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How to open a framing workshop and make it a successful business?
Surely, every family has mirrors, or paintings, or photographs. And I really want it to be beautiful in the interior, to “fit” into the overall image and design of the apartment.
For this purpose, baguettes are used - slats, smooth or patterned - for decoration, which give special beauty to the object they frame.
The production of baguettes has become popular in the last 10-12 years, which is gradually entering the market on an equal footing along with other businesses. Although, of course, there are a lot of undeveloped niches in the framing business, this is what businessmen need to take advantage of.
Business is new, little-studied, so any experience of experienced businessmen is very useful and valuable. Comment and share your experience.
The customer base will be quite extensive
Currently, the framing business is in its infancy, so there will simply not be a shortage of clients. About half of the clients who frame paintings are government agencies and large corporations. In addition, many people need frames that will be used as certificates and diplomas.
Even the simplest advertisement for a framing shop can attract attention. But in order for the customer base to constantly increase, you will need to spend money on active advertising activities. Advertisements on radio and television, in newspapers, word of mouth - all this can help increase income.
Framing workshops are also visited by artists, collectors and seamstresses. The magnificent design results of their work will delight every creative person.
Some companies working in this area also specialize in restoration work (this must be taken into account if you decide to draw up a business plan for a framing workshop).
These include works with darkened icons, which are in private collections and families who carefully treat their heritage.
Recruitment
The main character in a framing workshop is a craftsman (joiner, carpenter). Much depends on his “hands,” since it is the master who is responsible for the production process. Therefore, the search for a master is the main stage in the formation of an organization’s team. In addition to the master, you may need a person responsible for processing orders (manager), a designer, a director and an accountant (possibly an “incoming”).
In general, a framing business is often built not from a director or entrepreneur, but from the master himself. That is, a person likes to design pictures; it can be his hobby. He has the necessary equipment, which is enough for him to carry out small orders, maybe even at home. He gains a client base and decides to register his activities and open a full-fledged workshop. In fact, this is the ideal way to open such a business with the least risks and financial costs.
Why is a workshop needed?
A framing workshop is an organization for decorating an item (paintings, posters, mirrors, etc.) into a frame in order to form a beautiful and bright frame. As a result of the work done, a real work of art can be obtained.
In order to draw up and implement a business plan for a framing workshop, you must have not only the makings of a businessman, but also artistic taste. Many competent craftsmen work in framing companies not only for the love of the art, but also for the ability to produce finished products in a beautiful and elegant form according to the wishes of the client. It is especially pleasant, according to the masters, to work with such original paintings that fall into the hands of clients through inheritance or donation.
Reviews
Kirill: “There is also a strong dependence on the population in the city, what the residents do and are interested in. For example, almost all of our people are employed in factories. Individual entrepreneurs run shops and other retail outlets for household goods. It’s unlikely that anyone here will need the services of a framing workshop.”
Vadim: “A person who is far from design, art, or at least carpentry should not dive into this type of business. Such a company is more suitable for those who want to work for themselves, that is, directly to frame makers.”
Semyon: “In order not to buy all the material abroad, I make wooden blanks myself. According to the list price, they are the most expensive, but thanks to carpentry skills, it is possible to save significantly on the raw material base.”
What equipment will be needed?
Equipment for framing workshop includes: cutting machine, mechanical seaming machine, guillotine and mechanical type gun for flat nails. Guillotine is a machine for cutting baguette profiles of the required size.
Special saws are needed to make cast and molded frames. The cost of one blade is approximately 90 thousand rubles. You will also need to purchase a machine for a framing workshop that has a relief roller. With it, you can apply an image to a frame using paste or using the hot method.
If you decide to open your own workshop, then you will need to take into account one negative point. It is not possible to buy equipment in full in Russia. Therefore, some machines will need to be purchased abroad to order.
Business registration
To open your own business, you need to register a company. Its owner can be a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur. To do this you need:
- Apply. The document is filled out using a standard form displaying passport and contact information.
- Register the application with the tax office.
- Register with the statistics service.
- Open a bank account.
The cost will be 1000 rubles. An additional 1000 rubles will be required. for making a seal.
Some knowledge required!
A special requirement for entrepreneurs who want to open their own business is that they must have certain knowledge and understand the styles inherent in different eras. It is equally important to understand art history, as many clients are familiar with this topic.
In order to create a composition that will complement a particular home, you need to evaluate the interior. This is necessary in order to understand what materials there are more in it, and in what style the design should be made. Otherwise, disharmony will arise due to the shifting of various eras.
The desired molding for paintings, mirrors and photographs is almost impossible to create without knowledge of the specifics of the interior. Problems can, of course, arise even for the most competent craftsmen, especially if the client does not want to listen to the master and wants to get a design that does not suit the interior. Usually in this case you will have to completely redo the work.
Baguette manufacturing technology
There are many technologies that are good to become familiar with before starting your own business. But the process itself looks like this.
