The Upholstery Forum

Business vs. hobby. You have to decide this when you start something new. I have had to "reinvent" myself a couple of times in my career and am doing it again now. If the work you are doing is a "hobby" then recovering your costs is great, if you intend to operate a business that will support you and your family then you have to be extremely profit focused.

You can't offer goods and services at a loss if you want to turn a profit. Running a business has a lot of "hidden overhead" that no one considers when they engage in a hobby.

Think about all the machines you have purchased to do this work, each one takes up space in a shop or your home, it has to create more profit than the floor space costs you annually, and the purchase of the machine and the maintenance of the machine over it's expected lifetime and for some machines you have to include a replacement fund for when it wears out in a few years.

I was speaking with a friend in LA about this recently, he is a film editor and provides his own equipment and a room in his apartment to do client work. He intends to run a profitable business, but has never set aside enough money to replace his editing system, which for him can easily cost $25K to replace. His current system is old enough now that it can no longer run the latest software version so he will have to upgrade soon or will be "out of business" because he didn't charge enough to replace his equipment to stay current.

If you are really dialed in on your profitability you will be able to track each of your major equipment purchases vs the profit it generates. Some things you have to keep for the occasional job and it may take decades to realize a profit on a single item, and other things you will be able to know it wasn't worth the purchase price and it should be sold to recoup some money to invest in other gear that will earn a profit every year.

Business or hobby? You have to choose.

My $0.02/ adjusted for inflation $0.25

Yes, and thanks . . . I currently have been doing this work for myself (hobby) and I am nearing retirement age (3-4 years away). So, I would probably do this sort of work as a side job after retirement, not really needing to support a household, but making my time worthwhile. Probably would not want to take on very many jobs either . . . just would like to do quality work.

Not sure I'd want to do this sort of work for a living.

If I did take this sort of work on for a business, and used the spreadsheet estimating guide that I worked up, my pricing might look something like this for the stuff I have been doing. . .
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These might be a bit low . . . or maybe a bit high in some instances.

Thank You for the break down in the pricing. That is interesting to see and the work is amazing looking!

Another backrest done . . . This one took a long time for some reason. My machine was also throwing fits . . . not sure why.
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A few more big pieces to go, then the two helm seats, which are quite involved. Each one will probably take 2 days

Here is the latest piece . . . it is a side cushion that goes in the bow of the boat.
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I added the red stripe to the pattern, since I have added red elsewhere in the upholstery.

This one took all day (and then some) to make. More difficult than I was expecting. I am getting better at the french seams, combined with top-stitching on an adjoining panel. I made sure to remove as much bulk to the seam area as possible and to add an extra 'tab' of material at the end of the french seam to help the material 'roll under' for the intersecting top-stitching.

Quick Update . . .

I finished the other bow side cushion . . . Same sort of thing as the previous side cushion. I added the red stripe.
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I am onto the helm seats which are really complex. 2 armrests, a flip-up portion of the base and then the normal base cushion and backrest. So, far I got the armrests done. They took about 1-1/2 days.
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Looks great! Folding arm rest are always a pain. Nice Job!

Yes, after doing 2 of them, I tried using steam to really soften up the vinyl and on the last one I used a touch of silicone lube spray on the foam core . . . the warmed cover slid right on.

Here are the various pieces of the helm seats, less a few bits and pieces. It took quite some time to dis-assemble. More staples than I had ever seen on a boat seat.
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There are 2 of these seats. . . 6 covers each. I've already done the 2 armrests.

My plan is to do the covers over the course of about 4-5 days.

I got 1 helm seat backrest done . . .
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I altered the original pattern (as shown below) so that the diamond quilt would wrap around the bottom a couple of inches, making similar to the other seats in the boat. The original pattern would have the diamond panel stop right at the bottom of the backrest and a visible seam.
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The alteration has a bit of ugliness underneath (first picture), but it won't really be visible when the backrest is in its upright position.

The bases for these seats are what remains and then a few odds and ends before installation in the boat.

That came out fantastic! You are getting really good!!

Thanks, @John I will be happy to finish off the sewing part next week. I won't be putting the seats in the boat until early May.

Cant wait to see it back in the water!

I got the seats all sewn and have put one of the two helm seats together. . . . lots of mechanical assembly.
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@TedP I really like the small amount of red for an accent color, looks so cool!

Mikesimpson wrote:@TedP I really like the small amount of red for an accent color, looks so cool!

Thank you - I liked the red when I saw pictures of the boat with the red/gray color scheme. I also like the diamond quilting as it adds to the appeal.

I feel like you have stole my thoughts with this. Very well put. We have always bid seam repair at an hourly cost, it has never dawned on me to approach full trim jobs this way, but I think I may start.

The seats are going in. I have the bow section done and will be moving to the mid-section of the boat soon.
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The stern section may take a bit longer as there is an electrical issue with the actuator that converts the back-to-back seat into a sunpad.

That looks fantastic! You did a really nice job on this boat.