How to Start a Flooring Business: A Step-By-Step Guide

Flooring is a key piece in every real estate. Ever seen an office or a house without a floor? It's crucial not just because it can't be ignored, but it also adds a star to the decor of the estate. Thus, the demand for flooring won't ever fade away. In fact, it is anticipated to grow 4% every year from 2023 to 2032. Just observe around yourself to see how many new buildings are under construction. Those are a pie of the flooring market. The actual cake is even bigger. And since you understand this, we are going to teach you how to start a flooring business so that you can take advantage of this never-ending demand. So first, let's start with understanding your responsibilities.

Table of Content

1. What Does a Flooring Installation Business Do?

2. Installing a new floor

3. Replacing an old floor

4. Maintaining or repairing a floor

5. 5 Essential Skills for a Flooring Installation Business

6. What is the Cost of Starting a Flooring Business?

7. 7 Steps to Start a Flooring Company

8. FAQs

9. Conclusion

What Does a Flooring Installation Business Do?

"Isn't it obvious?" you must be thinking. But there is more depth to it that we need to explore. So have a look at what your responsibilities will look like.

1. Installing a new floor

Usually, any new building or house under construction will need to install flooring. So, you can look to grab a contract from a constructor for flooring all its current and upcoming projects.

This one is very important because it holds the power to be your majority source of income. Reliable and elegant flooring is something that no constructor can ignore.

2. Replacing an old floor

Sometimes, you may find yourself taking out the old floor and replacing it with another. But frankly speaking, a need to replace a floor doesn't happen often. Ask yourself when was the last time you replaced the floor of your home. However, it offers good money once given a contract to do it.

3. Maintaining or repairing a floor

The opportunities for maintaining or repairing a floor can also pop up from time to time. For example, you may be required to replace the broken tiles of a floor or refinish the whole altogether.

Now that you know what you will be doing, you should also realize that no business can thrive without the required set of skills needed for it.

5 Essential Skills for a Flooring Installation Business

Apart from skills, you will also need some initial investment to launch your business. But relax. It does not need to be from your own pocket. Yes, it would be great if you have the required money to invest. If not, you can approach a bank for a business loan or look for a partner willing to invest in your venture. However, the important question that comes up here is how much money you need.

What is the Cost of Starting a Flooring Business?

There are some costs that you cannot overlook even when you are just starting your business. So, here is a list of prerequisites and their cost.

So, you can safely assume that you will need around $10,000 - $20,000 to lay the foundation of your flooring business.

Now that you have got an overview of the flooring installation industry, you are ready to start taking the steps to build your flooring company.

7 Steps to Start a Flooring Company

1. Plan your business

A successful floor installation business needs a plan to reach success. Yes, we understand that you cannot plan everything beforehand. However, spending some time to plan things out will help you set your priorities.

So below is a list of things that you need to include in your business plan.

Once you have planned your business, the next step is to make your business official.

2. Complete the legal formalities

Legal formalities like business structure and the state license are important as you may not get any contract without them. Clients trust a defined business rather than a person who fell on their path to provide the service they want.

First things first, decide what will be your legal structure. Your flooring business can take forms such as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, an LLC, or a corporation. Usually, you should go for an LLC. But if you want to dive into the details of each of these, we recommend you to read this blog post.

Voila! Now you are a Flooring installation business owner. But the work is not done yet.

3. Find your first client

At this point, you will be tempted to hire your team and buy the needed equipment. But wait. That can be risky. Before that, you need to ensure that you have enough potential cash flow coming your way to fulfill those expenses and make a profit.

So hit the road, pitch your proposal to your target audience, show your earlier experience, get leads, and convert them. A clear USP, as explained earlier, will act as a spring while making this steep climb.

Upon finding your first client, make an estimation of the project and the materials, tools, and people you will need for it. The next milestone in this journey is to arrange the finances for your first project.

4. Arrange the finances required for your business

Now that you have a client ready to pay, you have mitigated your risk to a huge extent. This gives you a green single to make further investments as you have ensured a return with your initial client.

So this is the point where you need to find your business fuel - money. The best case scenario would be to convince your client to pay you an advance to arrange the requirements. But the world is not ideal. Thus, the other options you can look to arrange the funding are -

• Your savings
• A bank
• A business partner
• Your friends and family

5. Create a business bank account

You may be thinking that can't you use your personal bank account. But that would actually be a mistake. Having a separate business account will ensure that your personal assets are protected in the event of bankruptcy. This is also why we recommend you register your business as an LLC. A sole proprietorship or partnership will hold you personally liable for losses.

Thus, the effort to create an LLC and a business bank account are worth it. The next step is to save your business even before the occurrence of any mishappening.

6. Purchase business insurance

The sea of business doesn't give entrepreneurs a smooth sail. In other words, you will most probably get into some financial trouble. At that point, you need to minimize your losses.

But its foundation is laid when everything is going fine. Thus, invest in business insurance early on to make sure that if your business hits an iceberg, you have a side boat to sail you through.

There are many types of business insurance with different coverages. But usually, LLC owners buy Business Owner's Policy (BOP). But if you want to explore further, here are other insurance options for small businesses, as per Forbes.

7. Set up an accounting system

A proper accounting system keeps a track of stuff like taxes, expenses, profits or losses, and salaries. Basically, an accounting system has a role to play in anything that involves money. You can keep an Excel Spreadsheet or invest in accounting software for ease. But along with that, we also recommend you try InvoiceOwl which takes complete care of your invoices.

So how does it feel now that you have a path laid to enter the floor installation industry with your business? But our job isn't over until we answer your probable questions.

Conclusion

So you are equipped with all the information you need to start a flooring business. But this information is useless if you don't act on it. Start with making a business plan to get a sense of direction and then move along to the further steps. It's time to make the leap.