Opportunity to start your own business as a kitchen maker
Discussion
I thought this would be more appropriate for this forum rather than the Business forum as most there appear to be already running their own businesses-
First, a quick overview
The offer is to provide all the training needed, free of charge, to someone who has the wish and the means to set up his or her own custom kitchen making business. The equipment they will need to buy when they start making for themselves will cost at least £6,000, and they would be well advised to pay more than that, £10K would get a decent set-up. They will also need a workshop of a minimum of 1,000 sq ft, and to be able to fund the construction of a demonstration kitchen (which might well be their own, as it won’t need to be in the workshop).
If they will want to do their own fitting then they will need a van as well, of course. Fitting really needs two people, so they will need to bear that in mind. There are competent self-employed fitters in most areas, though, it’s just a question of finding them.
The training for the first person through will be free, as I need to prove that the training works and that a viable business can then result. That business can trade under my trading name if the person wishes, in a way similar to a franchise, or they can trade under their own name. In any case they will need ongoing support which will be included.
I expect the initial training will take 4 to 6 weeks depending on aptitude and effort. The trainee will then need to set up their own workshop and make a demonstration kitchen, during which they will need more support which, as mentioned above, will be provided.
Obviously the person will have to live within feasible travelling distance of my workshop to the north of Aylesbury, but not too close as I wouldn’t want to be training potential competitors. The thing about this sort of business is that it is difficult to expand without considerable investment, it works best as a one or maybe two man setup, and that seems to be the sort of thing that the customers prefer.
I should point out that the training would not equip anyone to get a job at another kitchen maker, as it is specific to my style of kitchen and using my methods and materials, which are somewhat outside the ‘industry norm’.
To assess earning potential you will need to think like a businessman. It’s certainly possible, given reasonable sales, to earn a living. After that it’s a question of what you can sell for, how much you sell, how much you invest in equipment, how hard/fast you work and for how many hours. IOW, too many variable to give a straight answer, but more info can be given and received by PM.
I certainly wouldn’t advise anyone who already had a job to give it up to pursue this, especially in this economic climate.
The risks if it all goes wrong- the time invested, obviously. Good woodworking equipment can usually be sold for around two thirds of the new price. It would be better to rent a workshop on a licence rather than to take a three year lease, that way the risk would be limited to a couple of months rent after closing down. Advertising needs to be done carefully, but once things get going word of mouth will usually produce a bit and there are various inexpensive ways of getting known in your own area.
Please ask any questions the answers to which might benefit other readers here, but I expect any serious enquiries to be by email through my profile.
First, a quick overview
The offer is to provide all the training needed, free of charge, to someone who has the wish and the means to set up his or her own custom kitchen making business. The equipment they will need to buy when they start making for themselves will cost at least £6,000, and they would be well advised to pay more than that, £10K would get a decent set-up. They will also need a workshop of a minimum of 1,000 sq ft, and to be able to fund the construction of a demonstration kitchen (which might well be their own, as it won’t need to be in the workshop).
If they will want to do their own fitting then they will need a van as well, of course. Fitting really needs two people, so they will need to bear that in mind. There are competent self-employed fitters in most areas, though, it’s just a question of finding them.
The training for the first person through will be free, as I need to prove that the training works and that a viable business can then result. That business can trade under my trading name if the person wishes, in a way similar to a franchise, or they can trade under their own name. In any case they will need ongoing support which will be included.
I expect the initial training will take 4 to 6 weeks depending on aptitude and effort. The trainee will then need to set up their own workshop and make a demonstration kitchen, during which they will need more support which, as mentioned above, will be provided.
Obviously the person will have to live within feasible travelling distance of my workshop to the north of Aylesbury, but not too close as I wouldn’t want to be training potential competitors. The thing about this sort of business is that it is difficult to expand without considerable investment, it works best as a one or maybe two man setup, and that seems to be the sort of thing that the customers prefer.
I should point out that the training would not equip anyone to get a job at another kitchen maker, as it is specific to my style of kitchen and using my methods and materials, which are somewhat outside the ‘industry norm’.
To assess earning potential you will need to think like a businessman. It’s certainly possible, given reasonable sales, to earn a living. After that it’s a question of what you can sell for, how much you sell, how much you invest in equipment, how hard/fast you work and for how many hours. IOW, too many variable to give a straight answer, but more info can be given and received by PM.
I certainly wouldn’t advise anyone who already had a job to give it up to pursue this, especially in this economic climate.
The risks if it all goes wrong- the time invested, obviously. Good woodworking equipment can usually be sold for around two thirds of the new price. It would be better to rent a workshop on a licence rather than to take a three year lease, that way the risk would be limited to a couple of months rent after closing down. Advertising needs to be done carefully, but once things get going word of mouth will usually produce a bit and there are various inexpensive ways of getting known in your own area.
Please ask any questions the answers to which might benefit other readers here, but I expect any serious enquiries to be by email through my profile.
Assuming quality stacks up, the key here it seems is what is the potential market and the price point they're willing to pay. Without that evidenced based market intelligence, this will be just a bit of a punt for someone. Your point about having to stay local to you whilst not turning in to a competitor could be seen as a little hopeful. Good luck though!
rog007 said:
Assuming quality stacks up, the key here it seems is what is the potential market and the price point they're willing to pay. Without that evidenced based market intelligence, this will be just a bit of a punt for someone. Your point about having to stay local to you whilst not turning in to a competitor could be seen as a little hopeful. Good luck though!
The quality is a safe assumption in this case, the potential market will depend on the area, as will the price point. Most new businesses are, in essence, a punt, but I'm doing ok thanks.They don't have to stay local, they just have to decide for themselves how far they are willing to travel, I didn't want to put a distance on it because it will ary from one person to another. A person a long way away but who really fancied it might decide to stay in a B&B, but that will be up to them.
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