Many people believe that if there are no funds that can be invested in their own business, then plans to open their own business can be completely abandoned. However, it is not.
Many types of activities, especially in the field of consumer services, do not require large expenses, but may well become a good source of profit over time, the main thing is to draw up a competent business plan at the first stage. Without investment, for example, you can start a business such as reupholstering furniture. This will be discussed in the article.
Furniture reupholstery as a business
Products for equipping residential or any other premises are quite expensive. So, not every family can afford to immediately purchase a new one to replace a broken sofa. In such cases, as a rule, the furniture frame does not suffer, but the upholstery wears out, becomes hopelessly dirty, cracks, or develops some other defects.
Furniture reupholstery as a business has been carried out for a long time; there are many companies on the service market offering to change the upholstery of old furniture for a third of the price of new furniture. And it is precisely because of this difference in cost that many people are in no hurry to throw away used sofas and armchairs, but call a reupholstery specialist to their home.
If you are an expert in this matter, why not do the same? Skillful hands and a bright head are all that is required of you. Furniture reupholstery as a business is a good option for those who do not have free funds to open their own business, but do not want to work “for someone else.”
Furniture workshop Divanych - why us?
Regardless of where the furniture restoration takes place, the first stage is preparation for upholstery. At this stage, the furniture master examines the provided “field of work” and plans the sequence of manipulations to be performed. The preparation also includes the selection of materials, a new design on the part of the customer and discussion directly with the master of all the nuances of the work.
It is advisable that even at the preparation stage you tell everything to the master or designer, discuss all the little details, and ask questions of interest. At this point, the work process has not yet begun, and the customer has the opportunity to make adjustments.
When everything has been agreed upon, the actual work related to reupholstering the furniture begins.
Selection of tools is the next step. The wizard selects the necessary tools that will meet the following tasks:
- Disassembling furniture. To successfully reupholster interior items, it is necessary to completely or partially disassemble them, as well as remove hanging elements (for example, legs, shelves, and so on). For this purpose, screwdrivers, adjustable wrenches, wrenches, and screwdrivers are used;
- Removing brackets to remove old trim. For this purpose, craftsmen use special anti-staplers. Depending on the design and type of furniture, staples can range from several dozen to hundreds or even thousands;
- Sewing a new cover. The workshops always have cutting tables and the necessary equipment for creating covers;
- Install new sheathing. In addition to the material itself, the master uses a furniture stapler of a mechanical, pneumatic or electric type;
- Frame correction. Also, if necessary, the craftsmen will make adjustments to the furniture frame. To do this, you may need tools for wood processing (saws, milling cutters and attachments for them, and so on). Minor furniture repairs are one of our specialties.
Armed with these devices, the specialist begins to work with your object.
The first stage is a careful inspection of the provided copy, and then disassembling it. It is important to determine which element is dismantled first. The high qualifications of our employees allow us to perform all manipulations quickly and accurately, dismantling is no exception.
The craftsman then removes the old siding, removing the staples holding it in place. An important quality here is care, since later it will be necessary to recreate the skin and all its elements in the smallest detail.
If necessary, after removing the old covering, the specialist adjusts the furniture frame and proceeds to the last stage. At this point, the master is also required to cut and sew a new cover using special equipment.
The final stage of “remaking” the furniture is fixing the new upholstery and assembling the sofa, armchair, ottoman - the object of restoration. After this, the furniture is sent to the customer, if the work was carried out in a workshop.
What to choose - reupholstery at home or in the workshop?
As you noted, there are two options for work - repairing upholstered furniture at home or in a workshop. Both possibilities have their advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at the features of working with us.
Advantages of reupholstering in the workshop:
Demand for services
In fact, upholstery replacement may be required not only when old furniture wears out. In today's realities, people are paying more and more attention to interior design. Worn, although high-quality products may not fit into the new design of the room after renovation. And the usual reupholstery of upholstered furniture can solve this problem. Not everyone is able to produce it with their own hands, so the demand for services of this kind is growing every day.
Important advantage
The undoubted advantage of the described method of updating products for indoor equipment is the fact that the entire process is not long at all and can easily be carried out directly at the customer’s home. For you, as an entrepreneur, this means that you will save money on renting a workshop for repair work.
However, if possible, it is still better to open an office or an order receiving table in some shopping center so that potential clients can see samples of fabrics offered for upholstery, a catalog with photographs of work already completed, and the like. Seeing the thoroughness and reliability of your company, consumers of your service will be more willing to make contact.
After all, whatever one may say, we all prefer “live” communication. In addition, furniture reupholstery as a business can be supplemented over time with such activities as buying old armchairs, sofas, etc. and restoring them. Then you certainly can’t do without a separate room.
Furniture business profitability level
Furniture as a decorative element remains in demand today; only consumer preferences have changed. Today, various styles are in fashion in which people want to furnish their homes: Provence, loft, retro. Not every resident of our country can hire a designer and make a turnkey renovation, so most people buy furniture and interior items based on their own preferences and assortment.
Therefore, before you open a furniture franchise business and start selling interior items, you need to study the offers of franchisors
On video: Furniture business, personal experience
Risk assessment
Before completing the documents, analyze the competition and demand for this type of service in your locality. It may be that it is simply unprofitable to remake old furniture with your own hands in your region.
If there are few competitors, and you are able to offer consumers the same good quality of work as existing companies, and perhaps even lower prices for your services, then you can safely get down to business. All initial expenses will go only to registering a business - obtaining the status of an individual entrepreneur - and purchasing the necessary tools.
