Fashion does not stand still. Once upon a time, wicker furniture was unrivaled, then soft corners and armchairs forced it out of constant use, but not for long. Already today, rattan furniture is returning to its position, occupying an important place in the interior modern cottages and houses. Such products can not only replace modern furniture, they also have many advantages over it. Rattan is high quality, durable and durable material. In addition, it has unique aesthetic properties. This is why there is high demand for it. And if someone wants to purchase rattan wicker furniture, others, who are more enterprising, launch small production in this area. This direction is suitable for those who are looking for a way.
What is artificial rattan?
Rattan is a polymer thread that is produced by extrusion. The plastic is melted to a certain temperature, then passed through a specialized mold. Depending on the type and nozzle of this shape, it is possible to obtain a synthetic thread in the form of a rod, a crescent, an imitation of wooden bark and much more. The result is raw material for further weaving of different textures and colors. The plastic components must meet all specified criteria and ISO 9001 standards, be pleasant to the touch and odorless.
Features and Pros artificial rattan:
- aesthetic appeal;
- high degree of material strength;
- moisture resistance;
- lightness of the material, which makes it easy to move around the house and during transportation;
- ease of assembly;
- duration of operation;
- does not require special care– simply wipe with a damp cloth to remove dirt.
Rattan has many advantages for manufacturers as well. It is easy to work with the resulting raw material (plastic thread); due to the flexibility of the material, you can make products of any shape, even extraordinary ones (which is now popular in the interior design of houses). In addition, rattan plastic thread is very long (some manufacturers produce it up to 200 meters), so it is easy to work with. And you don’t need to think about connecting the lashes, which is important for natural materials.
Equipment for making artificial rattan furniture
The production and weaving process can be done manually (suitable for beginners). It is based on the purchase of ready-made rattan, which is supplied in reels. This option does not require large investments and consists of purchasing raw materials and hand tools.
A more professional approach is to install a production line that not only makes furniture, but also makes polymer tapes, which minimizes the cost of raw materials. Professional equipment costs from 1.5 million rubles, but having such a “factory”, you can produce furniture of any shape and size.
Equipment for making furniture from artificial rattan:
|
Manual for machining and weaving |
Wickerwork Production Line |
| set of files | extruder |
| shmol (tape sharpening) | winder |
| plows | cooling system |
| bit | crusher (for processing secondary raw materials) |
| iser (a cone-shaped steel plate for leveling rows when weaving) | granule mixer |
| welding machine | |
| drill | |
| screwdriver | |
| knives, scissors | |
| keys | |
| consumables – dyes, frame base, furniture fittings | |
This equipment allows us to produce a wide range of products - chairs, armchairs, sofas, chaise lounges, beds, cribs, tables, shelves, cabinets.
Advice: The final price of the finished rattan furniture production line is not limited to the above cost. Depending on the planned scale of production, the volume of investment can reach up to 3.5 million rubles. But in practice, an extruder with high power and other professional machines are not needed in the workshop of a novice entrepreneur.
Search for markets
The demand for do-it-yourself wicker furniture made of artificial rattan does not depend on seasonality. You can organize a business in two directions:
- select certain models of furniture and produce them for individuals, try to expand sales channels through cooperation with furniture showrooms;
- conduct advertising campaign and work to order, fulfilling the wishes of clients.
New entrepreneurs who do DIY production still need to spend a small amount of money to attract customers. The first orders can be completed for your friends and relatives, but in the future you will need:
- advertise in local newspapers;
- post information on the Internet, on city portals, forums;
- Post advertisements around the city, leave your business cards in places where potential clients gather.
In this business, as in business, it is important to provide quality services. We need to make sure that customers are satisfied with the completed order and tell their friends about it. There are masters who do not spend a penny on advertising, while they are provided with orders through word of mouth.
When entering larger-scale production, it is necessary to enter into contracts with specialized stores that sell furniture, or organize a sales point yourself.
Advice: great option expanding sales channels - creating your own website. By collaborating with different delivery services, you can go beyond the domestic market and sell throughout the country or even abroad.
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The production of wicker furniture from artificial rattan is. It can develop into a profitable business that is in high demand, while the market is not sufficiently saturated with such offers and has great prospects for beginners.
