How to Start a Drapery Business: Costs, Tools, Licenses

Plan Your Drapery Startup Before Taking Orders

A drapery business provides custom window treatments, usually for homeowners, designers, remodelers, builders, property managers, and some commercial spaces.

In a field-based project model, the job usually starts at the customer’s location. You or an installer measures the windows, helps confirm product choices, orders or coordinates fabrication, then returns to install the draperies, rods, tracks, shades, or related hardware.

This is not just a decorating business. It combines trade work with home-service elements. You need accurate measurements, detailed estimates, safe installation habits, supplier relationships, and organized project paperwork.

You may offer:

Custom drapery panels, sheers, blackout drapery, lined drapery, and interlined drapery.
Valances, cornices, Roman shades, roller shades, cellular shades, woven wood shades, blinds, or shutters.
Drapery rods, traverse rods, ceiling tracks, brackets, rings, carriers, finials, tiebacks, and holdbacks.
Motorized window treatments, if you have the training and supplier support to handle them.
Measure-and-install service for designers, workrooms, retailers, or homeowners.

You are not behind if you are still sorting out the model. You can start with a narrow service model, but your offer must be clear before you buy tools, samples, or product lines.

Check Whether This Business Fits You

Before you follow a startup checklist, slow down and ask whether this specific business fits you.

A drapery business can look simple from the outside. The real job is more detailed. You need to be comfortable entering customer homes, measuring windows, carrying samples, handling ladders, selecting hardware, and explaining custom-order limits.

You also need patience. A small measurement error can lead to a remake. A weak estimate can turn a good project into an unprofitable one. A rushed product order can create delays before the first installation even begins.

Ask yourself:

Do you enjoy fabric, window treatments, interiors, and practical home-service details?
Can you handle customers who need help choosing style, function, privacy, and light control?
Are you comfortable with tools, ladders, brackets, rods, tracks, and jobsite cleanup?
Can you stay calm when a supplier delay, site problem, or change order affects the schedule?
Are you prepared for travel time between appointments and installations?

Also be honest about your reason for starting. Are you moving toward something or running away from something?

That question matters. Starting a drapery business only to escape a job, a boss, financial pressure, or the image of working for someone else can lead to rushed choices. A stronger reason is a real interest in the business, the customer projects, and the responsibility of ownership.

If you are unsure, that is normal. You are not behind. Use this stage to learn what the business truly asks of you before you invest startup funds.

Speak With Owners Outside Your Market

Talk with drapery and window-treatment owners you will not compete against. Look for owners in another city, region, or market area.

These conversations can save you from guessing. Each owner’s path will be different, but they have firsthand experience with details that are hard to see from the outside.

Prepare real questions before you speak with them. Ask about:

Common measuring errors and how owners prevent them.
Supplier lead times, damaged shipments, backorders, and remakes.
How they price measuring, installation, travel, and product markup.
Which tools, ladders, and samples they actually needed at launch.
How they handle deposits, cancellations, final payment, and customer approvals.
Whether they started from scratch, bought a business, or used a franchise system.

You can also speak with a custom workroom, a window-treatment installer, and an interior designer who uses draperies often. Their perspective is different, but useful.

For more perspective, it can help to study advice from real business owners before you make early decisions.

Compare Starting, Buying, or Franchising

You can start a drapery business from scratch, buy an existing business, or launch through a broader window-covering franchise.

The right path depends on your budget, timeline, support needs, desired control, available businesses for sale, and risk tolerance.

Starting from scratch: This gives you control over the service area, suppliers, pricing, tools, and product lines. It also means you build systems from the ground up.
Buying an existing business: This may give you supplier accounts, customer records, equipment, sample books, and reputation. You must review pending jobs, warranty promises, deposits, and unpaid obligations.
Exploring a franchise: This may provide training, systems, supplier access, and brand support. It can also add fees, territory rules, supplier limits, and contract duties.

If you are weighing starting versus buying, a guide on whether to start from scratch or buy a business can help you frame that decision.

If you are considering a franchise, study the disclosure document before you sign or pay. Do not rely only on advertised investment numbers.

Validate Local Demand Before You Spend

A drapery business depends on local demand. Before you buy sample books, lease a studio, or commit to product lines, confirm that people in your area buy custom window treatments.

Look at the types of customers near you. Homeowners, interior designers, remodelers, builders, property managers, offices, clinics, and hospitality properties may all use draperies or related window coverings.

