Should I buy an existing cabinet making business or start one?

A cabinet shop is part factory and part service business. It needs equipment, skilled people and a steady flow of jobs from builders, designers and homeowners. Starting means assembling all three. Buying means taking over a shop that already has some of them, along with whatever problems come with it. The trade-offs below are specific to cabinet making.

Equipment you would otherwise buy

A working shop may already have a CNC router, edgebander, panel saw and spray booth set up and running. Equipping a new shop can be slow and expensive. Ask about the age and condition of each machine, what is owned or financed, and whether the booth and dust collection are set up in a way that suits the space. Your lender and accountant can help you weigh the cost.

Relationships and crews

The strongest asset in many shops is the trust of builders and designers who keep sending work. Ask whether those relationships belong to the shop or to the owner personally. Ask also about the finisher and installers: are they employees or contractors, and will they stay? A new shop has none of this and must earn it.

Order book and deposits

An existing shop has work in progress and customers who have paid deposits. Ask for a list of open jobs, what has been collected and what is still owed to those customers in finished work. Ask your lawyer how the agreement treats that obligation.

Making the choice

Consider how quickly you need income, how much trade experience you have and whether you would rather inherit a business or shape your own. The same question for machining is covered in buying an existing machine shop or starting one.