A Furniture Refinishing Business In Your Home

If you have a garage or work building and are willing to learn acraft, upholstering, re-upholstering and/or furniture refinishingwould make an excellent home business. The investment iscomparatively small and there is always a market for these skillsand the products they yield.
if you do not already know how to upholster or refinish wood, thefirst priority is to learn how. If you are experienced, you canbegin with small projects and work your way up to the morecomplex and better paying jobs.
In the case of a husband and wife, one could specialize in eachto provide a complete service! Learning these crafts starts withreading, then practicing. If possible, get a job working in thefield to learn direct from the professionals. Otherwise, thereare schools, courses and hundreds of books covering everypossible aspect of furniture upholstery and refinishing.
During your preparation, you may decide to specialize --modern,antiques or just chairs and sofas for example. When you are readyfor customers, have a sign made and place an ad that announcesyour services (be specific). Put signs on your car or truck too,so people can see them when you pick up or deliver furniture.
When you bring in jobs that are badly in need of repair, take"before" pictures of them -- to compare with "after" pictureswhen they are finished.
Post the best of these in a photo album to show prospectivecustomers and for possible future use in ads or brochures (youmay need well contrasting black and white photos for these.)Arrange your album with good examples of each major type of workthat you do and include a short (no more than 3 line) title andexplanation for each. This way, if you are busy, customers canbrowse through them while waiting.
These pictures will not only show what fine work you do-- theywill also suggest other jobs to the customer. Use a good camerafor these pictures (hire a photographer if necessary), so thepictures will accomplish their mission.
Plan your shop according to the work you are going to do in it.You will need more room to refinish tables, stands to do smalleritems and a dust free section for the application of woodfinishes. Upholstering takes less room, but the area must be safefrom mice and moths -- especially your storage areas.
When operating a business like this, you will be asked torecommend finishes, fabrics and methods. As a professional, youare often in a better position to answer these questions thanyour customers, but be careful not to routinely recommend thosethings that bring you the most profit. remember that they mayalso ask someone else! It is OK, however, to point out thingsthat are easier (therefore, cheaper) to work with.
You will find that in the long run, honestly really is the bestpolicy!
Pricing in a business like this is very difficult, and you haveto give estimates on most of our work. If you see the cost isgoing well over your estimate, give the customer a call beforeproceeding.
The rule here is "never surprise a customer with bad news." Ifthe cost is slightly more, and your "estimate" was pretty firmjust absorb the cost as the price of a "lesson" in how toestimate. Your pricing of course, will be based on the cost ofmaterials,labor and utilities plus your profit.
Note that labor and profit are two entirely different categories.
Labor is the amount you would have to pay someone to do the job;
profit is your "override" on the labor plus your profit on thematerials (usually 25-40%).
A fully qualified upholster or furniture refinisher should notearn less than $10 (gross) per hour -- and in some areas, $25 perhour may not be out of line for top quality work. When makingyour estimates, add a little "padding" (perhaps 5%) to coverunforseen costs. Always figure your estimates and prices withgood quality materials -- when you use lower quality materials,usually to save money, let it be your customer's decision.
The fastest way to learn if you want to get into the furniturerefinishing or upholstery business to redo some of your own.
Take a chair or table, set up a practice area and try your skill.Use BIX finish remover (available at most hardware stores) toremove paint ( a second coat will also remove the stain), cleanthoroughly, sand and apply the new finish.
The secret is not to get in a hurry! Let the wood dry betweenoperations; take the extra few minutes for a first class sandingjob; wait another day for the finish to dry enough for the nextcost, and go over the surface with fine steel wool (ifrecommended) and wipe thoroughly between coats.
In a business, you will have several pieces in different stagesof completion, so the temptation to rush will not be so great.Another way to help expedite your "education" is to hire anexperienced helper -- for both the assistance and "lessons."
In addition to your signs, have a good quality 3 or 4 line rubberstamp made to custom print your own invoices and even businesscards.
If funds are scare, get some duplicate ticket books at the localstationery store and stamp your name on each original ticket toget "custom printed" invoices.
As long as your business is not too professional, you can place 3x 5 cards with your name and services on supermarket bulletinboards. Keep an ad in the local paper, but change it a littleevery so often (like a new special every month), to helpstimulate interest. When you are ready for more business, put anad in the yellow pages.
Whenever business lags, you can always contact rental agencies(both real estate and furniture) to either buy used (but goodquality only) furniture that needs repair, or to do their repairwork. The profits will be lower, but low profits are better thanNO profits.
Also, bear in mind that refinishing and re-upholstering otherpeople's furniture is not your only option.
You can also buy things to restore -- from auctions, garagesales, foreclosures (business furniture is a whole new market!)and from individuals who answer your "will buy" ads. The item youbuy to refinish must bring at least double its cost PLUS a fairreturn for your labor and materials to restore it.
For this reason, buy only high quality or antique furniture, soyou will "have something" when it is completed.
One possible pitfall in the refinishing and upholstery businessis unpaid bills. People sometimes really want to have a couchrecovered and visualize how nice it would look with a nice,quality (expensive)fabric.
Trouble is, while the couch is being covered they spot a new itemat half what they owe on the old couch -- and buy it!
This leaves the upholsterer with $100 worth of material cut andsewn onto a $50 couch. The message here is to protect yourself;get enough down to ensure the recovered couch will be worth yourinvestment should the customer "disappear."
BUSINESS SOURCES
MINUTEMAN, INC., 115 N. Monroe, Waterloo, IA 19101. Sellsfurniture refinishing supplies, plus a "business kit".
BEDFORD LUMBAR CO.,Box 65, Shelbyville, TN 36710. sellsunassembled cedar hardwood furniture.
DATHO MANUFACTURING, INC.,Box 12110, Lubbock, TX 79452.Manufactures of upholstery sewing machines.
MODERN UPHOLSTERY INSTITUTE, Field Building, Kansas City, MO64111. Offers a course in upholstering; free booklet.
UPHOLSTERY TODAY, Box 2754, High Point, NC 27261. Trade journalfor furniture upholsterers. Note: this is the journal of theUpholsterers International Union of North America, 25 N 4thSt.,Philadelphia, PA 19106.
JIM DANDY SALES, Box 30377, Cincinnati, OH 42530. Upholsteringinstructions and supplies.
FREESTYLE, 17835 E Skypark, Irvine, CA 92714. sells "Sundura"furniture kits wholesale. Free info.
LEISURE PRODUCTS BY BB, Box 3171, Apollo Beach, FL 33570,813/677/8280. Instructions and fittings for PVC furniture; kit$15 with samples, catalog and manual.
HOME FURNISHING, Box 581207, Dallas, TX 75258, 214/741-7632.Biannual magazine for home furnishings dealers and manufacturers.
VISTA COMMUNICATIONS, INC., 180 Allen Rd.,NE, Ste 300, Atlanta,GA 30328.. Monthly magazine for furniture retailers.
DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.,31 East 2nd St.,Mineola, NY 11051.Discount books, clip art, stencils, etc.
QUILL CORPORATION, 100 Schelter Rd.,Lincolnshire, IL 60917-4700.312/634-4800. Office supplies.
NEBS, 500 Main St.,Groton, MA 04171, 800/225-6380. Officesupplies.
SWEDCO, Box 29, Mooresville, NC 28115. 3 line rubber stamps - $3;Business cards - $13 per thousand.
ZPS, Box 581, Libertyville, IL 60048-2556. Business cards (raisedprint - $11.50 per K) and letterhead stationery. Will print yourcopy ready logo or design, even whole card.