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Most people who decide to start their own business first of all pay attention to trading. WITH minimal investment You can open a small point in the market. High costs will require a large store. But in order for a business to become truly profitable, an entrepreneur should come up with his own twist. Otherwise, there will be no difference from competitors.
To earn money almost immediately, you need to start a type of business that is not yet so widespread. You can start producing furniture from artificial rattan. This is both exciting and will bring considerable income.
Artificial rattan
Many people already know rattan furniture. Original wicker tables, chairs and armchairs can decorate any interior. At the same time, natural rattan is quite expensive material, which not everyone can afford. Exists cheap analogue, called artificial rattan. This is a special synthetic thread, which is obtained by pressing material through a hole of a certain diameter. As a result, the resulting raw material has almost the same properties as natural vine.
Artificial rattan looks beautiful and natural. In addition, there is an opportunity to preserve nature. After all, natural vines do not have time to grow at the rate at which they are used in furniture production.
Advantages
Artificial rattan does not require special handling. It is very easy to maintain, easy to clean and repair. It is recommended to periodically wipe furniture that is placed outside with a damp cloth. Synthetic material does not react to weather changes and does not change under the influence of ultraviolet radiation. 
Natural vines, from which expensive furniture is made, can sprout. This problem does not exist if garden chair made of synthetic thread. At the same time, many artificial products practically no different from natural ones.
Reviews of artificial rattan furniture
Buyers note that tables and chairs made from artificial wicker are practically no different from furniture made from natural raw materials. At the same time, artificial rattan has a huge number of advantages. This the best option for the street. After all, the material does not deteriorate under the influence of direct sun rays or precipitation. This cannot be said about natural raw materials. Garden furniture made of artificial rattan can last for years, while chairs and tables made of natural material quickly lose their shape. In addition, artificial thread is much cheaper. 
Manufacturers also share the benefits of making furniture from artificial rattan. All you need is a machine for making synthetic thread. The production employees can do everything else manually. In order to open your own business, you do not need to have a large start-up capital.
What can be made from artificial rattan?
Items made from synthetic thread should not only be beautiful, but also practical. The most popular is garden furniture made of artificial rattan. Small chairs, coffee tables, stools, swings - all this is perfect for a small courtyard. This furniture is very comfortable. In addition, it will add zest to the garden. 
In the house, wicker furniture made from artificial rattan will also look very original. You can decorate not only the living room, but also the kitchen or bathroom in a special style. After all, artificial rattan is not at all afraid of moisture, unlike natural material. You can decorate wicker furniture with small matching pillows.
Equipment for the production of
First of all, you will have to spend money on equipment for making artificial thread and weaving it. Of course, you can buy ready-made raw materials. But in this case, the business will not be so profitable. Additionally, those who have a special machine for making artificial rattan can experiment with colors and shapes. You can make a thread that will not differ in color from natural vine, or you can add bright colors to the product. 
Additionally, wicker furniture made of artificial rattan will require costs for the following installations: a cooling system, a winder, a mixer, a crusher for processing secondary raw materials. Purchasing all this equipment will be quite expensive. You will have to spend at least 1 million rubles. On initial stage All these installations can be rented with subsequent purchase.
What else can you make money on if you have your own equipment?
Your own installation for the production of artificial rattan can itself generate good income. It is possible to make artificial thread for those who want to make furniture, but do not have initial capital to purchase your equipment. That is, artificial thread can be produced for sale. In addition, artificial rattan is not the only material that can be made. If you purchase additional attachments, you can make synthetic reeds, raffia or other materials that you can use in your own business or sell to partners. 
It is worth noting that equipment for the production of artificial rattan is difficult to maintain. You will have to periodically invite specialists to set up the installation and check its operation. Prevention should not be neglected. Artificial rattan High Quality can only be manufactured using appropriate equipment. Synthetic threads must be uniform in structure and durable.
Sales market
Artificial rattan furniture appeared on the domestic market relatively recently. This is due to the fact that natural raw materials are quite expensive. Previously, only a few could afford wicker furniture. And installations for manufacturing synthetic threads was not on Russian territory. The artificial rattan set, brought from abroad, also cost a lot of money.
Today, the domestic wicker furniture market is developing quite actively. At the same time, competition in this niche is still low. Not everyone decides to make their own furniture from artificial rattan. And those who have a special installation can offer quality tables, armchairs and chairs affordable price. The low cost of quality products has always attracted consumers. Therefore, those who decide to engage in this type of business will definitely not have problems with the sales market.
