How to Start Furniture Business in Nigeria

Furniture business in Nigeria is a lucrative business because many Nigerians like to equip their homes and offices with it. Nigerians do not just buy kind of furniture; they buy modern and simple furniture that will make their homes look beautiful. It is extremely rear for you to visit a Nigerian family and discover that they do not have a center table or chairs.

Any family that does not have these must-have definitely sold the old ones they have to buy new ones. Offices too cannot be left out because furniture is an essential tool there too. They are used to keep documents, hold computers, make us relaxed when we work, and also used to make visitors comfortable while they wait for an appointment.

Churches and mosques in Nigeria are not also left out of this. They use furniture like chairs and tables. Chairs for members to sit to listen to sermons and tables for ministers to place their bibles. The chairs and tables of a standard church in Nigeria could sometimes cost millions of naira because churches are now taking interior decoration seriously.

Furniture business in Nigeria has gone beyond using cheap wood and using substandard materials to make fittings because Nigerian buyers now have a high taste. By just looking at a piece of furniture some of them can tell in detail if the price is worth it or not.

Is Furniture Business Profitable?

The furniture business in Nigeria is a highly profitable business considering it is a necessity for all Nigerians to have. As I said earlier, it is a need in all homes, companies, and organizations. It is also a need in churches and mosques in Nigeria. There is highly a place in Nigeria you will not find furniture.

This is why furniture is a very lucrative business in Nigeria. Another reason why it is lucrative is that Nigeria has a taste for furniture and can buy expensive furniture just to make its environment look beautiful and comfortable. Nigerians can buy TV selves worth up to N100,000 just to make a statement about their expensive lifestyle.

And you will be able to make more profit if you are able to sell your furniture to top wealthy men and women in Nigeria. Now, let us move on to how to set up a furniture business in Nigeria. How you can start small, make profits, and as time goes by grow your business into a massive venture.

Equipment for Furniture-Making Business

There are different equipment for making furniture in Nigeria. They are:

1. Power Jointer or Thickness Planer

2. Circular Saw

3. Hand Saw

4. Combination Square and Tape Measure

5. Power Drill

6. Jigsaw

7. Chisels

8. Hammer

9. Marker or Pencil

And more.

How to Start Furniture Business in Nigeria

Here are steps to start a furniture business in Nigeria.

1. Choose the Furniture Business to Start

As I said earlier there are majorly 2 types of furniture business in Nigeria. In the furniture manufacturing business and buying and selling furniture business, you will need to sit down and really decide which one of them you want to go into as carefully considering how much capital you have, time, and so on.

But I can tell you for free that it is easy to start buying and selling furniture than it is to start a furniture manufacturing business. Buying and selling furniture kind of business cut off many processes and it does not take time to start.

2. Learn Furniture Making

If you’re going for a furniture manufacturing business this is the next stage for you – learning how to make furniture. This means you will need to learn as an apprentice under a professional furniture maker for a period of 6 months – 1 year. After learning about that period from your boss, you will be able to set out on your own.

At this point, you will have to buy your own furniture-making tools. Prices of furniture tools or equipment vary according to their quality and where you buy them. We have second-hand tools and we have new tools. You can go for anyone depending on your budget. Note that it is impossible to learn all furniture works within this period despite the fact that you have spent a period of 6 months – 1 year.

There are some works you will have to learn on your own as time goes on in the business. Furniture making is an evolving business so to conquer this you need to always improve your skills.

3. Get the Required Capital

Capital is very important in every business and furniture business is not exempted. With about N200,000 – N1,000,000 capital you will be able to start your furniture business. But note that the bigger the capital you invest the bigger the profit you make.

Someone who invests N1,000,000 or N5,000,000 in the furniture business cannot be compared with someone who invests just 200,000 or N500,000. Obviously, the person who invested N1M or N5M will make more profits. To know the total capital you will need to start the business, you need to jot down all you need to bring the business to life.

Things like business registration, space to display your furniture to customers (showroom), space for a workshop, cost of materials, cost of tools, and so on. All these need to be factored in. List all these out and write how much each of them will cost then sum everything to get your total.

This will be the total amount of capital you need. Read our article on how to own a business in Nigeria without any money.

4. Get a Space for your Workshop

In this case, it is best for you to get a space not far away from the showroom for your workshop so that it will be easier for you to move your furniture when you are done for display. Or you can get a big space instead that will contain both your workshop and showroom. This will save you a lot of money because it is like killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

5. Location for your Showroom

A showroom for your furniture business is very important. In fact, I will say it is the most important part. You want a place where customers can easily come in to check out your furniture and buy them also a place where intending customers can easily locate you. My best advice for you here is to get a space very close to a busy road.

A road that many wealthy men and women pass by every day. Clean and furnish the place add showroom lights and add a signboard with your brand name and you are good to go. To make sure the business name you are using is not registered to any other furniture business in Nigeria; you will need to register it under C.A.C.

This registration usually takes about 4 weeks to be completed but once you’re done with this you are good to go.

