Starting a Garden Furniture Store

Summary: Starting one's own business is quite a noble intention as this allows financial freedom and adds to personal esteem as well. Starting a garden furniture store is one of the many options one could choose in terms of starting a business.

It is a lucrative proposition and can yield quite good returns for those committed to making it a success.

General Guidelines:

Location for garden furniture store: Probe the area of location of the store for possible competition. Certain towns have specific areas for location of typical stores; these have their own advantages as customers generally would like to compare prices and quality in similar stores nearby. Preferably choose a place where the rental cost will be less with a decent number of visitors. You must know that you will be needing a huge space for these type of stores as the furniture needs a large space for display, so best place to open a garden furniture store will be suburbs where rental costs remain low with ample residential houses.

Inventory: Plan to build inventory of certain exclusive items from ‘Branded’ manufacturers, well known for their product durability and aesthetic values. Refer to: A Guide to American Trade Catalogs, Chapter 24, for manufacturers and whole-sellers of garden furniture.

Keeping fast moving common items will also draw consumers from other similar shops to visit your outlet. You might even contemplate having a small section for storing common garden tools and implements.

Financing your garden furniture store:

SBA loans are government supported financing for your business, hence are excellent sources of funding. The Small Business Administration offers a variety of loan guarantee programs through commercial banks to help a business that may not qualify for a loan to get approved on reasonable terms.

With SBA loans there is no limit to the amount of capital you can request and a pretty good flexibility on how long you can take to pay back the loan, up to 25 years maximum.

Types of Garden Furniture:

• Traditional Garden Furniture
  Choose the finest wooden garden furniture with silken smooth wood finish where the grain is beautifully handcrafted into each design of sun loungers to complete dining sets, designed to enhance any outdoor lifestyle. Teaks, Iroko, Mahogany, Pine or FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Hardwood are the perfect materials to compliment any garden style.
  
  Use cross doweled mortise and tenon joints for added strength and folding chairs safety locking devices and height adjusters on fixed leg tables to eliminate rocking on uneven surfaces. Items may include barbecue accessories, benches, chairs, furniture sets, Gazebos, Lazy Susans, picnic tables, sunshades, swing seats, tables etc.
• Contemporary Garden Furniture
  Choose eye catching contemporary designs and explore a variety of materials such as Teak, Cork, Stainless Steel, Wrought Iron, Aluminum, Granite, Glass, Plastic and Textilene®. All contemporary garden furniture will provide many years of pleasure as they are designed for the life style of the present age, with modern technology. Items may include bases, benches, chairs, Gazebos, sunshades, swing seats, tables etc.

Finer points:

Have a long term deal with the furniture manufacturer where they loan out their products at a percent of the value or with security deposit and final payment after sale. Store more of the contemporary style.

Home delivery provision and installation at site are normally included in the service. On call maintenance or shifting facility may be contemplated. Credit card, Debit card facilities are normal. Installment facility may be extended to reputed customers, as per discretion.

As you are now ready with most of the information to get you started on your favorite business, go ahead, start probing other furniture stores. Do not forget to simultaneously visit the SBA office near you! Best of luck.