Then compare local competition. You may be competing with:

Independent drapery businesses.
Window-covering franchises.
Interior designers with trade accounts.
Home-improvement stores.
Online custom drapery sellers.
Installation-only contractors.

Find out whether buyers in your area want custom draperies, ready-made curtains, shades, blinds, shutters, or online products with separate installation.

This is also where you look at local housing age, remodeling activity, new construction, income levels, and the number of design and remodeling firms. Those details help you judge local supply and demand before you take on fixed costs.

You do not need every answer yet. You only need enough evidence to know whether the market can support the model you want to start.

Choose Your Drapery Business Model

Your model shapes your startup costs, tools, legal requirements, supplier needs, and schedule. Choose it before you build the rest of the business.

A field-based drapery business usually starts with customer appointments, site measurements, estimates, approvals, supplier orders, scheduling, installation, final walkthrough, and payment.

You can keep the model simple or build a fuller offer. Common choices include:

Measure-and-install only: You measure and install products, often for designers, retailers, workrooms, or homeowners.
Full-service custom drapery: You help select products, place orders, coordinate fabrication, and install finished treatments.
Drapery plus related window coverings: You also sell or install shades, blinds, shutters, tracks, rods, and motorized systems.
In-house fabrication: You make or alter draperies in your own workroom.
Studio or showroom by appointment: Customers can view samples or displays at a physical space.

Each model changes what you need. A measure-and-install service requires stronger field tools and installation skill. A full-service custom model requires supplier accounts, sample books, order forms, and customer approval documents. An in-house workroom requires sewing equipment, cutting space, storage, and quality-control steps.

Do not rush this decision. You are not behind if you start with a narrow model and add more only when you are ready.

Business Plan

Your business plan should turn your drapery startup choices into a focused launch path. Keep it practical and tied to what must be ready before you take paid custom orders.

This is not a generic document. It should explain how your specific drapery business will handle projects from the first customer call to final payment.

Include these items:

Business model: State whether you will offer measure-and-install, full-service custom drapery, installation-only service, in-house fabrication, or a studio-based model.
Customer types: List the buyers you plan to serve, such as homeowners, designers, remodelers, builders, property managers, or small commercial clients.
Service area: Define your travel radius and how travel time affects estimates and scheduling.
Products and limits: Decide which draperies, shades, blinds, rods, tracks, hardware, and motorized products you will offer at launch.
Supplier plan: Identify fabric suppliers, hardware suppliers, shade or blind manufacturers, workrooms, and backup options.
Project workflow: Map inquiry, site visit, measurement, estimate, approval, deposit, ordering, scheduling, installation, final walkthrough, and payment.
Legal requirements: Include business registration, tax setup, licensing, zoning, and any location-dependent rules.
Pricing method: Explain how you will account for products, labor, travel, installation, freight, payment fees, and remake risk.
Startup costs: List tools, ladders, samples, vehicle preparation, insurance, forms, software, permits, and supplier deposits.
Opening readiness: Define what must be complete before you accept the first paid job.

If you need help shaping the document, use a business plan resource as a guide, but keep your plan tied to drapery startup decisions. A broader guide on writing a business plan can help you organize the pieces.

Set Up the Legal Foundation

A drapery business does not have one national license that applies everywhere. Most legal requirements depend on your state, city, county, business model, and whether you sell products, install products, hire employees, or use a physical location.

Handle the legal groundwork carefully, without overcomplicating it. The goal is to verify what applies before you open.

Start with the basic foundation:

Choose a business structure, such as sole proprietorship, limited liability company, partnership, or corporation.
Register the business with the state when required.
Register a Doing Business As name if you use a public name that differs from the legal name.
Get an Employer Identification Number when needed for banking, taxes, employees, or entity operation.
Open the right state and local tax accounts before selling taxable products or services.

For a drapery business, the sales tax question matters because you may sell fabric treatments, rods, tracks, shades, blinds, hardware, and installation. Sales tax treatment varies by state. Some states treat products and installation labor differently.

Before you quote your first job, ask your state tax department how custom draperies, hardware, and installation should appear on invoices.

Verify Licenses, Zoning, and Site Rules

Because a drapery business can include installation, verify contractor and local business rules before launch.

Rules vary by U.S. jurisdiction. Some places may treat window-covering installation as specialty contractor activity. Others may not require a state license but may still have local registration or building department rules.

