Cost of Business Startup?

[baileyuph]

Chris,

Google, I believe SMS and see their prices on OEM automotive seating material.  I believe they are located on the west coast in Oregon?

I have currently, in work a 1968 2 dr. hardtop Olds 98.  Seat work that is, he layed two yards on my bench and said that was around $300 bucks.  He also had the original vinyl (madrid).  I think it was around $45?

There is a market for this if you are into that nitch.  If a prospective customer asked a price, I tell them they are starting out asking the wrong question.  I have two customers who never ask the price.  All they want is the job done as close as possible. They will send a nurse out to keep you healthy while you work on their cars.  Wink.

One of my customers has won the Mopar nationals two or three years in a row.  Then, he takes the cars and stores them in a controlled environment. 

I don't know exactly how these guys handle the issue of original labels on parts (mechanical parts like exhause), but I understand they are careful about running the engines because it might damage the OEM original exhaust labels. 


Every folk has their own stroke, I suppose.  I am just a dummy who does their grunt work.  A future project is a 4 door Mopar, smaller than a charger.  I didn't even know they made a 4 door and he said yes there were only a handfull (Challenger perhaps?).

Doyle 

[Mojo]

Olds 98 ? Oh boy, your getting into my territory now. I served on the Board of Directors for the Olds museum. My Aunt was Olds official historian and wrote several books about Olds history. Ask your customer if he has ever heard of Helen Earley. My grandfather was the comptroller of Olds back in the 60's. My other grandfather, my Dad and my Uncle were drivers for Old's. My Dad and Uncle used to do testing for them at Milford proving grounds and Pikes Peak. All together my family ( aunts, uncles, Grandfathers and cousins ) had over 415 years of service at Old's. I was the first defector and didn't go to work there ( though I was called and offered a job ).

In regards to some of these show cars. Some of these shows that these guys attend their cars are judged based on originality. Every single sticker and label has to be in an exact location. The batteries have to be OEM from that period. It is amazing just how far they go on judging these cars. In a nutshell they have to look like they just rolled off the factory floor.

But I have never heard of stitch lengths coming into the picture but it makes sense. Some of these guys are more OCD then I am and that Dear Sir is bad. I am a poster child for Anal retensive / OCD people and I admit to driving even myself nuts..........:)

As a footnote, one of my favorite cars ( right underneath Old's ) are Mopars. I loved their hemi's, max wedge engines and their older Furys, Roadrunners, Cuda's, etc.
Remember the old Daytona Superbirds ? if you have an original that is in perfect shape it is worth $ 250 K today from what I heard.

Chris

[mike802]

As a furniture guy I stock the foundation type fabrics like burlap, denim and cambric, usually I buy 100 yard rolls.  I also stock cotton by the bail and keep a couple rolls of Dacron on hand.  But as far as the cover fabric goes, no way, there are just to many choices and variations, often I may only use one type of fabric once and never see it again.  I used to stock basic black and white vinyl back when I was still doing auto trim, but have stopped that now that I only do furniture 90% of the time.

Their used to be an upholster in town who stocked 1 type of fabric in 5 different colors.  This was back when you could reupholster for less than buying new.  He sold a lot of that stuff and was regularly booked up two years ahead.

[Mojo]

Mike:

I do not keep up on material costs that are outside my area of expertise so forgive me.

Hasn't cotton gone through the roof ? I know foam has been increasing steadily for several years. But I thought I read an article that said cotton prices went nuts. Maybe I am thinking of something else.

Chris

[sofadoc]

I just paid $30 for my last roll of cotton. That is my supplier's "per roll" price. 25 years ago, I used to drive 50 miles into Dallas, and buy 12 rolls at a time for $17 each. So really, cotton hasn't gone up any more than anything else over the years.

BTW I should mention that the last roll that I bought was "economy grade". But I swear I can't tell any difference between the economy, and premimum grades. The premium is whiter, but that's about it.

Back in the day, Greenville was home to the second largest gin in the country. My Grandmother bought stolen cotton from one of the workers there. It was felted, but usually in 1-2 yard pieces.

[baileyuph]

Good input, but it was pretty much all over the wall.  Most responses were from a different reference point.  What I mean is, the question to what kind of business would have to be specified.  

For example, if the question was auto restoration building projects that competed in national competition where the item was authenticity at its best in terms of materials and workmanship, the answers would have been different I am sure.

For example to reproduce sun visors in the 50's automobiles just the way the manufacturers did with original reproduced materials would probably take three or four thousand bucks to just get set up to do.  But, if one merely wrapped the visors and sewed an alternate way, non original, that is, the cost of start up would be much less.  But, without the OEM reproduction capability, the best money to be made from that selected activity would be made by investing the serious bucks in equipment and materials.  This fact has been and is being demonstrated today.

But, a respondent to the question with only furniture recovering or maybe some marine recovering experience would visualize that it doesn't take really take that much of an investment to be in business.  We all speak from a different reference point sometimes, understandably so.

Bobbin, in her valued response, is an example of this, in reading, it is obvious her exposure to equipment used in certain sewing activities is more extensive than mine.  She has probably used a large variety of equipments and run a lot of yards of thread through them, much more than the average.

I marvel at the equipments and attachments the garment industry encompasses.  It actually gets very interesting and this review goes as far back as 70 years in that industry.  Hence, her response shows that background perhaps compared to mine which is different.

Good input,

Thanks,

Doyle