Starting a Garden Furniture Business
Business Overview:
Starting a garden furniture business is a wonderful way to help people enjoy the great outdoors while you enjoy the freedom of owning your own business. When the weather is nice, everyone wants to be outside and what better way to enjoy comfortable temperatures than to relax in high quality outdoor furniture. As a garden furniture business owner, you are able to choose the items you want to sell, perhaps the items you enjoy yourself. However, if you are not interested in making a lot of choices about what items to carry, you can purchase a franchise business. This option may be a little more costly but it comes with a stock of items as well as name recognition. Some franchises have licensing agreements with colleges so you can sell furniture with your local colleges’ logos on them. If you live in a college town, those could be big sellers. You could also offer special orders to those fans who live far away from their favorite school. Research buying habits of those in your area to help you decide what type of furniture to carry. If you live in a city where everyone has large back yards, you should carry larger, multiple piece sets. However, if back yard space is limited or if most people in your area live in apartment buildings with only a patio, you might want to carry smaller sets. Focusing on a niche is the best way to be successful with this type of business idea. If opening an entire store of your own sounds like more than you want to invest in, you could choose to place your items in a larger store. Similar to placing items in a larger traditional furniture store or lighting store, you would pay a portion of your profits to the store owner but you would not be responsible for operating the store. Another option is operating your garden furniture business online. Although you would not need a storefront for your business, you would need a large storage facility for your furniture. With a robust website, you could run your business both online and from a store. As you can see, there are many options available for opening a garden furniture store that could translate into a very lucrative business.
A Day in the Life of a Garden Furniture Business Owner:
If you operate a storefront, you will arrive early and ensure your displays are set up correctly. You will likely have a small staff to help you assemble new displays and accept shipments. If you have an arrangement with a larger furniture shop, you will need to check in on your display area and ensure everything is set up correctly and assist any customers. If your business is online, you will be able to make your own hours but it’s important to check new orders a few times a day and arrange shipments in a timely manner. You will need to maintain your website, adding new items as needed.
About Your Customers:
Your customers will be individuals looking for high quality outdoor furniture for their homes and apartments.
What You Need to Start:
- Storefront, arrangement with furniture store and/or website
- Franchise agreement (optional)
- Relationship with furniture manufacturers and distributors
- Computer with finance software
The Good:
- Garden furniture will always be in demand.
- You can select a niche that best fits your area.
- Franchises are available to help you get started.
- You can operate this business in a storefront and/or online.
- As an industry insider, you have access to the newest trends and designs.
The Bad:
- The start-up investment can be quite high.
- It can take some time to make your first few sales and turn a profit.
Resources:
- National Home Furnishings Association
- American Furniture Manufacturers Association
- Bureau of Labor Statistics on Retail Salespersons
- Wikipedia on Garden Furniture
About The Author
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