Handmade Furniture Business Ideas

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Handmade Furniture Business Ideas

Woodworking is the process of making items from wood. Use your woodworking skills and start a lucrative business. The woodworking business is an enjoyable way to make money. This article also offers tips on starting and running a woodworking business. More people are interested in buying locally made products than ever before. Cross-cultural communications expert Marieke de Mooij points out that “localization is a clear counter movement to globalization.” You can capitalize on many consumers’ return to local shopping by emphasizing that all components of your furniture are made in the United States, or in your town or area. The same applies to handmade goods. Individuals who are tired of mass-produced goods are often the same people who are interested in buying locally. Given this climate, it is a good time to start a handmade furniture business.

The woodworking business is ideal for people who love doing handcrafted woodwork for a hobby. There are a lot of highly marketable products nowadays that make use of woodworking techniques. Furniture is a fine example and hand made wooden toys too is becoming a market favorite.

If you are looking for business opportunities and you possess woodworking skills and talent, then I suggest you explore this industry.

Handmade Furniture Business Instruction:

Step 1

Give your business a name. Name your business something that indicates what you sell. This will come in handy later on, when you are marketing your business and want people to associate your business name with handmade furniture.

Step 2

File a DBA, which stands for “doing business as,” at your local county clerk’s office. You may want to do a search to ensure that no other business in your town is operating under the same name. If you live in a large metropolitan area, a search is a necessity.

Step 3

Buy the materials you need for your business. For handmade furniture, this could mean a lathe, various types of saws and safety equipment. You may also need a computer to keep track of billing records and your expenses. Save the receipts from everything you buy so that you can use them later as a write-off on your taxes.

Step 4

Decide what market you will target. Do you plan to sell to upscale customers who will pay a premium for a custom piece, or will you sell basic unfinished pieces to the DIY crowd? Identifying the market before you open shop will help you sell more pieces at the prices you want to command.

Step 5

Create a line of furniture. You’ll need to have models of each piece of furniture that you intend to sell, so that customers can easily visualize what you have to offer. Add to your furniture line each year so that your stock stays fresh and on-trend.

Step 6

Establish an online presence, even if you don’t intend to sell online. Take professional-quality photographs of your furniture and put them on a website explaining what your business does and how you can be contacted. Put the name of your town on the website so that if people search for “rustic furniture Clearlake,” your site can easily be found.

Step 7

Offer custom work. You can do this by offering different options on your existing furniture models. You might offer your furniture in a variety of woods and finishes, for example.

Step 8

Offer delivery of the furniture. Many furniture customers will expect this. Establish a radius in which you will deliver for free, and inform customers of the charge per mile thereafter.

Handmade Furniture Business Plan Tips:

Starting a woodworking business can be simple as long as you are armed with sufficient knowledge. Here are some pointers that may guide you as you embark on starting your own woodworking company.

Figure out what kind of items you want to specialize in i.e. home decor, furniture, toys, etc. The supplies and equipment you invest on will rely primarily on the products you plan to produce.

Look for a good supplier for your wood and equipment needs. Make sure the supplier you choose will give you the best value for money deal. Naturally, you know better than procure sub-standard materials. Doing so will vastly affect the quality of your products and quality is one of the selling points in this business. Typically, you will need to buy clamps, a square, saws, tape measure, hammers, hand drills, and chisels.

Look for a space where you can work. If your operation is a small one, your garage or home workshop will do just fine. However, if you plan to launch a big business, then you will need to rent space where you and your craftsmen can manufacture your merchandise. The additional cost for rent and utilities should be computed and used as a consideration when making your price scheme.

Identify your target market and develop a promotional campaign tailor-fit to suit them. There are a lot of ways you can advertise your merchandise. You can post adverts in the internet, or on local bulletin boards, on trade magazines etc. The key is to establish your business in the arena and introduce your name to the market.

Look for a plausible sales channel. A website is a good option because it enables you to reach a wider market. If possible, equip your website with e-commerce capability. Aside from this, you can also participate in trade shows, arts & crafts fairs, and flea markets and so on.

Expound, explore, and discover. Take a look at the trends. Take a look at your competition. Make it a point that your products are better than theirs are. Don’t hamper your creativity and imagination. The best way to establish a niche market is to develop product designs that are uniquely yours. Remember to have these designs copyrighted so nobody else can use them.

In manufacturing your products, make sure you and your workers adhere to safety rules. You will be using sharp tools like knives and chisels so to avoid accidents and mishaps, always practice caution.

Put your customers first, always. The success of a business doesn’t only depend on the number of customers you entice to your store. What matters is the number of customers you retain. Keep them coming back by giving them the royal treatment.

Reference

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Saturday, January 17, 2015