Install environmentally in your home clean furniture, which also has excellent aesthetic qualities, is the dream of many people, but not everyone can afford to purchase designer products made from natural material. To reduce the cost of producing rattan products, scientists have developed a technology for producing plastic tape, from which wicker products can be made relatively inexpensively.
Such a change does not have a negative impact on aesthetic qualities, as well as wear resistance, so if you take this achievement of science into business arsenal, the production of artificial rattan furniture can be organized without significant financial costs, and sales of products will be carried out much more efficiently due to a reduction in the retail cost of such products.
Natural and artificial rattan
The natural material consists of processed rattan palm stems, which in their natural growing environment reach a length of 300 meters. Rattan palm grows in countries with a tropical climate, so the procurement and delivery of raw materials to European countries is an expensive process. The use of expensive raw materials predetermines the final cost of the product, which is why there is a need to use a substitute for natural materials.
Artificial rattan is produced by extrusion of polyethylene and rubber. To impart the necessary properties, special additives are added. A substitute for natural rattan has sufficient hardness for making furniture, while the thickness artificial material does not exceed 12 mm. Rattan obtained as a result of polymer extrusion has the following positive qualities:
- Available in a wide variety of colors and textures.
- Easy to carry high humidity and exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
- The material can be reused after recycling.
- Does not require special care.
Considering such positive traits, manufacturing business wicker furniture made from artificial rattan to order will be highly profitable, primarily due to minimizing the cost of purchasing basic raw materials. An artificial analogue will cost the entrepreneur much less, which will significantly reduce the cost of the finished product.
Polyrattan furniture: production process
Furniture made from synthetic rattan is made by hand, so to operate a large workshop you will need to hire highly qualified weaving craftsmen. If you have experience self-made rattan products, then personnel can be trained without the involvement of professional braiders. To develop original sketches, you will also need to hire a designer, and for large production volumes and significant volumes individual orders There should be several such specialists.
Furniture production is carried out in the following sequence:
- A detailed sketch is made.
- A metal base is made.
- Weaving furniture is carried out according to the sketch.
- Final processing of the product.
On last stage in the production of artificial rattan furniture, excess is trimmed, as well as furniture is coated with varnish or other protective compounds.
Raw materials for the production of polyrattan furniture
For efficient production Furniture made from this synthetic rattan cannot be done without the use of the following materials:
- Artificial rattan in bays.
- Metal rods for making the base.
- Paint and varnish materials for final processing.
The largest item of expenditure among the necessary purchases will be the purchase of rattan, which large quantities is produced in China, so even with considerable delivery costs, the cost of such material will be noticeably lower than the material offered domestic manufacturer. The price of artificial rattan starts from 220 rubles per kilogram, regardless of the color of the purchased raw material.
Metal parts and paints and varnishes can be easily purchased both in the retail network and through intermediaries engaged in the sale of these goods in wholesale quantities. The latter option is more preferable because the cost of products purchased in large quantities will be noticeably lower.
How to reduce costs?
Considering the fact that it is not always possible to buy artificial rattan in our country at the best price. Many entrepreneurs involved in the production of artificial rattan products purchase and install equipment for the independent production of synthetic raw materials. The cost of such equipment is quite high and machines have to be purchased abroad, but even for a medium-sized factory in terms of the volume of furniture produced, this option for reducing costs will be very effective. Thanks to the installation of equipment, there will be no need to purchase artificial rattan in coils, and the difference between purchased raw materials and those made independently will allow you to fully recoup the investment within 1 year.
Types of artificial rattan furniture
The larger the range of artificial rattan furniture produced, the easier it will be to implement large volume finished products.
The most popular products made from this material are.
- Chaise lounge
Owners of private houses often purchase this type of furniture for installation on personal plot under open air. Also, these products are well purchased by private hotels and other representatives of businesses focused on people's recreation.
- Armchair
This artificial wicker furniture is most often produced in the form of wheelchairs. Products made from polyrattan are lightweight, have high mechanical strength and good aesthetic properties. Such products are purchased by people who want to tastefully furnish a room with a fireplace or any other room where they can sit in cozy armchair.
