A Business Plan

[DeLight]

I started my upholstery business in March of this year 2014 and I'm enjoying the business, but would like to get projects out faster. Does that just come with time and experience? Should I look at hiring help?
I only have about $1050 start up money and I've heard there is grant money out there for small businesses, but I need to put a business plan together to apply. Has anyone out there put together one of these.
My husband wants me to get a job, but I just can't see myself working for someone else's dream, maybe temporary till my business is super busy.
Now, mind you my husband and I have been running 2 businesses for over 13 years all by ourselves. He wants to get out of one of the businesses, but we need the money. He is exhausted to say the least. So you can see, I need to make my upholstery business a viable thriving biz. I thought if I can get a night job, that way I have the day time to work on projects would work.
I would like to hear you all experience, and get some help in this area. Thank you.

[cthomps]

Send me an email and I can send you one.  I found it on the web a few years ago. It is old, but it will give you some guidance.  cgndzine@wwt.net 

[JuneC]

Beware of hiring help - you may be training your competition.  However, depending on where you are and the market there, it might be a good thing.  If nothing else, hiring a high-schooler part time to pull staples or sweep up can increase your productivity.  I started out working till 10 or 11 at night, sometimes pulling staples on the living room floor watching TV till very late. 

So your issue is getting work out, not generating sales?  Good problem to have.  Good luck with the start-up!

June

[baileyuph]

I started my upholstery business in March of this year 2014 and I'm enjoying the business, but would like to get projects out faster. Does that just come with time and experience? Should I look at hiring help?

What specific upholstery work have you been doing that needs to be done faster?

Time efficiencies are ideal for any shop/business,  a start is to evaluate what is done now, what techniques are being applied and in what fashion.

Time studies can get quite technical. 

Business plan to acquire a grant should be supported by how the grant will be used?

Doyle

[Mojo]

Yes, you are correct. Moving work out the door comes with experience and that comes with time. The longer your in the business the better and faster you become. It similar to most trades - time and experience equates to faster turn around time ad better margins.

Myself I would not recommend hiring part time help. Your new to this business and it is very hard to lead and teach when your learning yourself. Unless your super busy I do not see how a start up upholstery operation could afford to hire anyone.

Hiring part time help should be your last resort. Instead concentrate on learning this business. This forum is filled with some of the very best in the business and many are masters at this trade. So get on here often, post questions, read and learn. Many of these people were instrumental in my success when I started doing this.

Chris

[kodydog]

Mojo, I agree with you 98% of the time but let me tell you how we got started.

As you all know I learned the trade working in a factory. My wife learned upholstery sewing at a trade school. Needless to say, when we opened our business there were a lot of skills we were yet to acquire. Working in a factory is much different than working in an upholstery shop.

Soon after we opened our business an elderly gentleman walked into our shop looking for work. He'd been upholstering all his life and was willing to work cheap just for something to do. We hired him. One of the best things we ever did. He worked for us for a year and taught us many things (skills) we did not know.

If Delight is fortunate enough to find someone like this and can afford to hire him, I'd say the experience would be invaluable.

[jack_sparrow]

Here's some quick tips:

Try setting up a website to generate leads for your business.
Are you mobile? If so, try posting up a few ads on craigslist and offer to fix furniture or upholstery at client's location
Take a lot of before and after pics of your work to place on your website and advertisements.

[Tejas]

I've never made one, but I've read a few. Try "how to make a business plan" or "how to write a business plan" in google or amazon and you'll get several possibilties.

Actually, you might want to write two or three business plans for the same opportunity -- I've seen variations of all three -- such as:

Business plan for investors.
Business plan for bank or grantor.
Business plan for self (what you actually think you might achieve).