniture has been quite popular, which is pasted over with special films or wallpaper. However, you should not reduce the range of your services only to this. In the process of training, you will be able to master the skills of conducting various types of restoration work, as well as create truly masterpieces.
check in
Any business requires registration. Therefore, even if you began to carry out repairs of cabinet furniture, you must register as an individual entrepreneur. After that, you can search for the room in which your workshop will be located. This is not a prerequisite, since the main work can take place directly at the client's house.
However, it is worth organizing an office where it will be possible to resolve all issues with those wishing to order repair of kitchen furniture or any other, in some shopping center. A potential client should see what and how you can do, so you should provide him with a catalog of finished works, as well as samples of materials that you can use in your work. Any person who sees the solidity and organization of your business may well become a client, attracting more and more new citizens to you.
Not all of the work you can do directly at the client’s home, there are processes that require implementation only in the workshop. You can transport furniture to your workshop using your own transport or hire a third-party.
As your business begins to gain momentum, it will be possible to think about acquiring a small truck, which will greatly simplify your business. Before starting work with a client, it is worth concluding an agreement on the provision of services, which will spell out all the work associated with the negotiated subject. It consists on the basis of the inspection and identification of flaws.
Customer search
If you have chosen furniture repair as a business, then the first step is to use the most affordable and simple ways of advertising and finding customers: ads in local publications, the Internet, as well as on special boards and cabinets. You can get a good result using various social networks to advertise your services. It is worth reminding yourself regularly by adding photos of the work performed. So potential customers will be able to visually assess your skill level.
A clear demonstration of the work leads to the fact that the level of trust in you is increasing.It is quite possible to do this: to find old discarded furniture in a landfill, and then restore it. Be sure to take photos before and after. So you can demonstrate your achievements. It is possible that furniture repair as a business will begin for you with the sale of created designs.
Creativity, quality performance and a responsible attitude to each client are the main conditions for your business to develop successfully. In our country, one of the most successful promotion tools is word of mouth. One satisfied client will become a source of new ones in the form of his relatives and friends.
First successes
If you are repairing old furniture, then your first customers will be young families, the elderly, as well as citizens whose income level is low. This category of population either simply cannot afford the purchase of new furniture, or experiences a strong attachment to the one that has already been purchased. It is important to justify and justify the cost of providing your services.
Even if it is repair and hauling of upholstered furniture, you are not obliged to do it for a penny. It is important to maintain balance and make accurate calculations, you should not give up your strength and time for nothing. With a skillful approach to the client, you can not only satisfy him, but also make good money.
Features of working with upholstered furniture
Not every family can afford the purchase of new furniture, so many people use such a service as hauling old ones. The frame itself usually does not suffer, but the upholstery fails as a result of scuffs, dirt or other flaws. Replacing the upholstery is not always required as a result of the failure of the old one.
At the moment, more and more people are very concerned about interior design, so old but very high-quality furniture just might not fit into the new design of the room. A simple hauling is likely to solve this problem. That is why the demand for such services is growing, in the same way as for the repair of kitchen furniture.
Tools
Do-it-yourself furniture repair can be done using a minimal set of tools. You will need: a screwdriver, an electric drill, a jigsaw, a milling cutter, as well as a set of drills for wood. Work can be started with only these tools.
Materials for work
The bulk of the materials are usually purchased after the order is received, since it all depends on the work ahead, as well as on the wishes of the client. However, it is worth stocking up with samples of fabrics, wallpaper, films and decors. Do-it-yourself repair of upholstered furniture consists in replacing upholstery and lining material. To do this, you need a stapler, staples, fabric, foam.
Repairing leather furniture will require veneers, varnish and a hot iron. Sometimes you just need to remove the old varnish from the surface, and then cover it with a new layer. Materials and tools for repair and restoration do not require so much, it is much more important to have imagination and creative thinking, to perform work efficiently and in good faith.
Repair and hauling of upholstered furniture can be carried out directly at the client’s home. Sometimes this option is the only one possible. But you can perform such work at home. For this lesson, it is enough to allocate a small area, equip a garage, basement or other room in which there is a ventilation system and electricity is installed. Over time, you will be able to rent or purchase a special room, as well as hire employees to help you if you stop coping yourself.
Extra profit
Even if your main profile is the repair of kitchen furniture, then you can constantly buy old products that you will restore, and then put up for sale. So you will make a qualitative and quite tangible leap in your career as a restorer, which will allow you to earn the attention of reputable clients for whom you will continue to work.
It is possible that you will find constant cooperation with antique furniture collectors, auctions and design firms that specialize in antique objects. So your income will reach a new level.
Payback
If you repair leather furniture and other types, then with a regular client flow, as well as a competent approach to the purchase of material and minimizing the loss of working time, you can achieve a yield of about 250%. This figure is derived from the calculation of material costs and the number of working hours. This rate of return is considered very high.
And if you set as your goal the development of your own business with the subsequent transition to the production of furniture and the implementation of expensive restoration work, then you can count on large profitability indicators. The main component of success is the continuous improvement of their work in the chosen direction, as well as a conscientious attitude towards their customers.
