https://forum.thehogring.com/categories/9/grow-your-business/feed.rss Thu, 14 May 2026 10:44:24 Z Grow Your Business - The Hog Ring en https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/924/things-you-wish-you-knewdid-in-setting-up-shop-space Mon, 17 Nov 2025 06:07:51 Z Jerry Ross 924@/discussions We’ve outgrown our small single car space and moving forward with a new location. New location isn’t “huge” but basically the shop space of a 50’x 30’ box, 2 offices and a small bathroom make the entire building a 50x50. Lots of outdoor parking in secure fenced lot (25+ cars) Any tips or common... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/888/wyotech-can-help-you-find-trimmers Thu, 21 Nov 2024 12:14:54 Z Nadeem Muaddi 888@/discussions I just got done listening to the latest episode of NC Shop Talk. In it, Cindy Barlow, director of industry relations at WyoTech, says the school keeps a database of graduates of their auto trim program. Mal Maher smartly suggests trimmers could reach out to WyoTech for a line on trimmers to hire... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/862/keystone-sewing-machines Mon, 18 Sep 2023 10:51:52 Z Jeff Hoye 862@/discussions BEEN TRYING TO BUY A LONGARM MACHINE FROM THIS COMPANY BUT THEY NEVER REALLY EVEN REPLY, VERY DISAPPOINTED ABOUT THIS! CONTACTED THEM MANY TIMES WITH. NO RESPONSE, HOW DOES A SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVE WITHOUT THESE PEOPLE THAT IGNORE A GUY WHO IS TRYING TO IMPROVE HIS ARTISAN ABILITY ??? THE BIG GUY... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/833/busy-shop-looking-for-upholsterer-virginia Mon, 05 Jun 2023 02:15:51 Z Dan DeSimone 833@/discussions Looking for an experienced upholsterer at a busy shop in Richmond Va https://www.interiorguys.com/employment-opportunities https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/828/jell-seats Wed, 08 Feb 2023 12:21:22 Z ERNEST HOBES 828@/discussions Has any of you exspored putting jell pad on motorcycle seats? https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/775/how-do-you-guys-cope-with-constant-interuptions Mon, 10 Oct 2022 01:34:07 Z Nadeem Muaddi 775@/discussions This question is for the small, 1 to 2 man shops in particular... How do you guys cope with constant interruptions? Every time we really get into a job, the phone rings or someone stops by for an estimate. Sometimes, a solicitor will walk in trying to sell us a new service or a door-to-door... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/723/auto-boat-rv-upholstery-business-for-sale Mon, 24 May 2021 18:12:39 Z Beth ellis 723@/discussions Tired of High taxes and thinking of relocating? I own a successful 26+ year upholstery business and commercial property nestled on the foothills of the beautiful Smokey Mountains in Bradley County TN! Property features a 6000 sq ft building, 2 bay doors 12' * 14' to accommodate tractor... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/697/seat-renderingdesign-program Sat, 24 Apr 2021 04:05:02 Z Ryan Huffaker 697@/discussions Hey all, do you guys know of any computer programs out there that allow you make a digital design, or drawing of a seat to show customers? All the programs that allow drawing or design work that I've found only deal with 2d drawing and can't account for the curvature that seats have. I'm horrible... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/676/pricing Tue, 26 Jan 2021 23:13:52 Z Jesse carr 676@/discussions Im unsure if im pricing properly, at the end of the day i dont want to short myself, but dont eant to scare customers either. So i mostly do interjor repair from plastic repairs, vinyl and leather reoairs, premium coloring ect. But i also do some upholstery with vinyls and leathers and Alcantara. I... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/44/why-are-so-many-shops-offline Sun, 24 Jan 2021 06:55:52 Z Nadeem Muaddi 44@/discussions Since relaunching the forum as a private community, we’ve received requests to join from a staggering number of people who either own or work for an auto upholstery shop that has no website or social media presence. What gives? In 2017, how can a business without an online presence expect to grow?... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/562/how-are-your-shops-doing-during-this-pandemic Fri, 15 Jan 2021 21:01:59 Z Nadeem Muaddi 562@/discussions Our area has definitely taken an economic hit. We haven't had a new customer in over a month. Instead, we've been keeping busy with longterm projects and some shop maintenance/improvements. Of course, none of that is sustainable. The industry as a whole is hurting. A recent SEMA survey found: Only... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/565/cnc-sewing-setups-brandspricesreviewspros-cons Fri, 08 May 2020 23:51:57 Z Justin L Rash 565@/discussions Looking for advice or someone that has experience with CNC sewing tables. I love doing things the old school way by hand (have to keep your skills in check). BUT on a profit/production stand point and being a one man shop I’ll like to start looking into going down this path for faster turnover for... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/515/negative-online-reviews-how-to-respond-to-them Tue, 28 Jan 2020 14:40:49 Z Nadeem Muaddi 515@/discussions Saw this online and wanted to share... It's a great example of (1) How negative customer reviews that go unchecked can harm small businesses, and (2) How small businesses should respond to these reviews when we get them. This shop owner is one smart guy... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/516/paying-employees-commision Thu, 23 Jan 2020 15:50:07 Z MICHAEL TODD 516@/discussions We are a good sized high volume trim shop in North Florida that does a lot of variety: automotive, marine, medical, restaurants ect. We average 6 trimmers who are paid hourly. To retain and attract good people we offer benefits like 401K, health care, vision & dental. As you can imagine our benefit... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/76/business-software Wed, 27 Nov 2019 12:49:40 Z Mike Koceja 76@/discussions What business software if any do you use for invoices and work orders, for time and hourly rates. Look at shop boss but I don't know if they go into detail for upholstery. Any help would be great https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/397/customer-supplied-tops Tue, 14 May 2019 19:31:01 Z Jay McFarland 397@/discussions We have so many customers calling for prices for installing tops they have purchased on line. How do you handle the warranties on the installation when you cant control the brand? and how do you do the labor pricing? I don't want to chase the customer away but I still have to make a profit to pay... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/396/auto-upholstery-summer-camp Thu, 09 May 2019 01:08:32 Z Nadeem Muaddi 396@/discussions Seeing as many of our shops are family businesses, I wanted to flag this opportunity for those of us with teens who might someday take over... Penn College of Technology is offering a summer camp for high school students interested in classic car restoration. Auto upholstery is a major part of the... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/234/fraudulent-charges Mon, 25 Feb 2019 16:50:56 Z Natalie Pankonin 234@/discussions I went to buy some supplies today from my local auto parts store and my business debit/credit card wouldn't work. After logging on to my account, I discovered there were several fraudulent charges on my account. This seems to happen to me at least once a year, after it happened last year and my... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/279/business-license Mon, 01 Oct 2018 12:48:40 Z Brian Magee Jr 279@/discussions I originally started my shop as a sole proprietor in Washington State 5 years ago. After a month of being open and screwing my back up I had to close the doors. Fast forward to now. I reopened last week and am wanting to do my main business branch as a LLC with my upholstery shop as a member... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/276/how-to-approach-businesses-especially-boat-places Sun, 30 Sep 2018 01:31:57 Z Steven Durick 276@/discussions Thank you in advance. How do you approach businesses that may already have an upholsterer they use or if they don’t have one how do you sell your services? https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/265/average-amount-of-hours-it-should-be-taking Tue, 04 Sep 2018 17:53:02 Z Jeniffer Zaleiski 265@/discussions Hello all, as a beginner trimmer, I seem to miscalculate how many hours a project will take, and I know with time and practice comes experience, speed and accuracy. But I would like to know the average amount of hours it should be taking. thank you! Driver seat: Passenger Seat: Second row seat... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/13/why-is-the-auto-upholstery-industry-so-mysterious Thu, 22 Feb 2018 15:33:37 Z Jim Nishida-Adams 13@/discussions Although there are many different kinds of auto upholstery shops, we share a deep knowledge of auto interiors that mechanics and body shops do not. One topic I always enjoy talking to other trim shop owners is: Why is the auto upholstery industry so far behind in consumer awareness, industry... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/88/leather-kits Wed, 15 Nov 2017 17:52:49 Z Jesse Durkee 88@/discussions We never really got into leather kits. We have a customer that’s interested in getting them put on a Jeep. I figured it could take 4-5 hours to do. How do you price them? Do you just charge say a flat rate on what it could take? What about markup on the kits what percentage do you mark them up from... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/57/customer Tue, 26 Sep 2017 17:12:18 Z Elizabeth Contreras 57@/discussions I love all my customers...as a single mom of four kids I can't complain, they put my girl through dance, buys them what they need and pays the bills...but does anyone else have that customer who drops something off and expect it back in an hour? How do you handle customers like this? I think I'm... https://forum.thehogring.com/discussion/17/trade-association-for-the-auto-interiorupholstery-industry Wed, 20 Sep 2017 06:13:56 Z Jim Nishida-Adams 17@/discussions Nadeem - I'm glad you put "mysterious" in quotes in your last reply because it made me realize that the title of that discussion not only fails to address the topic of a trade association, but would also make it hard to search for. So, let's focus specifically on the trade association issue. For...