The slats are chopped and cut to the required size, then fastened together to form a frame. After this, a mat is cut out of thick cardboard and glass is inserted. Typically, high quality 2mm frame glass is used.
Author of the article: Maxim Miller
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Renting premises
An important component in the success of a framing workshop business is the correct location of the premises. It is most profitable to open such a workshop in the city center, in close proximity to galleries and museums. In addition, if it is located in the city center, you can get work from potential clients dealing in expensive works of art. In the workshop you need to find a place not only for work, but for receiving clients and storing products.
To open your own studio, first of all you need to choose a room whose area should be at least twenty-five to thirty square meters. When searching for an office, you need to take into account that production is quite noisy. Therefore, it is worth thinking about sound insulation.
Production plan
For a workshop, a room of 80 square meters is recommended. meters, with areas for receiving customers and warehouses for blanks and finished products. But at first, entrepreneurs have to limit themselves to smaller premises. After all, renting it in large cities costs significant financial expenses, which will be an extra burden for a new business.
The office can be placed in a small room in the city center, and the workshop in your own home or utility room. When placing on production areas, it is necessary to allocate the following zones:
- baguette cutting shop;
- warehouse for storing raw materials;
- warehouse for storing finished products.
From the equipment you can buy those tools and devices that will be used constantly:
- saw for cutting baguette;
- passe-partout machine;
- glass cutter for cutting glass for the design of graphic, scenic, or embroidered paintings and photographs;
- tabletop guillotine for baguette. This is a special machine for cutting planks to specified sizes;
- specialized framing circular saw. It is designed for cutting metal elements and shaped frames;
- assembly machine.
It is more rational to purchase more expensive equipment after the business begins to generate its first income. But, on the other hand, without specialized equipment it is difficult to compete with other workshops.
Staff
Making frames requires a creative approach, artistic taste and certain skills in working with materials: wood, plastic, metal. The best option for a workshop would be to hire graduates of art and vocational schools as specialists.
Having a special education, they will not only be able to qualitatively assemble the components of the frame, but also offer their artistic solution to this or that work. For a small workshop, one master is enough, but if there is a lot of work, then it is necessary to hire two specialists who can work in shifts.
The staff can be expanded as the business itself expands. It can be:
- manager for receiving orders in the office;
- security guard;
- designer-consultant.
Supply of materials
There are no problems with the material – ready-made planks – on the Russian market today. The leaders in the production of baguette planks are Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Germany and Spain. You can order supplies from less expensive manufacturers - from China, Turkey, Korea. There are also domestic manufacturers, but they produce standard, unremarkable wooden profiles. Customers are in great demand for new framing products made of polyurethane, plastic or aluminum.
Framing material is a standard three-meter profile made of wood, plastic or metal. The cost of the profile depends on the material and manufacturer. The most expensive is a wooden profile.
In order not to depend on suppliers, you can start making the profile yourself. But then woodworking equipment and large areas for woodworking machines will be required. For a beginning framer, this is a risky undertaking, involving the investment of large financial resources, while it is not known how the business will go.
In addition to the direct profile material in the form of baguette strips, frames require different types of fasteners. High-quality fasteners and fittings – reliability and safety of using the baguette. This:
- frame hangers;
- D-rings;
- Toly hooks;
- corners.
Each manufacturer of baguette strips has its own fasteners and fittings.
Features of a framing workshop
Residues from baguette production can lead to unnecessary costs. This should be taken into account in your activities. In addition, deliveries can also lead to an increase in initial capital. Therefore, you need to choose those suppliers who are located close to the workshop.
The predominant clientele of the framing workshop are artists who sell inexpensive paintings, embroidery, owners of cafes and other establishments who decorate the walls with posters and large-sized photographs. The best clients are private individuals and design companies that decorate apartments.
Let's sum it up
If we imagine the cost plan for opening a budget framing workshop in a Russian province, the numbers will be as follows:
- Rent of premises (20 sq. m.) - $5 per 1 sq. m. m. = 3 thousand rubles.
- Equipment at a minimum - 100 thousand rubles.
- Material costs - 50 thousand rubles.
Total: 153 thousand, not counting staff salaries. If at first you work with 2-3 people, then the forces will be distributed as follows: one owner and master framer in one person, the second plays the role of a consultant and order taker, and you can’t do without accounting. Considering the minimum wage in the periphery of Russia, each of the above employees is entitled to 7-10 thousand.
As practice has shown, standard profitability varies in the range of 30-40%. The production of baguette falls under the OKVED code - 20.51.4. — production of frames and other wood products. However, such activities may not be classified as production. In the legislation this is also called artistic restoration work and does not require licensing.
To bring your business plan to fruition and make good advertising for your business, it is important to pay attention to the quality and exclusivity of the products. A personal website, cooperation with an art salon and establishing connections with the creative elite, who will become individual customers, will help expand the sales market.
