The furniture-making business launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 50 steps in 8 phases, 23 of them specific to a furniture-making business. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan50 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
Furniture making makes money four ways, and the mix decides your .
Typical for one unit is $500,000 to $5,000,000 a year; the owner keeps 11 to 26% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. businesses reach five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: if you can buy a well-run shop with a real trade book and craftspeople likely to stay (ideally with the owner’s help through a transition), buying buys you years of crew-building. Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
Furniture making is mid-weight to start: less than a fixed-retail , more than a mobile trade, because the money goes into the machinery, dust collection, a finishing booth, bench tools, and...
The itemized cost to open8 lines
- Core machines, CNC router, dust collector & booth: $23,800 to $63,600Bought outright; the CNC is the biggest swing and is often financed
- Spray system, portable tools & clamps: $6,000 to $20,400HVLP, a Festool-class set per two makers, 24 to 60 bar clamps
- Workbenches & lumber racking: $3,000 to $8,600
- Design computer, website & portfolio photos: $2,400 to $12,500
- Opening lumber, hardware & finish: $10,000 to $21,000Two to four weeks of materials
- Shop electrical & duct runs: $2,900 to $34,000A space with 230V power in place costs far less
- Deposits, permits, insurance & setup: $8,400 to $41,500Lease and utility deposits, fire sign-off for the booth, first premiums; a trade show at the high end
- Initial working capital: $20,000 to $80,000Lumber, payroll, and float on long builds for 3 to 6 months
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed4 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to 10 yr (25 with real estate) · government-guaranteed)The workhorse for buying an existing shop or funding a startup’s machinery and working capital.
- Seller financing (Often 5-25% of price · 3-7 yr)Common when buying a craft shop.
- Equipment & machinery financing (Secured by machinery & equipment)Finance saws, jointers, planers, and the finishing line, secured by the machines themselves.
- Working-capital line of credit (Revolving · against receivables & inventory)A revolving line to float lumber purchases and payroll while custom pieces are in build and before deposits and balances are collected.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/6Open
Find and secure the spaceone to three months
Furniture making is a fixed-location craft, but the workshop sells to a market that can be local or national.
What decides it for this business: available skilled-woodworker pool, affluent design / trade market in reach, affordable, suitable shop space, reliable lumber & materials supply, shipping & delivery logistics.
One call to the planning desk with the address: is this use allowed there, and what will it take (, permits, fire sign-off)? A space that needs a change of use can add months.
Rent, free months for the , who pays for what, the and the renewals, subject to financing and permits. The lender needs this letter or a draft lease to take your application.
After: ,, renewal options, increase caps, what the landlord adds on top of rent, and what happens if you have to leave. For a location business the lease is part of the purchase price.
After:at minimum; property, workers’ compensation and the rest as the business needs. The landlord asks for a certificate at signing and the lender at closing.
Walk the floor plan and the equipment list, then get contractor quotes. The lender wants the quotes; the health department wants the plan.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the or draft lease, the and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
After:The lender approves against the ; you sign the lease once approved; the loan closes against the signed lease and the insurance certificate. Ask for the to match the or longer.
After:
- 06Not started0/11Open
Permits and the build-outone to three months
Furniture making is lighter on licensing than the regulated home trades, but a workshop handling machinery, wood dust, and finishing chemicals carries real safety and environmental obligations.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:Your contractors pull the building, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits and close them out by inspection. Hold the free rent months for this.
After:Most cities approve exterior signs separately; signs take weeks to make. Order early.
Register your or corporation and obtain a city or county operating license.
State registration to collect and remit tax on furniture sold, with resale handling for trade accounts.
Confirm the space is zoned for light manufacturing or a workshop, and meets any noise and operating-hour rules.
Coverage for a machinery- and chemical-laden shop, and for finished pieces that go into clients’ homes.
Spray-finishing emissions and dust may require a local air-quality permit depending on volume and jurisdiction.
Machine guarding, dust control, and respiratory protection for a shop with saws and finishing chemicals.
Spray finishing, flammable solvents, and dust collection trigger fire-code and storage requirements; a finishing booth may need approval.
After:The city’s sign-off that the space is approved for this use. You cannot open the doors without it.
After:
- 07Not started0/11Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
The backbone: prices a piece against materials and hours, schedules builds against lead times, and tracks work-in-process.
A storefront for stock and made-to-order pieces sold direct, plus a portfolio that wins commissions.
Collect a deposit before a board is cut and the balance on delivery.
A dedicated account keeps batch, custom, and trade separate from personal money, essential for clean books and any future sale.
A shop full of machinery, lumber, and finishing chemicals carries real fire and liability risk, and finished pieces go into clients’ homes.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Federal plus state employer, withholding, and workers’ comp once you hire craftspeople; shop work carries real injury risk.
After:Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Owners usually post the jobs a month out and hire two to four weeks before opening so training happens before the doors open.
Design & quote: Take the brief, draw or spec the piece, price it against materials... Material prep: Source and mill lumber, pull hardware, and cut to the cut-list. Build days: Craftspeople run the joinery and assembly, batching repeatable...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/5Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Lumber, hardware & finish (materials); Skilled & hours per piece; Lead times & work-in-process.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
A furniture shop is sellable when its value does not live entirely in the founder’s hands.