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Starting a Furniture Repair Business

Furniture repair businesses are as old as the furniture business itself. If you are planning on starting one on your own, here are some basic things you need: permits and licenses for your business, a workshop, and your own list of affordable yet dependable suppliers for tools and materials.

Furniture comes and goes; and so does furniture style.

However, really good furniture should be keepers and many owners of such keepers would like their things to remain in its prime condition. There are many reasons as to why furniture owners patronize furniture repair businesses; but the most primary reason is to save on costs. Some new lines of furniture are of course, cheaper than the older ones, antiques and valuable pieces included. However, these “new” furniture designs are often made of flimsy materials or uncommon materials like polymer, glass and twisted metals that have life spans of less than a few years, and need to be replaced frequently. Fashionable furniture styles more often than not, quickly go out of trend as well, and also need frequent replacing.

Another thing to consider with new furniture is that it may not have the “desirable” qualities we look for like that comfortable sofa Aunt Nancy gave you for your wedding, or that drop leaf side table that you bought from the yard sale. In any case, a furniture repair business is a good source of income, especially if you are really into carpentry, refurnishing, upholstery, refinishing, etc; or you simply want to work on a home-based business that lets you use your business sense and your creativity at the same time.

Like all business establishments, you need to clear your licenses and permits to operate to be come legitimate. If you have previous training with carpentry, you may want to brush up some more on your antique furniture knowledge like how to detect antique pieces and how to best restore them. Businesses like these often thrive on touching up or repairing nicks on antique and valuable pieces. Often, antiques are ruined by misinformed furniture repair businesses and of course, you wouldn’t want this to happen to you. Some high powered tools also take one or more forms of training to make handling as safe as possible. Completing all the necessary paperwork will also help boost your advertising results since your business is duly licensed and staffed (if you care to hire help) with trained furniture makers like carpenters, carvers, sanders, upholsterers, etc.

But the one thing that is imperative in this business is a place to work – your office working space and workshop may not be in one place, but you do need an area to refinish or refurbish furniture. Try to find a workshop where you can work in relative peace without disturbing your closest neighbors. Usually, small home-based business ventures like these start out in someone’s basement or garage. This may also work just fine for you, in the event you choose to start your very own furniture repair business. However, you have to remember that larger furniture may come your way, and you need space to accommodate, work on and store these pieces as well. Also, some furniture refurbishing jobs may require you to strip and re-upholster seats or backing. This calls for a workshop that can, at the very least, handle that without spilling debris or materials unto pedestrian traffic. Try also to work out system of eliminating your by-product like old broken springs, broken wood pieces or torn upholstery.

You also need to have a list of great suppliers, preferably those that you can afford with low prices and yet gives you the highest quality products. Suppliers can be foam makers, hardware shops, textile factories, paint suppliers, etc.

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3 Comments

  • TUSHAR KANTI MANDAL said on July 31, 2014
    i want to open a service center
  • ivan said on May 23, 2015
    I WANT TO OPEN A FURNITURE REPAIR BUSINESS AND HOW CAN A GET THE SUPPLIERS INFORMATION SO I CAN CONTACT THEM. PLEASE I NEED HELP.
  • Jimmy strong said on July 12, 2015
    i would like to open a furniture repair business in Huntsville , Al. 35811

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