Becoming an Entrepreneur
How to Start a Cabinet Dealership
Starting a cabinet dealership is a rewarding experience if you have the creativity and tenacity necessary to be a successful entrepreneur. Here are a few secrets on successfully operating a small business.
Store this article for future use if you are thinking about starting a cabinet dealership.
Consider these tips if you are thinking about opening a cabinets business.
The Market for Kitchen Cabinet Dealers
Kitchen remodeling is an industry that gets bigger with each passing day, and the need for kitchen cabinets continues to grow.
While there are many ways to buy kitchen cabinets, a large percentage of cabinets are sold through kitchen cabinet dealers, who have established relationships with the large cabinet manufacturers or, in some cases, offer proprietary custom cabinet designs.
To get started, you'll want to start conversations with the various cabinet manufacturers and see if you can represent them. Before you get too far, make sure you are serving a nice niche in your area. It's tough to make money as a kitchen cabinet dealer if you are selling the same thing that everyone else offers at the same price!
Best Cabinet Dealership Business Plans
How good is your cabinet dealership's business plan? If you aren't completely confident in the quality of your business plan, it could be because you haven't invested enough time and effort in its creation.
Although there are a lot of tasks screaming for your attention, cutting corners on your business plan can be a precursor to disaster. The evidence overwhelmingly supports the fact that your startup can't achieve long-term success without an accurate business plan.
From a business ownership perspective, that makes business planning your first priority - and not a task that can be assigned to the back burner.
Consider the Competition
Prior to launching a cabinet dealership in your town, it's worthwhile to see how strong the competition is. Try our link below to generate a list of competitors nearby. After following the link, enter your city, state and zip code to get a list of cabinet dealerships in your area.
How are you going to successfully complete with existing firms? It's important that you never underestimate the competition.
Find Good Remote Business Advice
If you want to open a cabinet dealership you really ought to learn as much as you can from somebody who is already in the business. If you think your local competitors will give you advice, you're being overoptimistic. What's in it for them?
However, an entrepreneur who owns a cabinet dealership on the other side of the country will be much more likely to talk with you, after they realize you reside far away from them and won't be stealing their local customers. In fact, they are often very willing to share startup advice with you. Our estimate is that you may have to contact many business owners to find one who is willing to share his wisdom with you.
How does one quickly and easily locate a cabinet dealership manager outside of your area who is willing to talk?
No problem! Just use the link below and try a random city/state or zipcode. Then start dialing for advice until you are successful.
Business Brokerage for Cabinet Dealership Entrepreneurs
Startup cabinet dealership and cabinet dealership acquisitions each come with their own benefits and drawbacks. Unless you have specific business objectives that require a startup approach, you're probably better off trying to buy an established cabinet dealership.
Although you could navigate a business acquisition on your own, most prospective cabinet dealership owners enlist the services of a business broker.
The best business brokers will ensure that you get the right business for the right price, and will help you avoid common cabinet dealership acquisition mistakes.
Franchising May Be a Better Way to Go
If you want to minimize your chances of failing, you should evaluate purchasing a franchise.
If your goal is to start a cabinet dealership, you ought to assess whether franchising might be worth investigating.
The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.
Industry Associations
If you are interested in starting a kitchen cabinets business, you should be aware of some trade associations in this space.
We recommend:
- Kitchen Cabinets Manufacturers Association (KCMA) - KCMA is a voluntary non-profit industry trade association. KCMA has over 360 members located in the United States and Canada who manufacture kitchen cabinets.
More Advice for Startups
These additional resources regarding starting a business may be of interest to you.
Questions to Ask Before Starting a Business
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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs