I have been a long time amateur woodworker, boat builder and
household repair and renovation person. I am looking to get out of my
"regular" job as Director of Finance at a national IT company in a
year or so and am interested in learning the mobile furniture repair
and touch-up business that serves private individuals, the moving
industry as well as commercial (restaurant. office, government)
sectors. I would start in mobile and accept some more involved work to be completed
in my 1000 sq ft basement shop. Eventually, I could see renting a commercial
space with store-front and have full walk-in repair/restoration
service and possibly a gallery with space for sublet to custom
furniture designers/woodworkers. I am also interested in CNC
duplication of non-restorable items (for exampple legs, arms, etc.).
I've looked at the franchises (Weathersby Guild, Furniture Medic,
etc.) and don't see that they offer anything that I can't learn on my
own. I am taking an upholstery course this fall as well as a furniture
restoration course. This second course does not deal with the
efficient techniques and materials that the commercial touch-up
contractors use. My business background is in small-medium business
and I am very familiar with contracts (commercial and gov't),
accounting, commodity pricing, HR, etc. I would need guidance on how
to break into the insurance/moving industry segment and what
credentials one would need. Also what organizations and what is the
commonly used software for managing info re: insurance claims
processing. I don't need financing.
Whew, that's a lot!!!