Check with:

Your state contractor licensing board.
Your city or county business license office.
Your local building department.
Your planning or zoning office.
Your state tax department.

Ask direct questions. For example, ask whether installing drapery rods, tracks, blinds, shades, or shutters requires a contractor license or local registration.

If you operate from home, ask about home-occupation rules. Storage of ladders, rods, hardware, sample books, and customer orders may matter. Customer visits may also affect approval.

If you use a studio, showroom, commercial storage space, or workroom, ask about zoning, business license rules, signage, inspections, and a certificate of occupancy.

Motorized systems can add another layer. If you plan to install them, ask whether local permit, electrical, or low-voltage rules apply.

Prepare for Window-Covering Safety Rules

If you sell or install window-covering products, federal product-safety rules may apply, especially for products with cords.

Do not treat cord safety as an afterthought. It affects what you buy, what you sell, and how you document supplier compliance.

Before opening, confirm that suppliers provide compliant products, labels, installation instructions, and product information. This matters for both stock and custom window coverings.

Build a simple compliance process:

Buy only from suppliers that can explain current window-covering safety compliance.
Keep product labels and supplier documentation in the customer file.
Offer cordless or inaccessible-cord options where needed.
Use manufacturer instructions when installing shades, blinds, tracks, or corded products.
Do not alter products in a way that creates a safety issue.

This is especially important in homes where children live or visit. Keep your wording calm and clear with customers. The point is to provide safe, compliant options.

Set Up Your Workspace, Storage, and Vehicle

A field-based drapery business can often start without a public showroom. That reduces early complexity.

Still, you need a clean and organized setup before you take orders. Samples, rods, tracks, hardware, customer products, and tools must be stored and transported safely.

Your setup may include:

A home office for quoting, scheduling, bookkeeping, and customer files.
Clean storage for sample books, fabric samples, hardware samples, rods, brackets, and tools.
A vehicle that can carry ladders, rods, tracks, drapery panels, and sample bags.
Ladder transport, cargo protection, bins, moving blankets, and product sleeves.
A small workroom only if you fabricate, alter, press, or finish draperies in-house.

Site conditions matter in this business. Tall windows, ceiling mounts, masonry walls, bay windows, and wide spans can change the time, tools, fasteners, and ladders needed for a job.

Plan your vehicle and storage around those real field conditions, not just around the easiest appointment.

Choose Suppliers, Workrooms, and Product Lines

Your suppliers affect quality, schedule, pricing, customer trust, and your ability to finish projects without rework.

For a drapery business, supplier relationships may include fabric suppliers, drapery hardware vendors, shade and blind manufacturers, motorization suppliers, packaging suppliers, and custom workrooms.

Before you open, confirm:

Trade pricing.
Sample book rules.
Minimum order requirements.
Product lead times.
Freight and damage policies.
Warranty and remake rules.
Product-safety documentation.
Whether the supplier supports new businesses.

If you outsource fabrication, choose the workroom carefully. Ask what information they need from you, how they want measurements submitted, how they handle fabric flaws, and how they manage remake requests.

A backup supplier or workroom can protect you from early delays. It does not need to be complicated. It just needs to be thought through before you promise firm delivery dates.

Buy the Right Drapery Tools and Equipment

You do not need every tool in the industry on day one. You do need enough equipment to measure accurately, install safely, protect customer property, and finish the job cleanly.

Start with the tools your chosen model requires.

For field measurement, prepare:

Laser distance measurer.
Steel tape measures and longer measuring tapes.
Level.
Protractor or angle finder.
Room and window labels.
Measurement forms or a tablet form.
Phone or camera for site photos.
Clipboard, pencils, painter’s tape, and job folder.

For installation, prepare:

Cordless drill and driver.
Drill bits for common wall and trim materials.
Screwdrivers, pliers, cutters, utility knife, and hex keys.
Stud finder.
Wall anchors and fasteners.
Hardware templates or mounting guides.
Small parts organizer.
Tool bag, apron, or tool belt.

For access and safety, prepare:

Step ladder.
Platform ladder for interior installations.
Extension ladder if your jobs require it.
Ladder pads and safe transport equipment.
Safety glasses, gloves, shoe covers, drop cloths, and furniture protection.

If you fabricate draperies in-house, your equipment list grows. You may need an industrial sewing machine, cutting table, fabric racks, steamer, shears, rotary cutters, buckram, linings, interlinings, hooks, pins, thread, grommet tools, and packaging supplies.

