How To Start A Furniture Upcycling Business

Upcycling is also known as creative reuse, it is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless and unwanted products into new materials and products of better quality or of better environmental value.

Upcycling is the opposite of downcycling, which can be called the other face of recycling. Upcycling can also be applied in the case of furniture by using new coats of paint, new covers and other methods of refurbishment.

You can make old furniture look modern, new and stylish in upcycling business. You can either do a simple refurbishment or restyle used furniture in your upcycling business.

An upcycling grows nicely from a solo operation to a team.

In This Article

steps to start a Furniture Upcycling Business

Experience

The furniture upcycling business is perfect for those who are veterans of yard sales and thrift shops. You should have a good eye for finding surprising items at low prices.

It is also an ideal business for those with an eye for style and design, you should be able to see not just the worn-down furniture but also visualize what it will look after modifications.

You should have good sales experience because in upcycling business you have to do a lot of individual interaction with a variety of customers.

Work experience in a furniture store can give you valuable insights into how furniture is sold and how the custom psychology work.

Your Work as Business Owner

You have to perform many day-to-day activities in such a business. You have to spend time going to thrift shops, yard sales, and online auction sites in order to acquire old furniture at low prices.

Next, you will have to spend time refurbishing and restyling the furniture you have acquired.

These are the primary activities that you have to perform in your business, other jobs include communicating with current as well as prospective clients, updating the website and also selling the upcycled furniture.

Target Market

Demographically you will get clients aged between the 20s to early 30s. Clients belonging to this age group need to decorate their new space (first house) and also desire a sleek and modern aesthetic that your business can provide.

You will be able to provide them with upcycled furniture at lower rates than the new ones.

This will also help the ones who have a low budget and are in the starting stages of their career.

Other clients can be those who own a small restaurant and hotel and wish to decorate their dining space with well-designed furniture.

Research

You need to research before starting the business. Figure out how regularly different thrift shops, auctions and yard sales in your area are selling old furniture.

This will help you in having an idea of how much business you can conduct when things get busy and you have to face high demand.

Researching will also help you to know the level of competition you will have to face in upcycling business.

Business Plan

Have a business plan ready before starting the business. The business plan should include marketing strategies, promotional plans, operational costs, and a timeline that will guide your business.

Write down all your priorities in a piece of paper and make a checklist of all the things required for setting up the business.

You should start small in the beginning, refurbish a few things and try to attract customers in your locality.

Once you get popular start expanding the business full on. You can also start part-time and get acquainted with the business before devoting your full time and resources.

Costs involved in Starting the Business

You can open a furniture upcycling business at cheap start-up costs. You have to spend on advertising in newspapers, radio ads and also hiring a professional to create a website for your business.

The rest of the costs will be spent on buying old furniture and refurbishing it. Gradually, you can buy new furniture and material as your stock sells.

Charging Prices

The amount you charge from your customers will depend on the size of the furniture, the complexity, and the cost of the refurbishing process.

You should charge more for those products that take time to get refurbished into unique designs and also if the condition of the old furniture is so poor that it requires a lot of hard work to make it appear new and attractive.

Pricing should also depend upon the income of the potential clients staying in your locality, avoid charging high if your clients belong to a middle-class income group.

Marketize and Promote the Business

You should formulate your marketing strategies intelligently, you can invest in traditional marketing via newspapers, radio, banners, pamphlets etc.

This will help in making your business popular in your locality, but you need to have an online presence to showcase your upcycling talents by uploading images to your website as well as on popular social media platforms.

This will help you in drawing customers outside your locality and also reaching out to the online crowd.

Moreover, your business is focused on appearance and style, this makes it important to invest in online marketing. Also, give discounts to repeat customers and to all during festive seasons.

Create a Website

You need to create a website with the help of a professional. It should contain all the features of modern websites dedicated to business. The website will help you to interact with your customers regularly and stay engaged with them.

It is also a part of your marketing strategy, upload “before” and “after” images of the refurbished furniture in your site to display your talent, this will help you to stand out from the rest in the market.

Hence, starting a furniture upcycling business can be a good idea if you have the experience, skill of managing the business, and patience to expand it with care. Focus on your marketing strategies and try not to compromise the quality of your products.

Customers will remain loyal to you if you provide high-quality products. You don’t have a broad niche to choose from as you are already focusing on a single type of upcycling business.

Hire talents

Hire talented and skilled carpenters who can restyle and refurbish products as the customers demand. Acquire all the permits and licenses before starting the business and treat your laborers properly.

Dedicate a space in your home for the business where the carpenters can work without any disturbance.

Here is the infographic which gives you more ideas on how to upcycle wooden pallets. read and apply same.