Having functional and attractive furniture makes a home warm and welcoming. Everybody needs furniture in their home and it’s important for you to furnish it so that you enjoy being there. The person who has a love for woodworking and the knack to make furniture is fortunate. But is home furnishings a good career path and where do you sell your furniture?
You can make a great career for yourself by selling your own handmade furniture. Even if you start off as a furniture salesperson, there are great career opportunities and you can go from being a salesperson to a store manager and even to being a national sales manager. So, we can say that furniture selling can be a good career but it pays to do a bit of research and compare prices from the different stores. You want to be sure your furniture is priced right. People want to get reasonably priced furniture that is also reliable and sturdy.
The pandemic has closed many businesses and awakened in others new ideas to make money. Furniture and home decor items are in demand as people spend more time at home. Furniture making and furniture selling is big business and those in the trade have had to find out about things such as inventory, marketing, and also shipping their furniture.
You can sell online
If you’re new to selling your furniture online, start by listing just a few items on a particular site such as Craigslist, eBay and Etsy among others. See how you fare and if it goes well you can list even more items next time.
Making and selling furniture at a flea market
There are quite a few ways to get into the furniture selling business. If you’re a furniture maker and you design and build furniture in your own home, garden, or workshop, you may only build and sell furniture on demand. So you work to a made-to-order method.
A made-to-order furniture business allows you to only purchase materials as you need so it’s not needed to invest a lot upfront, especially if you are using your home facilities as a workshop.
As a furniture maker, you’ll need specialized tools for your handmade wood furniture items. You may have a special market at a local flea market and you know what sells best. These flea markets can be a wonderful source of income.
Furniture salesperson
Some people love furniture and it appeals to them to work in a furniture store as a salesperson. When clients come into the store, they need to advise them on the furniture they’re interested in. There will also be the admin side where you have to process paperwork and then schedule home delivery of the furniture items bought.
Most of these furniture salespeople work for a base salary and also earn a commission. You want to know as much as you can about the furniture you are selling because being well-informed and being able to converse amicably with clients can be a real career boost.
Your own furniture store
If you make your own furniture you may want to own a furniture store. You need to be clear on the furniture materials you want to use and then identify your target customers. You also want to decide on whether you’re going to be selling your furniture locally or further afield.
You also have to do some market analysis to find out how best to price your products. There will be the cost of getting permits and licenses, the cost of renting a place, advertising, and marketing expenses as well as salary if you hire one or two people to help you.
You will also have to register your business, get tax registration, open a business bank account, create a cool website for your business and then also get business insurance. It will be fun finding ways to display your furniture. You can make a successful career in selling furniture if you offer superb customer service and you’re highly clued up on your furniture items.
Enthusiasm boosts a career
Everybody needs furniture for their homes and their offices. Regardless of the furniture selling environment, you find yourself in, it’s just like with any other job – the enthusiastic, dedicated person is the one who will make their chosen furniture selling career a success.
