Jeremy N
Supportive Member
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What do you guys think?
Also, publicly visible property vs. a more hidden area?
Also, publicly visible property vs. a more hidden area?
What are the benefits of having a shop vs. working home?
- Thread starter Jeremy N
- Start date
Steve Toburen
Supportive Member
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- Name
- Steve Toburen
They both work depending on your goals/budget/circumstances. We probably stayed in our home too long based on my inertia. We were running four employees and two trucks with everyone in my kitchen every morning checking out my cute little wife in her robe when Sioux said "Enough"!Jeremy N said:
Remember that opening an off-site shop (especially in a big visibility area) is about much more than just the monthly rent. It is a completely different business model. You are looking at a huge commitment with staffing and all the extra overhead- utilities, phones, insurance, signage, wages, etc.
The worst thing is to wind up "somewhere in-between". If you are going to have a visible shop then you need to "do it right".
Steve "I'm no guru" Toburen
http://www.SFS.JonDon.com
PS If you live in a cold winter area I will say that the capability to keep our four TM's inside and warm changed my life!
sweendogg
Member
Do add to Steve's.... its often nice to have some separation between your work life and home life. While work may haunt you no matter where you go in your thoughts. Not having all of the job invoices, and "stuff" at home to bother you can make homelife a little more tolerable. Sometimes a much needed escape.
Of course it works both ways.. having an office, shop work area allows you escape from sometimes the stresses of home! !dork!
Of course it works both ways.. having an office, shop work area allows you escape from sometimes the stresses of home! !dork!
Jeremy N
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- 936
Commercial space is pretty cheap here. I looked at a few brand new buildings recently and some that are a few years old.
One is highly visible, 3200 square ft, with a nice office area. That one is about $2700.00 per month. It would take some investment to get it to where it could become a true retail/service place for walk up customers. It seems like we could become THE company in our small community if we do this one. I just don't have the cash for all of the start up costs right now. We would need to staff the place and do everything that Steve mentioned.
I looked at 3 other new buildings -
3000 sq ft, brand new, 2 nice sized offices, 2 overhead doors, 2 restrooms, wrought iron security gate, plenty of parking, dumpters - $1500
2000 sq ft next door with similar circumstances - $1000
Another area: 1400 sq ft of warehouse, brand new, one office, one restroom, over head door (with a pain in the rear access), private, nice parking, room to grow or move next door, no trash pick up - $621
Right now I run out of my garage and am running out of room.
One is highly visible, 3200 square ft, with a nice office area. That one is about $2700.00 per month. It would take some investment to get it to where it could become a true retail/service place for walk up customers. It seems like we could become THE company in our small community if we do this one. I just don't have the cash for all of the start up costs right now. We would need to staff the place and do everything that Steve mentioned.
I looked at 3 other new buildings -
3000 sq ft, brand new, 2 nice sized offices, 2 overhead doors, 2 restrooms, wrought iron security gate, plenty of parking, dumpters - $1500
2000 sq ft next door with similar circumstances - $1000
Another area: 1400 sq ft of warehouse, brand new, one office, one restroom, over head door (with a pain in the rear access), private, nice parking, room to grow or move next door, no trash pick up - $621
Right now I run out of my garage and am running out of room.
renegade_cowboy
Member
Jeremy if you are running out of space and able to form your business model to include all that goes with a storefront/office then go for it.
But
Dont let your eyes get bigger than your pocketbook. As we all know...overhead kills majority of businesses.
But
Dont let your eyes get bigger than your pocketbook. As we all know...overhead kills majority of businesses.
ascrubabove
Member
Due to winter economics, we had to close our office and move the biz back home, saved a grand a month, but now we don't get walk-ins.
handdi
Supportive Member
buy a building with 3 or 4 spots and rent the other 3 or 2
maybe free rent
maybe free rent
Jim Martin
Supportive Member
I am happy working from the house....I have everything I need right here and I don't have the cost of a building....
dealtimeman
Everyday is Saturday.
i bought a house with the biz in mind. just about two acres and will be building a shop soon i hope.
Dolly Llama
Number 5
donno what property values are out your way, but what could you "buy" (or build) for $1500-$2500 a month?
..L.T.A.
..L.T.A.
Do you need more room for your stuff or do you want a place for customers to come see you? That's two completely different ways of thinking.
Start small so that you are happy and the extra overhead doesn't give you any problems. Find a place that you can fix up cheap, like building shelves and cabinets to that you can organize everything you use in your business. And also big enough for keeping your truck(s) safe and sound, inside or outside, that's a choice for you to make.
Say you spend $700.00 a month the first year. You will know by then if it is working out or not. Maybe stay for the second and third year while you plan out the next move to a bigger and/or better place. I bet that in that time you will feel more like a business owner that has a place for his business, and you will have a home that is more like a home than a business.
Start small so that you are happy and the extra overhead doesn't give you any problems. Find a place that you can fix up cheap, like building shelves and cabinets to that you can organize everything you use in your business. And also big enough for keeping your truck(s) safe and sound, inside or outside, that's a choice for you to make.
Say you spend $700.00 a month the first year. You will know by then if it is working out or not. Maybe stay for the second and third year while you plan out the next move to a bigger and/or better place. I bet that in that time you will feel more like a business owner that has a place for his business, and you will have a home that is more like a home than a business.
