How to Start a Furniture Company
If you are interested in home decor, opening a retail furniture store might be a great way for you to make a living. There are a variety of business models to choose from when setting up your store. For instance, midpriced, luxury, discount, specialty and antique furniture are common options you may wish to consider.
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Instructions
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Plan and Start Your Furniture Store
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Write a business plan. This should be done before you spend even one dollar to get your business of the ground. You must consider how much start-up capital you have and prepare a budget outlining how much you can realistically spend on things like commercial space, inventory and advertising. You should also consider what kind of inventory you will offer. For example, will you be selling antique or luxury furniture? How much will you mark up your furniture from its wholesale value? These are just a few considerations. The federal Small Business Administration (sba.gov) has additional, in-depth resources dedicated to the business plan writing process.
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Choose a location for your store. You will need to purchase or rent commercial space to house your furniture showroom. When choosing a location, you should consider how much you have budgeted for space in your business plan, the size of the showroom needed and the visibility of the location.
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Order furniture for your showroom. Many furniture retailers order their inventory from a furniture wholesaler. A furniture wholesaler acts as the middleman between a furniture retailer and manufacturer. One benefit to purchasing furniture from a wholesaler is price. Wholesalers purchase furniture at large quantities for a discount. However, if your goal is to open an antique or vintage furniture, you will probably not be able purchase your inventory from a typical furniture wholesaler. You will need to find antiques dealers, vintage shops or estate sales to obtain your inventory.
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Set up your showroom. You should arrange your furniture inventory in a way that appeals to your customers. Organizing furniture in complete sets or room displays is an effective way of merchandizing your inventory. It allows a customer to see the utility of different furniture items in a creative setting. If a customer like the way you have set up a furniture collection, they may be persuaded to purchase the entire set, rather than just a couch or chair.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit brown leather furniture image by Leonid Nyshko from Fotolia.com
