In a year marked by slowed consumer spending, fewer Americans are buying new items, instead opting to stretch what they have.
Riding the trend are Buckley father and daughter Jim Crews and Shalon Van Hoof, who have started a furniture repair business.
The pair started a Furniture Medic franchise on Aug. 1. The business specializes in furniture repair both on site and in their shop. The shop fixes scratches, polishes wood, repairs joints and performs a multitude of other upkeep work on furniture.
“My dad has worked in another field for a long time and furniture repair was his side hobby,” Van Hoof said. “When we discussed starting a business, it seemed like a good fit.”
Van Hoof and Crews, who had never started a business before, began researching business models and franchises. They examined several before deciding upon Furniture Medic, based out of Memphis, Tenn.
“There is a lot of due diligence (in selecting a franchise),” Van Hoof said. “You have to see if the business is a good fit, whether you would want to be involved in that company. We talked to a lot of them before deciding on Furniture Medic.”
Van Hoof estimated the cost of she and her father’s start-up – including the franchising fee, equipment and cleaning supplies – was probably on the low end of typical start-up costs, though she didn’t comment on specific dollar amounts. Most repairs are done on-site and more extensive repairs are done in a shop Crews operates out of his home, eliminating the need for a storefront shop. The company handles all pick-ups and drop-offs of items, free of charge unless the client is far away.
All cleaning solvents and polishes used in furniture repairs are environmentally friendly, Van Hoof said.
Crews handles repairs and Van Hoof handles management of the franchise. The combination of family and business has been a working formula for them, Van Hoof said.
“For us it seems so natural to do something that incorporates everyone in the family,” she said.
Furniture Medic is a member of both the Buckley and Tacoma-Pierce County chambers of commerce.
Furniture Medic can be reached at 360-761-7198 or on their website www.furnituremedicbyfse.com.