Steve Toburen
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- Steve Toburen
Good point. The advantage of this approach is you don't have to be "open" (as in have it staffed) all the time. Once again, the true cost of a high visibility "real office" has nothing to do with the rent. It is the ongoing overhead of keeping someone there full time. A completely different (and much more restrictive) business model.lance said:
Steve Toburen
www.SFS.JonDon.com
PS Actually last August a new carpet cleaner in Michigan wrote me with much the same question re: "When and if should I move the business out of my home?" Here is my reply:
http://sfs.jondon.com/3909/bhc/move-my- ... f-my-house
White Collar
Member
My accountant lets me write off I think 15% of utilities and I "rent" a space from myself so it can be written off. Helps with taxes. For me I am not paying an extra rent somewhere and even saving money on my home. I'll stay "in home" for as long as I can.
Steve Toburen
Supportive Member
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- Name
- Steve Toburen
Nicholas,White Collar said:
Every accountant is different. However, mine says that the home office deduction is a red flag for an audit with the IRS. So IF you are going to claim it make sure you have ALL your ducks in a row financially and record keeping wise.
Just saying ...
Steve Toburen
http://www.SFS.JonDon.com
PS Once again, the whole "in your home" deal just depends on what your long term goals are. IF you want to stay as an owner operator (maybe with a full time helper) then it would be folly to take on the extra overhead of an outside location. On the other hand, IF you plan to grow into a larger company with several trucks there are some killer deals out there on commercial real estate and interest rates are super low soooo ...
White Collar
Member
Steve,
Never heard it was a red flag. In fact just the other day I was meeting with my attorney and she was telling me the exact same thing as my accountant said. I do agree with having your ducks in a row, but that goes for running your own business in general.
Never heard it was a red flag. In fact just the other day I was meeting with my attorney and she was telling me the exact same thing as my accountant said. I do agree with having your ducks in a row, but that goes for running your own business in general.
joeynbgky
Supportive Member
I moved out of my huge office and garage bays over 2 months ago... Im save alot of money but I have ran into some problems working from home..
1. Customers call and want to drop off rugs and other items.
2: I have to meet advertisers at panera bread
3: I am over a month behind on paperwork!! I dont seem to wanna do it any more
4: I miss the "flash" of an office.. status symbol?
5: My house stays spotless cause im always here! thats a good thing.
6: Employees are not as close to me and i let them take vehicles home. I am lucky to have great employees so no problem. I have not gotten my garage built yet at home. The 2 chevy vans do fit snugly in my 2 car attached garage.
1. Customers call and want to drop off rugs and other items.
2: I have to meet advertisers at panera bread
3: I am over a month behind on paperwork!! I dont seem to wanna do it any more
4: I miss the "flash" of an office.. status symbol?
5: My house stays spotless cause im always here! thats a good thing.
6: Employees are not as close to me and i let them take vehicles home. I am lucky to have great employees so no problem. I have not gotten my garage built yet at home. The 2 chevy vans do fit snugly in my 2 car attached garage.
I actually just spoke with my accountant about this and she advised me against it, so now I really don't know but I'd rather be safe than sorry for the relatively small savings.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
Ed
Member
We were in a very similar situation to Steve T's. Except the part about them looking at my wife in her robe :shock: I never let them in the house. The garage was as far as they got. The breaking point for us was when an employee stole all my power tools out of my garage one weekend while I was away.
Make sure you are sustaining a level of business that can support a shop/office for a while before you make that committment. As Steve said, it is a whole different business model. You truly have to start running you business as a business. Monitoring cash flow is super important. The bills don't stop when you have a slow month.
I'd say do it as soon as you can afford to. It will give you a new level of motivation.
Make sure you are sustaining a level of business that can support a shop/office for a while before you make that committment. As Steve said, it is a whole different business model. You truly have to start running you business as a business. Monitoring cash flow is super important. The bills don't stop when you have a slow month.
I'd say do it as soon as you can afford to. It will give you a new level of motivation.
White Collar
Member
Well go ahead and give the government all they can get from you. Don't write off anything just to be safe. Have fun with that.
LisaWagnerCRS
Member
The best thing you'll ever do for your business is to get a "location" - it will create rewards financially and especially personally, because working from your home leads to always working.
I can say from what I've seen with our members, the couple who moved their business out of the house have much better companies and marriages as a result. It removes stress and allows them to have a work life and a home life more easily.
This was an article I wrote based on working with a number of couples in our network on the things they saw as helping to create a healthy work/marriage mix.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/37126927/CF-Married-With-Business
Of course money solves a lot of problems that not having money creates. =) So you need to make sure the number work - but real estate is better as a buyer than ever. I just looked at several commercial properties considering moving our rug plant.
Lisa
I can say from what I've seen with our members, the couple who moved their business out of the house have much better companies and marriages as a result. It removes stress and allows them to have a work life and a home life more easily.
This was an article I wrote based on working with a number of couples in our network on the things they saw as helping to create a healthy work/marriage mix.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/37126927/CF-Married-With-Business
Of course money solves a lot of problems that not having money creates. =) So you need to make sure the number work - but real estate is better as a buyer than ever. I just looked at several commercial properties considering moving our rug plant.
Lisa
Hi there,
Shop will generate more traffic. As you are siting in the market and your goods and services are visible to every one. It is not possible in home because it is well understood thing that no one will come to know about what types of services and goods you are offing.
_____________
Printing London
Shop will generate more traffic. As you are siting in the market and your goods and services are visible to every one. It is not possible in home because it is well understood thing that no one will come to know about what types of services and goods you are offing.
_____________
Printing London
