A Furniture Refinishing Business In Your Home
If you have a garage or work building and are willing to learn a craft, upholstering, re-upholstering and/or furniture refinishing would make an excellent home business. The investment is comparatively small and there is always a market for these skills and the products they yield.
If you do not already know how to upholster or refinish wood, the first priority is to learn how. If you are experienced, you can begin with small projects and work your way up to the more complex and better paying jobs. In the case of a husband and wife, one could specialize in each to provide a complete service! Learning these crafts starts with reading, then practicing. If possible, get a job working in the field to learn direct from the professionals. Otherwise, there are schools, courses and hundreds of books covering every possible 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 ready for customers, have a sign made and place an ad that announces your 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" pictures when they are finished.
Post the best of these in a photo album to show prospective customers and for possible future use in ads or brochures (you may need well contrasting black and white photos for these.) Arrange your album with good examples of each major type of work that you do and include a short (no more than 3 line) title and explanation for each. This way, if you are busy, customers can browse through them while waiting.
These pictures will not only show what fine work you do-they will also suggest other jobs to the customer. Use a good camera for these pictures (hire a photographer if necessary), so the pictures 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 smaller items and a dust free section for the application of wood finishes. Upholstering takes less room, but the area must be safe from mice and moths -- especially your storage areas.
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