If you outsource fabrication, do not build a full workroom too soon. You are not behind. Keep your launch matched to the model you can support well.

Create Your Project Workflow

A drapery business needs a defined field workflow before launch. This protects your time, your pricing, the customer experience, and the final result.

The basic flow should feel simple and repeatable:

Customer inquiry.
Site visit or consultation.
Window measurement and site photos.
Product, fabric, lining, and hardware selection.
Estimate or quote.
Customer approval and deposit.
Supplier or workroom order.
Scheduling and materials staging.
Installation.
Final walkthrough and payment.

Project documents matter. They keep a custom order from becoming a memory test.

Prepare these before opening:

Measurement sheet by room and window.
Product selection form.
Fabric, lining, hardware, and finish approval.
Quote or estimate template.
Work authorization or customer agreement.
Deposit receipt.
Change-order form.
Installation checklist.
Completion sign-off.
Product care and safety sheet.

For each window, record inside or outside mount, width, height, rod or track location, stackback, return, projection, wall condition, sill or floor clearance, and any access issue.

Those details may feel slow at first. They save time later.

Set Pricing Before You Take Orders

Pricing drapery projects is not only about fabric. You must account for the full project from site visit to final installation.

Build your pricing from real inputs, not guesswork. If you need a broader pricing framework, review guidance on pricing products and services, then adapt it to custom drapery projects.

Your pricing may include:

Fabric and yardage.
Lining, interlining, trim, and drapery weights.
Rods, tracks, brackets, rings, carriers, finials, and tiebacks.
Supplier or workroom cost.
Freight and delivery.
Measurement time.
Design or selection time.
Installation labor.
Travel time.
Special access, tall windows, ceiling mounts, or difficult wall conditions.
Payment processing fees.
Warranty, callbacks, and remake risk.

Common pricing methods include cost-plus markup, per-window pricing, per-panel pricing, project-based installation fees, minimum service charges, travel fees, and separate motorization setup fees.

Decide your deposit rules before launch. Custom products often require an upfront deposit because the order may not be reusable for another customer.

Also decide when the balance is due. Put that rule in writing before the first paid job.

Plan Startup Costs and Funding

Startup costs vary widely in a drapery business. A home-based installation model costs less than a showroom or in-house fabrication operation.

Do not use a single generic number. Build your cost list around the model you chose.

Common startup cost categories include:

Business registration and local licenses.
Contractor registration or licensing if required locally.
Sales tax registration if required.
Insurance.
Vehicle preparation and ladder transport.
Measurement tools and installation tools.
Ladders and safety equipment.
Sample books and hardware samples.
Software, phone, bookkeeping, and payment processing.
Supplier deposits or initial product orders.
Forms, contracts, and legal review.
Storage, studio, showroom, or workroom space if used.
Workroom equipment if fabricating in-house.

Funding options may include owner savings, a line of credit, equipment financing, supplier terms, a bank loan, or an SBA-backed loan if eligible.

Keep a reserve for delays, damaged shipments, remake issues, and timing gaps between deposits and final payment. That reserve can help you stay calm when the first projects do not move perfectly.

Set Up Banking, Payments, and Records

Set up business banking before you accept deposits. This keeps business transactions separate from personal ones from the start.

A drapery business often takes deposits, orders custom products, pays suppliers, schedules installation, and collects the balance later. Clean records matter.

Before opening, set up:

Business checking account.
Business credit card if needed.
Payment processor or merchant services account.
Deposit invoice process.
Final payment process.
Refund and cancellation terms.
Sales tax tracking if required.
Customer deposit records.

A business bank account is part of opening readiness, not a detail to fix later. It also helps when suppliers, insurers, lenders, or customers ask for business documentation.

Plan Insurance and Field Risk

Field installation creates real liability. You or an installer may carry ladders, drill into walls, mount hardware, handle customer property, drive between sites, and work inside occupied homes.

Do not label every insurance policy as legally required unless your state, customer contract, landlord, or regulator specifically mandates it. Many coverages are common risk-management tools, not universal legal requirements.

Talk with an insurance professional about:

General liability.
Commercial auto.
Tools and equipment coverage.
Inland marine coverage for tools and materials in transit.
Workers’ compensation if you hire employees.
Commercial property if you use a studio, showroom, or workroom.
Professional liability if you give design or specification advice.
Coverage for customer goods you handle, store, or transport.

