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cchampsports · 4 Weeks Ago

What kind of information from the experienced can we get for opening up or moving to a new shop area.
What I'm looking at are "your views" on the pros and cons of buying a building, haveing a building built, renting , and working out of the garage.
I believe there are several advantages and disadvantages of each. I thought it would make a good topic how most of us start out and the ultimate goal of being a true business owner. I feel many are ready to make the plunge but for some reason hold back too long and then may lose a good oppotunity.

Got any feedback?

Pwear · 4 Weeks Ago

It really depends on the state of your business. If the business can support a building purchase and you do not think you'll expand beyond it's size, then it might be a wise investment. Renting a building will let you try out the industry without more than a few years of commitment, and if your business grows you can move to a larger space. Working out of your garage is fine too, but a garage business and a business that owns or rents it's own building are two different kinds of companies.

We started in a basement of a house, then moved to a second floor space in a commercial building, and now are just about moved into our third location, a larger self-standing building. We might expand again in the future, so I'm not considering a property purchase until at least a few years from now. Also, if we had started at our current location I would have been out of business long ago, simply because the business could not support those type of monthly expenses until now.

pfunkpaul · 4 Weeks Ago

This is a good topic. Like Aaron said, a garage business and a business that owns or rents it's own building are two different kinds of companies.

I think having a building built or renting a space has a big advantage in that it allows you to run multiple presses, produce high volume orders, hire a staff, and leaves plenty of room to expand (physically and financially). The disadvantage here is that if business slows down, there is a lot more to lose. There's the possibility of falling behind on rent, loan payments, utility bills, etc. There's also a lot more maintenance involved. I wouldn't know just yet, as I'm currently working out of my garage.

I think working home-based is an ideal beginning if you're a small startup. This is my current situation, and I save a lot of money by not having to pay any rent. That's probably the biggest advantage of working from home. There is less of a financial risk involved. On the other hand, there is very limited space to work with. This prevents me from taking in high volume orders and expanding as far as equipment and printing capabilities go. Working in a garage will also limit the number of hands working at a time, and there's only so much work a few people can accomplish at once. However, this is a great place to start by doing whatever good business you can, saving up money, and planning for the future of your company.

-Paul

cchampsports · 4 Weeks Ago

These are some good comments. What kind of things do we need to think about before getting a shop. Obviously we have rent, electricity,sewer. What other kinds of things might we be forgetting about? Like proper licenses and what kind? How about making sure we have all the right reclaiming equipment? How about location? How important is it? Are you really going to get enough walk-in business from being on the "square" to make the extra rent worth it or is it better to be on the outskirts of town?
What kinds of problems/issues have others run into that were unexpected? How does your mind set change? Give us some real life examples of what to really expect. Hopefully we can get some good information in here.

Pwear · 4 Weeks Ago

Stuff like reclaiming equipment, and equipment in general, you should know what you need before you even look at properties, so that you can walk into an empty space and picture what will go where. That's the only way you're going to know if a place will suit your business in terms of layout.

Expenses other than day-to-day business expenses are utilities (water, electric, heat and a/c), alarm if you have it, business insurance (not an option - you need this), business license fees, and other stuff depending on your location like trash pickup, snow removal, etc.

As far as location I can only talk about myself, but since we started in a basement and then an off-street studio space, our new transition to a self-standing building with an actual front door is a big change. I'm not counting on walk-in traffic at all, in fact our existing customer base was formed solely by word of mouth and internet marketing and I take pride in the fact that we've been successful so far without walk-in traffic, but it will benefit the business simply because it is easy to find, there is ample parking, and customers can come directly to a business address to pick up packages, discuss jobs, etc. Psychologically for the customer, it appears much more professional than asking them to call when they get to the building so I can walk down two flights of stairs to let them in to a building with 100 other business. That's not a sole reason to get a building, but for the state of my own business it was the right move at the right time.

If you're just starting out in the industry and you don't have much experience, I wouldn't necessarily recommend starting with a storefront. You're going to have enough trouble learning the business to begin with, having customers walking in off the street is not going to help the learning process. If, however, you have the capital to last a couple of years with no profit and have competent people working for you, it might pay off in the end. Again, that's not the route we went - I started my business with $1500 and nothing to fall back on so I had to start small, but if you're confident in your business ability, many people go the storefront route right off the bat.

CenCoastDesigns · 3 Weeks Ago

I agree with Pwear. If you are just starting in this business and have a space to operate in at home, do it. Just like with any business, the amount of money and time you expect to spend on this in the beginning will end up being half of what you end up actually spending. Adding rent on top of that every month will put a lot more pressure on you to try and take orders before you are ready.

We have been at this for about six months and we still have a lot to learn (and spend). But since we are in our garage, we don't have to worry as much about getting business. We can focus on learning the craft and developing our skills so we have a superior product. If we had rented a building six months ago, we would definitely have been out on our asses a few months ago, and my hair would be a lot more gray.

That being said, you have to make sure that you have adequate space at home and you have a decent way to run plumbing in your washout station and your neighbors aren't going to call the city and complain. There is a bit of risk to run depending on how strict your local laws are, but that is for you to decide.

I have been to a number of shops, and I would love nothing more than to have an office and a large commercial area to print, but it just isn't in the cards right now, and it gives me something to strive for. There would be an added level of professionalism and convenience, but the extra $1000 a month I would have to spend for that isn't worth it right now. I would like to move within six months or so when I feel more confident in my ability to turn quality orders.

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