Furniture upholstery service
What will I be doing ?
This is the perfect home business for people who enjoy working with their hands. A furniture upholstery service, as you certainly guessed, upholsters or reupholsters furniture. Some purchase frames and add padding and materials to make a new piece of furniture while others renovate old upholstered furniture to look like new. Some do both.
What will I need to start ?
Upholstering furniture is a skill that can be learned in a calssroom or on the job, or it can be self-taught at home. It takes lots of practice to develop skills that can be sold. But it is a rewarding business in many ways, including financially.
Upholstering furniture requires tools, equipment and materials. It is an excellent home business because a garage can easily be converted into both a work area and a show room. The work area is typically a 4×4-foot work table with the top 18 to 24 inches above the floor, depending on the type of furniture being upholstered. Materials are stored on rolls mounted on one wall or on the ceiling. Upholstery tools are kept on a stationary or portable workbench. An industrial sewing machine can be mounted on its own table.
Who will my customers be ?
You can sell your furniture upholstery services to individuals, businesses, furniture stores and small furniture manufacturers. Some shops try working with all these customers untill they find the best market for their services. Others have more experience with one or another customer group and initially serve them.
One successful furniture upholstery service began her business by purchasing used chairs with damaged upholstery but good frames for less than $25 each, reupholstering them, and selling them through classified ads for about half the price of new units. Not only did she build her business, but she also built her skills.
How much should I charge ?
Upholsterers typically charge by the piece depending on the estimated time to upholster. The shop rate set by many upholsters is $30 to $70 an hour. Material costs are added on. For example, reupholstering a chair may take two hours at $35 an hour plus $30 in materials. The price is set at $100. Alternately, the upholsterer can have two grades of material, offering one at $100 and another at $125 perchair. The better grade of materials may not cost an extra $25, but the perceived value is higher so the price is too.
How much will I make ?
Once your business is going and your tools are paid for, most of what you get in sales will be yours to keep-until the tax man takes his share ! With a good reputation and some local advertising, a furniture upholstery shop can bill for 80 to 90 percent of the workday and spend 20 to 40 percent on overhead expenses. That means the owner can keep $40,000 to $60,000 once the business is established and running efficiently.
How can I get started ?
You will be paid for both your skill and your efficiency in upholstering furniture. So, to build a profitable business you’ll need to be both skillful and efficient. start now learning the trade, expanding your skills, finding customers, gathering equipment, learning about materials, designing your shop and outsmarting your competitors.
The SIC for a furniture upholstery service is 7641-09
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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