I was in a basement of a house for 7 months or so, then I moved into an 1800 square foot warehouse this August. I love my shop.
You don't need a storefront unless you're doing retail as well. You'll pay a lot more for a storefront than you will for a warehouse/commercial type space, although at least in my experience finding a good warehouse was extremely difficult while I saw a lot of storefronts available (and the storefronts were way more expensive per square foot)
I just read yesterday on entrepreneur.com that as a rule of thumb, your rented space should not exceed more than 6% of your net earnings.
So if you make $10,000 a month in profits then your rent should not exceed $600.00 a month.
I just read yesterday on entrepreneur.com that as a rule of thumb, your rented space should not exceed more than 6% of your net earnings.
So if you make $10,000 a month in profits then your rent should not exceed $600.00 a month.
I just read yesterday on entrepreneur.com that as a rule of thumb, your rented space should not exceed more than 6% of your net earnings.
So if you make $10,000 a month in profits then your rent should not exceed $600.00 a month.
Kinda-like a chicken&egg situation. You expect to increase your earnings when you move to a storefront anyway, but you will never know how much unless you take the plunge. Anyway, I think the 6% is too low. As long as you get a decent increase in net earnings when you move to a shop, then I would say it's worth it. A lot more of oppurtunities will come your way when you have a better location. Of course, a lot more hours to spend too!
Kinda-like a chicken&egg situation. You expect to increase your earnings when you move to a storefront anyway, but you will never know how much unless you take the plunge. As long as you get a decent increase in net earnings when you move to a shop, then I would say it's worth it. A lot more of oppurtunities will come your way when you have a better location.
I'd agree with this to an extent but it's a big chance someone is taking if they spend all their money just to hope that it is going to work for them.
I think if someone is feeling a litlle uneasy of spending their hard earned money on a new shop then the 6% rule might not be a bad rule to go by.
I was in a basement of a house for 7 months or so, then I moved into an 1800 square foot warehouse this August. I love my shop.
You don't need a storefront unless you're doing retail as well. You'll pay a lot more for a storefront than you will for a warehouse/commercial type space, although at least in my experience finding a good warehouse was extremely difficult while I saw a lot of storefronts available (and the storefronts were way more expensive per square foot)
Hey Brent just curious to know if you did your own website? cuz i need to get mine together and i like your layout it simple and right to the point.....Kudos on the site and by the way moving to your own shop in seven months sounds like a great accomplishment. Congrats. Do you have pics of the shop i would really like to see your display layout.
I think that $600 figure totally unrealistic. You'll need a location with good foot traffic and exposure to do $10k/month, and rent for a location like that could be in the thousands/month. If you are making $10K and it is mostly internet sales, thats a different story. On the other hand, if you're business is mostly internet, you might as well save the rent and work from home, unless you need the space. A retail location won't get you any more internet sales.
The BIGGEST mistake screenprinters make is getting too big too fast. Once you have a good base of loyal customers, you will know when to move up to something bigger.
The 6% sounds nice, I don't think it's impossible, though difficult. We are currently right at 12% (24,000 a year rent against 200k in sales) though I would love to see the sales rise. Bad bad BAD news though, we just found out this week our lease is about to increase on Jan 1, and I don't forsee the sales rising to match it, being an election year. But we'll see what happens.
i understand the whole starting too big too fast but im trying to figure out a solution to my problem. I live at home with family and i print in the porch but its so tight in there that i dont have space for a conveyor dryer which forces me to use the flash unit. the reason i was looking towards getting a storefront was for more space to operate and i figured that it should increase sales because of the everyday exposure to daily traffic.... i know that im not gonna survive off of screen printing alone so i was looking into providing promotional products such as business cards, pens, key chains, mugs,mouse pads...etc...
not to mention i was thinking of selling discount clothing such as joggers, blank shirts, tank tops, socks, and boxers. which is why i was looking for a shop with about 2000 sq. feet where i can divide it one side for printing and the othe for sales.
I dont know im confused dont know what to do...lol
When should i open up my shop? 
www.busyPrinting.com
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