Also build a jobsite safety routine. Ladder checks, safe drilling, clean staging, shoe covers, drop cloths, and final cleanup all affect customer trust.

This is not about fear. It is about being ready before you stand in someone’s living room with a drill, ladder, and custom product.

Build Skill and Training Readiness

You need enough skill to deliver the service you sell. In a drapery business, training is tied to measurement, product knowledge, hardware, installation, and customer approvals.

Before opening, you or your installer should be ready to:

Measure windows accurately.
Read supplier specifications.
Choose suitable rods, tracks, brackets, and anchors.
Identify wall, ceiling, trim, and access conditions.
Install products safely.
Steam and dress drapery panels when needed.
Explain product safety limits clearly.
Document customer choices and approvals.

If you use employees or subcontractors, define who measures, who orders, who installs, who handles customer sign-off, and who can approve changes.

Poor crew coordination creates rework. It can also make a simple project feel chaotic.

Run Test Jobs Before Opening

Test your workflow before you take a paid custom drapery order. A test job shows whether your forms, tools, pricing, timing, and installation kit are ready.

Use simple test installations first. Then try harder conditions.

Useful test jobs include:

A standard drapery rod installation.
A traverse rod or track installation.
A ceiling-mounted track.
An inside or outside mount shade or blind, if offered.
A wide window or multi-panel drapery.
A cordless or inaccessible-cord product.

During each test, confirm your measurement sheet is complete, your quote includes all costs, your order form is clear, your vehicle is packed properly, and your installation checklist works on site.

You are not behind if a test reveals gaps. That is the purpose of testing.

Confirm Opening Readiness

Opening readiness means your drapery business can accept a customer project without guessing through the basics.

Use this checklist before taking paid orders:

Business structure chosen and registration completed where required.
Business name and Doing Business As filing completed if needed.
Employer Identification Number obtained if needed.
Sales tax registration checked.
Contractor license or local registration checked.
Business license, zoning, and home-occupation rules checked.
Certificate of occupancy checked if using a studio, showroom, workroom, or commercial storage.
Product-safety process ready for window coverings.
Supplier and workroom relationships confirmed.
Sample books and hardware samples ready.
Measurement kit, installation tools, ladders, and vehicle setup ready.
Quotes, contracts, deposits, change orders, and sign-off forms ready.
Pricing formula tested.
Business bank account and payment processing active.
Insurance in place.
Test installations completed.
Business phone, email, and basic customer contact channels ready.

Do not worry if this feels like a lot. A field-based service has many small pieces. You only need to organize them before customers depend on you.

A Day in the Life Before You Commit

Picture the daily rhythm before you decide this business is right for you.

In the morning, you may load sample books, ladders, tools, and job folders. Then you visit a home, measure several windows, check wall and trim conditions, photograph the room, and discuss fabric, privacy, light control, and hardware.

Later, you prepare a quote, confirm supplier lead times, verify fabric availability, and send approval documents.

On another appointment, you may install rods and panels, steam and dress draperies, complete a final walkthrough, collect payment, and document any customer concerns.

At the end of the day, you update project files, place orders, reconcile deposits, and prepare the next installation kit.

If that mix of detail, travel, tools, people, and design feels right, this business may fit you. If it drains you before you start, listen to that.

Main Red Flags

Some warning signs should be handled before you launch. They do not mean you cannot start. They mean you need better answers first.

You have not checked whether local rules treat window-covering installation as contractor activity.
You sell physical products but have not confirmed sales tax registration and invoice rules.
You have no process for window-covering cord safety and supplier documentation.
Your supplier cannot explain product compliance, labels, lead times, warranties, or remake rules.
You do not have a written measurement and customer approval process.
Your pricing leaves out travel, measuring time, freight, payment fees, callbacks, or remake risk.
You buy too many sample books before proving local demand.
You open a showroom or workroom without confirming zoning, licenses, signage, inspections, or certificate of occupancy rules.
You rely on one supplier or one workroom with no backup plan.
You offer motorized products without training, manufacturer support, or local rule checks.
You are uncomfortable with ladders, tools, customer homes, and field appointments.
You review only franchise sales material and skip the full disclosure document and contract terms.

Keep the red flags in focus. Fix what can be fixed. Walk away from the model if the problems do not fit your budget, skill, or risk tolerance.

Frequently Asked Questions

These questions focus on startup decisions for a future drapery business owner.

