Antique Restoration Service
What will I be doing ?
If you have the skills to restore antiques to their former beauty, you can make a good full-time income with an antique restoration service. There are more than 5800 full-time antique restoration services in the U.S. These services find, repair, restore and refinish furniture, automobiles and other collectibles from the past.
What will I need to start ?
Restoring antiques requires a variety of related and highly developed skills. If You decide to restore antique furniture you’ll need to have a working knowledge of woods, old and new finishes and finishing techniques. You’ll also need woodworking and wood finishing tools. If you’re restoring cars, you’ll need an even wider variety of skills, tools, techniques and knowledge. Many people start this business as a hobby until they have gained enough experience to attract paying customers.
Who will my customers be ?
Your antique restoration knowledge and skills will be sold to individuals, antique dealers, resellers, estates, investors, galleries, museums and others. Your specific customer will depend on what types of antiques you restore, your experience and the interest and opportunities available in your area.
How much should I charge ?
Antique restoration services typivally earn $35 to $75 or more an hour. The wide variation of rates is based on the skills and tools required for a partucular job. Some restoration services can manage with a few hand tools while others will need an investment of many thousands of dollas to do a quality job. Most restoration services are priced on the value added. That is, a rough antique worth $100 that is restored into one now worth $1,000 should earn the restorer a fee based on the increased value rather than just the time and tools needed.
How much will I make ?
Once established, an antique restoration service requires only about 10 to 20 percent of the owner’s time to make sales calls and keep the books. However, overhead expences can be higher in this home business than many others because of the investment in tools and equipment. Total overhead, including taxes, may be as high as 50 percent of earnings. Thus, a full-time antique restoration business that can sell $100,000 in services each year can keep $50,000 or more.
How can I get started ?
To start a full-time antique restoration service, many people find, restore and resell pieces on their own. Others start this venture by working for someone else. A successful business requires advanced skills as well as a developed knowledge of both products and customers.
The SIC code for antique restoration services is 7641-12.
From the book of Dan Ramsey, Title : 101 Best Home Businesses, CAREER PRESS, 3 Tice Road, P.O. Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417, 1-800-CAREER-1, 201-848-0310 (NJ and outside U.S.), FAX : 201-848-1727
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