What should the initial capital be?
In order to start your own business in this area, you will need an amount approximately equal to 400 thousand rubles. These funds should be enough to purchase all the necessary tools for a framing workshop and to register the business as an individual entrepreneur.
The equipment will require approximately 120 thousand rubles. It will take about a thousand rubles to register a business. The rest of the amount will be used to purchase raw materials, hire staff and rent premises.
How much money do you need to start a business?
To produce high-quality frames, you need to purchase expensive equipment, the cost of which will be 50-70% of the total costs of organizing a business for making frames. In addition to purchasing tools (about $5 thousand), it is necessary to rent premises, organize promotional events and register the business with government agencies. Be sure to set aside money to create an emergency fund to finance unexpected expenses. Practice shows that to open a framing workshop you need to invest from 10-12 thousand dollars.
How to succeed?
It must be remembered that to successfully run a business in the form of a framing workshop, you need: a staff consisting of specialists in their field, a good location of the workshop, which allows you to attract a larger number of potential clients, and successful advertising activities.
The average income from a framing workshop will be about 60 thousand rubles per month if active. You can reduce personnel costs by organizing a kind of family business. We hope that this review helped you understand how to open a framing workshop.
Where to look for clients?
It takes time and a little effort for potential customers to learn about your activities. You shouldn’t skimp on advertising, so try to use all available resources. Depending on the level of demand and competitors, as well as your financial capabilities, use the following ways to attract attention:
- Local media - radio, television, newspapers, magazines, although this is not the most relevant option for a framing workshop.
- Printing products - advertisements, leaflets, business cards - leave them in those places where potential clients most often spend time;
- Billboards.
- Create your own website and promote it on the Internet, here you can specify phone numbers, prices, display the existing range of materials, a gallery of finished works, etc.
A framing workshop as a business does not require too much advertising effort, since people who need these services will still find a craftsman on their own. Sometimes it is enough just to place an office for accepting orders in the central area of the city, make a bright sign and use a sign installed nearby or posters posted around the area.
Personnel and product advertising
Having decided to open a workshop for the production of baguettes, you need to take time to select specialists for positions. First, it is enough to find 1 foreman, an accountant and 2 employees to work with clients. They can also be entrusted with making calls to clients with product offers. You can save on bookkeeping by outsourcing it to a third-party company.
When expanding production, the company's staff can be expanded by increasing the number of craftsmen to 5 people. You should hire a cleaner or sign an agreement with a cleaning company, outsourcing the cleaning of office and industrial premises.
Without a large-scale advertising campaign, there will be no business development. To maximize audience coverage, you need to use different channels of information transmission. To advertise products, post product reviews and place orders, you should open a business card portal.
It is useful to hand out leaflets and brochures with product offers to workshop visitors. The director of the enterprise should hold personal meetings with the heads of other companies. It is useful for an organization to take part in thematic exhibitions. Here you can advertise products manufactured by the company. Of course, the quality of the product must be impeccable.
What raw materials are best to use? Selection of baguette profile
It should be borne in mind that the baguette profile is never 100% consumed. According to the standard, it goes 3 meters, but there are always leftovers that can no longer be used .
It is advisable to have different types of baguette. There is also a difficulty here - in Russia there is practically no mass production of such raw materials.
If you have such an opportunity, you can visit the annual spring exhibition, which takes place in Bologna and where almost all manufacturers of frame profiles meet.
If this is not yet possible, then you can try to find good handicraftsmen in Russia who will be able to provide you with the necessary raw materials at least at the beginning of your work, until you earn enough money for a professional profile.
Tool for getting the job done
Without high-quality tools and specialized equipment in the workshop, it will not be possible to create baguettes. It's one thing to build a simple frame out of wood. It’s quite another thing to process a material like aluminum or plastic. This is where a business from scratch will show how cost-free it is.
The following equipment is required to work in a framing workshop:
- Machine for cutting baguette. Sometimes a manual guillotine (for small amounts of work). With their help, blanks are cut out, dovetail grooves are milled for assembling baguettes. They differ in the maximum cross-section on the cut. The length is usually unlimited.
- Machine for assembling baguette frames. Used to fasten individual parts using special staples. They differ in the maximum size of assembled baguettes.
- Machines for rolling relief. They are often combined with a grinding machine so that the resulting baguette is ready for installation and/or painting.
You may also need guillotines for cutting mats and roller laminators. With full automation, painting stations, an air compressor, and a glass cutter will find applications. It all depends on customer requests and the range of services offered. The more tools there are in a framing workshop, the more diverse the types of framing offered will become.
Manual or semi-automatic tools for assembling baguettes cost less than fully automatic, high-performance equipment. On the specialized market for framing workshops, products from the following brands are offered: Alfamacchine, Logan, Cassesse, Biedermann, Omga, Morso, Fletcher.