Is a drapery business a good fit for a first-time owner?

It can be, if you are comfortable with details, measurements, tools, customer homes, supplier coordination, and custom-order paperwork. A narrower installation-only or outsourced-fabrication model may be easier than opening with a full workroom.

What should I verify before buying tools and samples?

Verify local demand, competition, supplier access, possible contractor licensing, sales tax registration, home-based business rules, and whether your chosen model needs a studio, workroom, or vehicle setup.

Do I need a contractor license?

Requirements vary by U.S. jurisdiction. Some places treat window-covering installation as specialty contractor activity. Check with your state contractor board and local building department before offering installation.

Do I need a seller’s permit or sales tax account?

Varies by state. If you sell draperies, rods, shades, blinds, hardware, or related products, sales tax registration may apply. Ask your state tax department how products and installation labor should be invoiced.

Can I start this business from home?

Often, yes, but verify home-occupation rules first. Ask about storage, deliveries, customer visits, signage, vehicle parking, and whether samples or customer products can be stored at home.

Do I need a showroom?

Not typically for a field-based startup. You can often visit customers with sample books and hardware samples. A showroom adds rent, zoning requirements, displays, certificate of occupancy checks, and possibly staffing needs.

Should I fabricate draperies myself or outsource?

Outsourcing can reduce startup equipment and space needs. In-house fabrication gives more control, but it requires sewing equipment, cutting space, trained skill, storage, and quality-control steps.

What should go into my business plan?

Include your business model, customer types, territory, product lines, suppliers, workroom plan, pricing method, legal requirements, insurance, startup costs, funding, forms, and opening-readiness checklist.

What forms should be ready before launch?

Prepare a measurement sheet, quote template, customer approval form, agreement or work authorization, deposit receipt, change-order form, installation checklist, completion sign-off, and product care or safety sheet.

What product-safety issue matters most?

Window-covering cord safety is a key issue. Use suppliers that provide compliant products, labels, instructions, and documentation, especially for stock and custom products with cords.

How should I price drapery projects?

Build pricing from product cost, fabric, lining, hardware, fabrication, freight, measuring time, installation labor, travel, payment fees, callback risk, and desired margin. Local supplier and labor costs should guide the final numbers.

What insurance should I consider?

Ask an insurance professional about general liability, commercial auto, tools and equipment coverage, workers’ compensation if you hire employees, commercial property for a studio or workroom, and coverage for customer goods.

Is franchising realistic in this industry?

Yes, in the broader custom window-covering field. Review the disclosure document, fees, territory, supplier rules, training, support, and restrictions before signing or paying.

What should be ready before I accept the first paid order?

Your legal setup, tax requirements, supplier accounts, product-safety process, insurance, pricing, deposit rules, payment system, measurement forms, installation tools, and test workflow should all be in place.

Learn From Drapery and Window Treatment Pros

Before starting a drapery business, it helps to hear from people who already measure, fabricate, install, quote, and manage real customer projects.

These resources give you a closer look at the day-to-day details, business choices, client expectations, and field challenges that are hard to understand from a basic startup checklist.

Use these interviews as practical context, not as a step-by-step formula. Each owner’s path is different, but their stories can help you think through skill building, supplier relationships, installation standards, pricing clarity, customer expectations, and the kind of owner responsibilities that come with custom drapery projects.

Sources:

U.S. Small Business Administration: Choose Business Structure, Register Your Business, Licenses and Permits, Calculate Startup Costs, Open Business Account, SBA Loans, Market Research, Write Business Plan
Internal Revenue Service: Get an EIN
Consumer Product Safety Commission: Window Coverings FAQ, Window Covering Cords
Window Covering Safety Council: Cord Safety Council, Revised Safety Standard
U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Window Coverings
Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Ladder Standard
California Contractors State License Board: D-52 Window Coverings
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation: Construction Licensing Info
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration: Seller Permit FAQ
Texas Comptroller: Sales Tax Permit
Federal Trade Commission: Buying a Franchise
Budget Blinds Franchise: Franchise Investment
Window Coverings Association of America: Window Covering Association
Rowley Company: Drapery Supplies, Measuring Tools, Workroom Tools, Installation Tools
The Shade Store: Measure and Install
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies: Remodeling Outlook
National Association of Home Builders: Remodeling Sentiment
U.S. Census Bureau: Starts and Completions, Residential Construction

How to Start a Drapery Business the Right Way