6. Use Branding to Increase Sales

Just like the way artworks are branded I have noticed that furniture companies are also branding their products – adding their names and phone numbers to all the furniture made by them. They do this by using gold ink to stamp their brand names and phone numbers on all their furniture.

This is to help intending customers easily locate them. You too can do this to your furniture to attract more customers to your shop. You can also brand your furniture by using unique wood in making them. More ways to increase sales.

7. Profits in Furniture Business

How to increase sales which will in turn increase profit in your furniture business in Nigeria.

A. Connect with Rich People

If you have not read my article on how to meet rich men in Nigeria you will need to it immediately you’re done with this article because it will go a long way in guiding you on how to meet and dine with the mover and shakers of Nigeria. To sell your furniture easily without stress you need to go where the rich people in Nigeria hang out.

This could be clubs or parties, introduce yourself to them, and tell them what you do – your business. Tell them you are ready to give them a huge discount any time they decide to buy furniture from you.

B. Sell Furniture to Hotels and Motels

Another way of increasing sales of your furniture business in Nigeria is to win a contract to sell furniture to newly built hotels and motels in Nigeria. This kind of contract is not easy to get but once you get it you can make millions of naira within a short period. To take it further, you can have an agreement with the hotel owner that your company will be in charge of the maintenance of the furniture in the hotel.

This means that the hotel will have to be paying you monthly, quarterly, or yearly for the maintenance of their furniture. This is another way you can boost your profit as a furniture company easily.

C. Employ More Workers

There will be a period when your business will start to grow and the increase in sales will sky-rocket. At that time, you should employ more workers to make things easy for your business. Do not be stingy about this.

Do not join the common practice in Nigeria where business owners know they need 20 workers and they employ 10 – giving each worker double the work to do yet underpaying them. This kind of attitude will stunt your business besides this, it is pure stupidity.

D. Prepare all Necessary Accounts

Sometimes you might be making money in your business and not really know this is because of the negligence you place on accounting as regards your business. You need accounts in your business to show you how much profit you make daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.

You also need to know how much you spend on expenses like utility bills, workers’ salaries, and so on. This opens your eyes to let you know if your business is doing well or not and how you can do better. Another benefit of keeping accounts is it helps you pay taxes easily with its time to pay and also helps you get a loan from the bank when your business needs one.

E. Win Government Contracts

Winning a government contract is another easier way to become a millionaire in your furniture business. All you have to do is work your way into the hearts of counselors in your local government and gradually move up the ladder.

F. Sell your Furniture Online

There is hardly anything you cannot sell on the internet these days as long as you are ready to take some beautiful shots and upload them. You can sell your furniture on these platforms and also make money while you sleep.

Furniture Business in Nigeria

There are 2 major types of furniture businesses in Nigeria. They are:

1. Furniture Manufacturing Business          

This is a type of furniture business in Nigeria where you manufacture the furniture yourself to sell directly to customers. This kind of business is good if you have already been in the business for a while and you no longer want to buy from producers you want to start making and selling yours made by you.

Furniture manufacturing is not expensive on a large scale because you have the power to choose materials, where to buy them, and workers, and can sell them at any price you prefer to your customers.

2. Buying and Selling Furniture Business

This is a type of furniture business in Nigeria where you buy and sell furniture and fittings to customers. You buy from local furniture-producing companies or you buy from furniture-producing companies abroad and import into Nigeria for sale. However, the most common one in these types of businesses is buying locally made furniture and then selling it to the final consumers.

In this furniture business, you are like an intermediary between the producers of the furniture and the buyers (consumers). This kind of furniture business in Nigeria is good if you are just starting out and you want to build a portfolio before going into manufacturing.

Furniture Business Ideas in Nigeria

There are many furniture business ideas in Nigeria. These ideas can help you sell your furniture easily without stress. Some of them are:

1. Furniture for Offices

This is a furniture business in Nigeria where you sell your furniture strictly to other businesses, companies, and organizations. Selling your furniture to businesses can be very profitable. Sometimes, you can sell furniture worth millions if you are able to sell your furniture to big companies like Shell, Chevron, and the like.

2. Furniture for Homes

This is the most common type of furniture business idea in Nigeria for furniture startups. About 80% of furniture businesses in Nigeria are into selling furniture to homes or residential places. This business can be profitable for you if you’re just starting from scratch in the business.

3. Furniture for Churches and Mosques

This is a furniture business in Nigeria where you sell your furniture strictly to churches and mosques. You can specialize in this type of business if you have a lot of capital to start. All it takes is to win one contract and before you know it every other church or mosque will start looking for you.

4. Furniture for Hotels and Motels  

This is the selling and maintenance of furniture for hotels and motels in Nigeria. Although it can be stressful to win, once it is done you can make millions.

Conclusion

Learn more if you need to learn and evolve. Take free courses online and travel outside the country to see how woodwork is done in other countries. This will give you a winning edge over your competitors. Spy on your competitors and see what they are doing right that you are not doing to increase your sales.

And finally, believe in yourself that you can do it. It is all about your mind. The ability to start a successful business in Nigeria starts first with your mind so … believe.

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