Starting a Home Improvement Business: Profitable Ideas & Next Steps
If you enjoy what you do, you never have to work a day in your life. Many business owners in the home improvement industry relate to this kind of lifestyle. The industry is financially rewarding, and you’re focused on helping people make positive improvements to their homes. It’s a win-win line of work.
Operating a business in this industry starts with getting specific about the kind of work you want to do. The objective in launching a business is to meet a goal you have in your life. It might be to work in a particular industry, strike a better work-life balance, build a family business or have control over your income potential.
Whatever is driving you to consider entrepreneurship is what you need to meet when reviewing industry options. Let’s get started!
The key sectors of the industry
The home improvement industry is significant in the U.S. In 2021, home improvement sales in the U.S. amounted to $538 billion. By 2025, this is expected to reach over $620 billion. Owning a successful business in this industry can be very rewarding if you choose the right sector that complements what you want out of a business.
Here is a look at the industry’s key sectors:
Big Retail
When someone thinks of home improvement, they likely think of the big retail stores like The Home Depot and Lowe’s – and that makes sense. These two brands comprise the majority of profits in the consumer retail home improvement products industry. While there are options to be had in this space, it’s going to be expensive and highly competitive.
An important note is that this kind of home improvement business demands long operating hours beyond the regular workday, plus weekends. As a business owner in this sector, you’ll need plenty of employees to fill the roles required, and that will be an ongoing challenge in recruiting.
The Trades
Trade professionals are a key part of the home improvement industry. Plumbers, electricians, HVAC installers, general contractors and others are all necessary people. If you want to pursue this sector, you need a trade certification and some time working for another company in order to meet your experience requirements.
If you’re not certified in a trade, you will be relying on others. Trade pros are in high demand, so it may be difficult to pull someone away from their current job to join your new company. As a new start-up, you will need to invest heavily in marketing and building awareness to draw interest away from established competitors.
Going Outdoors
The outdoor aspect of the industry is more flexible when it comes to building a business. Businesses you might consider include landscaping or lawn maintenance services, deck-building or concrete finishing, pool installation and cleaning, window washing and house washing. This might be a good fit if you enjoy a physical job and working in the great outdoors.
Of course, weather plays a role in any outdoor home improvement business. You and your employees still have to work when it’s very hot or very cold, windy or any other kind of temperature-related situation. In addition, rainy weather or morning frost can cause delays that could impact your schedule for days if you’re a busy outdoor business. This is a business with a lot of scheduling attention.
An Indoor Niche
The final sector of the home improvement industry is an indoor niche business. Examples of the opportunities include painting services, security system installations, window treatments and flooring. This type of business usually has fewer employee needs and more flexible operations. If you pursue an indoor niche franchise such as Floor Coverings International, the training and any required certifications are included in your franchise package.
Interestingly, the commercial and residential services sector is the second-fastest growing sector in franchising, according to an International Franchise Association report. While you can create an indoor niche home improvement business on your own, a franchise might be a more efficient and cost-effective route to take to being a business owner.
Why franchising?
Franchising allows people to own a home improvement business based on a proven business model. For many, it’s the only way they could work in an industry they enjoy, make the money they deserve and have control over their financial future.
When you start a business independently, you need a business plan on how you’ll earn income, pay expenses and finance the operation. When you own a franchise, this legwork is done for you, and it’s built on a business model that supports multiple other franchisees in the same business. At Floor Coverings International, the model reflects more than 200 units throughout North America.
Another aspect of franchising is training and support to operate the business. Independent businesses usually hire advisors for this aspect of the business, but franchisors include it as part of the franchise package. The support continues as long as you’re part of the franchise organization.
Franchisors are also required to make a franchise disclosure document (FDD) available to any potential franchisee prior to their purchase of a franchise. (Independent businesses are not required to provide any financial information to a prospective buyer.)
Taking a look at Floor Coverings International
Floor Coverings International is a mobile flooring franchise. Our franchisees bring more than 3,000 flooring samples to a homeowner, saving them from having to traipse back and forth from home to stores. We make it easier and more efficient to have new flooring installed in their homes. As a home improvement business, we have a great history to draw upon, having been established in 1989. We are also the No. 1 ranked flooring franchise in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500, and we are ranked No. 158 of all franchises on the same list.
Our average annual gross revenue for booked jobs was $1,282,642 for the 2021 calendar year, according to our latest FDD. Our startup costs range from $165,400-$235,100, depending on your territory size and location.
The flooring business training program is one of the most robust in the entire franchise industry. You’ll be confident meeting with customers, making recommendations and seeing the flooring project through to completion. Our marketing is designed to build your clientele through customer relationship management, advertising materials and promotional opportunities.
Finally, a high percentage of our franchise team is past business owners themselves, so they are committed to a strong franchisor-franchisee relationship.
Explore our opportunity
We invite you to reach out to us and receive our franchise information report. This includes information about our competitive advantages, a full breakdown of startup costs and an introduction to the Floor Coverings International management team. We will email you a link to the report and follow up with a short conversation to answer any questions you may have.
If being a home improvement business owner is something you’re interested in, take a look at the Floor Coverings International franchise opportunity.