- Sofa
A very popular type of furniture that can be made to order. Thus, in addition to the standard furniture supplied to the retail chain, it will be possible to significantly expand the volume of production through the sale of sofas, the design of which will be made in a single copy.
In addition to the listed models, garden furniture made of artificial rattan is in good demand, especially hanging models, which can be easily installed in the garden.
Furniture can be made in either single version, and in the form of headsets. A set of artificial rattan furniture made in uniform style Perfect for decorating a living room. A set of furniture can also be made for placement outdoors, especially in a barbecue area or on the lawn near a fountain or alpine slide.
Sales of finished products
Furniture made from artificial rattan is in great demand, but there are not many manufacturers of high-quality products made from this type of material, so you can start this type of business even with small production volumes. Sales of finished products are possible both through company stores, which can be opened in many cities of the country, and through online platforms. The latter option is ideal for small production. Street and country furniture made from artificial rattan can be advertised on gardening forums. To do this, just contact the site owners and agree on placement advertising banner on the home page. Visitors will follow a link to the online store, where they will be able to select furniture from the available range or order products according to an individually designed sketch. The production of custom-made furniture is more preferable due to the guaranteed sale of manufactured products.
Profitability of polyrattan furniture production
Properly established technology for the production of furniture from artificial rattan will allow you to reduce costs as much as possible, which, when high cost finished products will allow for a return on investment within the first 6 months of operation furniture factory. If the production of furniture from artificial rattan will be carried out on our own without the involvement of hired labor, and your own premises will be used to locate the workshop, then an initial capital of 150 - 200 thousand rubles will be enough to open own business for the production of high-quality rattan products. If you have no experience in making such products, you can learn. For this purpose, it is enough to study the literature and watch a video on the Internet on the topic of how to make wicker furniture from artificial rattan with your own hands.
In this way you can organize a small home business, the expense part of which will be significantly reduced due to the absence of the need to pay rent, and there will also be no need to spend time and money on travel. If you have an empty garage, then you can use this room for small production. Outbuildings that are connected to electricity can also be converted into a workshop.
Conclusion
It’s easy to figure out how to start your own production of artificial rattan furniture if you read this article, but the intricacies of running this business, as well as all the nuances and pitfalls, can only be learned by starting the direct production and sale of this product.
Today we will talk about an artificial rattan substitute (also called technorattan or polyrattan), which is used to make wicker furniture. This material is supplied in the form of multi-colored ribbons, threads, circle segments, rolled into coils. Unlike its natural counterpart, artificial rattan does not fade under the influence of ultraviolet radiation and is highly resistant to adverse weather conditions. That's why I often make it from it outdoor furniture or wicker decorative items that can be left outside all year round under the snow and rain.
Many owners suburban areas Would like to put furniture made of this material in a gazebo or recreation area. But it stops high price for these products, which are considered a “handmade” product. Exactly money issue pushed user FORUMHOUSE with nickname Lulava master artificial rattan weaving and all the intricacies of this craft in order to equip the living room in your house near Moscow with beautiful and functional furniture on which you can sit and relax on long winter evenings. 
Lulava FORUMHOUSE Member
After searching, I found wicker furniture that I really liked. Having caught fire with the purchase, I cooled down when I saw the price tag, but the desire to have something like that overpowered me. After studying the Internet, I made a firm decision - to start make wicker furniture yourself.
And here are samples of furniture that the user liked.
Now let’s announce the price tag for it: the chair costs 45 thousand rubles, corner sofa- 124 thousand rubles. No wonder that Lulava I ordered 26 kg of technorattan - strips 9 mm wide and 1 mm thick.
Artificial rattan is sold in kilograms. This ratio of width and thickness, as indicated above, ultimately gives maximum length coils at a given weight, which allows you to save money.
Also, according to the user, if you make a rattan sofa or chair with your own hands with a platform used as a self-supporting one, then it is better to use a more durable poly rattan, in the form of a circle segment, 1.2-1.4 mm thick, although artificial rattan 1 mm thick has sufficient strength and load-bearing capacity.
Work should begin with choosing a base that will be braided with rattan ribbons. One of these options could be a metal frame made of galvanized or aluminum pipes. But Lulava I settled on the most technologically advanced option - a wooden one, made from a block with a cross-section of 4x4 cm, which is then treated with antiseptic impregnations.
