How to Open a Furniture Store

Last Updated: March 7, 2020

If you love furniture and know how to furnish a room to make it both comfortable and pleasant, you might consider opening a furniture store. With consumers always looking for such types of furniture as antique furniture, designer furniture and industrial furniture, there are numerous opportunities to turn your passion into a profession. However, you'll need more than a passion for furniture; you'll also need investment capital, business smarts, and perseverance to turn your furniture store into a profitable business. Read the following tips to find out how to open a furniture store.

Steps

1
Decide what kind of furniture store you want to open. Remember that for each type of furniture, including antique, modern, design, retro, industrial and used, you'll need a reliable supply line and customers.^{[1]
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2
Research the competition in your area. Find out what types of furniture they sell and what their prices are to determine whether there's a market for the products you plan to sell.
3
Construct a sound business plan.^{[2]
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- Calculate the costs of a venue, furnishings, equipment, inventory, and delivery trucks.
- Budget for an ongoing marketing plan that includes street advertising, print advertising, television and radio ads, and online advertising with social media.
- Remember to include the cost of accounting, taxes, business loans, licenses, and employees.
- Make a conservative estimate of your returns.
- Include the possibility of opening an online furniture store to complement your sales.
4
Raise the necessary starting capital. Explain your business plan to your bank or a private investor and show them how your furniture store is a good investment. Have a lawyer review your investment contract before you sign it to make sure you understand all of the terms.
5
Obtain all necessary permits from the city.
6
Choose the right location for your furniture store. You'll want a venue with a lot of square footage, as well as sufficient traffic to attract customers.^{[3]
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7
Buy all necessary equipment to run your business and furnish your furniture store. You'll want to have a good selection of furniture, and you'll need at least one delivery truck to get your customers' purchases to them.
8
Interview and hire employees.
9
Advertise your furniture store.^{[4]
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10
Open your furniture store.

Community Q&A

Question

Should my supplier be close in proximity, or can I import all the way from China?

Community Answer

If you are willing to pay for shipping, then you can do whatever, but just keep in mind that this can be expensive.
Question

I want to make my own designs. How can I get started?

Dainon Earl

Community Answer

You could design them with CAD software, send the blueprints to a reverse auction on an online supplier network like Alibaba, and suppliers will bid to create your product for you.
Question

What is the necessary equipment to open the store?

Community Answer

You'll obviously need inventory, as well as forklifts and hand trucks to move the furniture. You'll need computers and printers to track inventory and create invoices.