Rattan weaving for beginners: nuances
The most difficult thing in making furniture from artificial rattan is the weaving process itself. Despite the many training videos on the Internet, it is not always possible to see the nuances of the technology. Not enough information. Therefore, the user had to comprehend a lot by trial and error.
Start weaving rattan furniture from the very simple products. This will prevent you from “burning out” ahead of time, and also from losing interest in your work. And only after you have “filled your hand”, move on to more important subjects.
Lulava
I started the weaving work with an ottoman. Moreover, I had to redo it 3 times until I understood how to do everything correctly. Then I moved on to making the frame - the base of the sofa. To do this, I took the dimensions of the Swedish analogue - 2240 (length) x 660 (height) x 860 (width) mm.
Design wooden frame shown in the following photo.
The assembly was carried out on the “75th”, so-called. "black" screws. Although such fasteners are not the most the best option to connect critical structures (the heads of self-tapping screws can be cut off), the main thing is to think about how the load will be distributed.
The armrests of the sofa should not “hang” in the air. The part must rest directly on the load-bearing frame, and the main load is redistributed onto it. Self-tapping screws are needed only to fix the armrest - to connect it to the base in the desired position and prevent shifting.
When weaving artificial rattan, it is important to remember that one wrong stitch made at the very beginning will lead to a defective product. Everything will have to start over. Making polyrattan furniture is the lot of attentive and patient people.
Lulava
It is most convenient to work by placing the furniture on a stand. Even after watching the video with master classes on weaving, I still had questions about the secrets of the work. I had to learn everything from my own experience.
We will need the following tools for weaving:
- Stapler - it is necessary for fixing polyrattan strips with staples to wooden base;
- Small pliers, with their help it is convenient to remove a bent staple;
- A light weight hammer, needed for finishing off staples;
- Knife or cutter;
- Soldering iron or superglue.
A soldering iron is needed to solder the lock - at the junction of the strips.
Interesting practical advice on working with technorattan. We assemble the frame with maximum geometric accuracy. Misalignments or inaccuracies in measurements may result in more stitches being needed on one side than the other, or gaps remaining.
According to Lulava, not important– length of the sofa, width of the armrest, because The pitch of the vertical threads can be changed.
But especially important– height of the sofa, length of the armrest and height of the sofa with front side(from seat to bottom edge).
We carry out the weaving itself without using a shuttle, because Poly rattan is a tough material and can be pulled through rows well. Using a shuttle will only complicate the work of threading it between the strips.
People are interested not only in decorating and arranging their homes, but also in decorating their suburban areas. And rattan furniture is at the peak of popularity here. But not everyone can afford a set of furniture made from natural materials, and the best alternative in this case, interior items made from its artificial analogue become. The problem is that you can’t buy or order a wicker chaise lounge, chair or sofa in every city. And given this fact, it would be logical to launch your own business in this area. Let's look at how to start your own production of artificial rattan furniture. Artificial rattan - analogue natural material, which is a strip (in the form of twigs, braid or tree bark) synthetic material a certain thickness and width. And combined with excellent appearance, artificial rattan also has excellent quality characteristics - strength and wear resistance.
Our business assessment:
Starting investments – from 450,000 rubles.
Market saturation is low.
The difficulty of starting a business is 5/10.
The production of furniture from artificial rattan as a business has recently begun to gain momentum in the market - only as the popularity of these interior items among the population grows. But it is already absolutely clear that this niche will only develop in the future, bringing consistently high profits to the entrepreneur.
The following advantages can serve as prerequisites for starting your own workshop:
- Artificial wicker furniture has best performance quality than natural – and this at a lower price. This means that the demand for it will only grow every year.
- Small investments in business allow you to start even home production.
- By independently studying and mastering weaving technology, you can organize a business without hiring staff.
The prospects are clear, which means you can safely begin to implement your plans. What needs to be thought through here?
Description of the manufacturing process of artificial rattan furniture
You can organize your own workshop for making rattan furniture either by mastering weaving technology yourself or by hiring craftsmen. And quality and originality will depend on their professionalism finished products.
When organizing a business, we place the main emphasis on the qualifications of the hired personnel. The profit of the workshop will ultimately depend on their skill. Ideally, production requires hiring not only weaving experts, but also designers to develop sketches.
In general, the technology for producing artificial rattan furniture looks like this:
- Sketch development.
- Production of a metal base according to a sketch.
- Weaving of the product.
- Adjustment of the finished product - cutting off excess plastic tapes, coating the product with varnish or a protective composition.
The weaving process is carried out manually, and the following options are possible:
- rope weaving,
- regular weaving
- weaving with 3-4 rods,
- openwork weaving.
As for raw materials, weaving artificial rattan furniture with your own hands can be done using either purchased material, or what is manufactured within the walls of the workshop. The second option is more preferable, since it will require lower costs to provide the raw material base. And despite the fact that there will be certain investments in the technical equipment of the enterprise, all investments will soon pay off, because the resulting rattan can not only be used in your workshop, but also sold to third-party companies. But all that is required to obtain rattan is to load PVC raw materials into the machine according to the recipe.
Secondary raw materials, the delivery of which to the workshop will need to be arranged - metal rods for the base of furniture and pigments for painting rattan.
If you still don’t have the money to buy special equipment, you can buy artificial rattan from many manufacturers. It is a common practice for entrepreneurs to purchase raw materials in China - they are somewhat cheaper here (despite the cost of delivery). Artificial rattan is supplied in coils, which are then unwound.
When the workshop gets going and starts generating consistently high profits, you should seriously think about purchasing special machine, producing artificial rattan. This will simplify the production of products and reduce their cost.
Equipment for making rattan furniture
Extruder for weaving furniture
The production of custom-made wicker furniture from artificial rattan is carried out using an extruder. It processes PVC raw materials into finished tapes, which are subsequently used for weaving.
Due to the fact that the production direction rattan furniture on Russian market It’s new; there’s not much domestic equipment on display here yet. Basically, budding entrepreneurs equip their workshops with Chinese machines - they are relatively inexpensive and of fairly high quality. But the purchase of an extruder is not the only expense for equipping the enterprise. Outdoor and country furniture made of artificial rattan will see the light of day if the workshop has the following set of equipment:
- Extruder – from 250,000 rub.
- Pipe bender – from 50,000 rub.
- Compressor for painting - from 50,000 rubles.
- Welding machine - from 30,000 rubles.
The final cost of the equipment is not limited to the indicated prices. Depending on the scale of production, investments in the technical equipment of a workshop can reach up to 1,500,000 rubles. But as practice shows, a high-power extruder and other professional machines are useless in a young workshop just starting its work.
Modern equipment does not take up much space and can be easily adjusted to produce rattan belts of a different size and type.
Sales of finished products
Artificial rattan furniture set
Do-it-yourself wicker furniture made from artificial rattan is quite in demand on the market today. But nevertheless, it is better for an entrepreneur to spend some amount on advertising his enterprise. This can help establish channels for the sale of finished products, and most importantly, it will help find those customers who will place an order for original items furniture. Of course, there is no need to launch a large-scale marketing campaign, but somehow you will still need to “notify” consumers that the workshop is operational. Which budget options possible here?
- advertisements in newspapers and the Internet,
- own website.
Regarding sales channels for wicker products, artificial rattan garden furniture may be of interest furniture stores and private buyers. It will be difficult for a young shop to conclude lucrative contracts with large retail outlets, since well-known store chains are reluctant to cooperate with little-known companies. Therefore, at first, most likely, you will have to fulfill orders from private clients. And that's not so bad. After all, in order to supply large quantities of products to stores, impressive production capacity, which home production simply may not have.
Profitability of rattan furniture manufacturing business
Since a set of artificial rattan furniture can cost quite a lot, you can recoup all the costs of organizing a workshop in literally six months. And here, of course, everything will depend on how many clients turn to the entrepreneur.
The very specifics of production make it possible to organize work even within the walls of an empty garage. To start making furniture, you may need no more than 450,000 rubles. But we are talking about the cheapest equipment and rental small room. In addition, and hire real professionals in in this case It’s unlikely that it will work out – you’ll have to work on your own.
And even if you use purchased raw materials, the price of artificial rattan with established sales channels can pay off quite quickly. And it's all about individual approach and originality of products. But you can expect more impressive profits only if you have an extruder, because additional income will also come from the sale of rattan itself. Practice shows that a medium-sized enterprise already known on the market brings the entrepreneur up to 150,000 rubles. net profit monthly.