At what point did you guys get one? Not looking for the obvious answer of when you can afford one, but how many guys/trucks were you running? Do very many of the 2-4 man shows have one?? I also suppose a lot of you guys out in the country are lucky enough to have ample space on your property or have XL garages. Im in LA and have my side yards and garage loaded with **** and thinking it is about time to look into a shop.
Shop/office/warehouse
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I got one when there was two of us in the field and I hired a CSR for the office.....I needed an office! I was also tired of my garage and side yard looking like a dump or use building materials center.
Just keep your eyes open, ask around, and the right place will pop up. Look into how commercial leases work though, so you don't get hosed on a triple net property when you don't need it!:no:
Just keep your eyes open, ask around, and the right place will pop up. Look into how commercial leases work though, so you don't get hosed on a triple net property when you don't need it!:no:
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Really whenever your situation dictates it. We needed ours from when we started for storage of our lifts and equipment. We are actually in the process of building a brand new one. I'll upload the pics tomorrow. It's pretty neat. They'll have it up and done in a week then it's our turn for the inside.
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Let me add something. We are building on land I already own. There is a unreal price for commercial land. I had to go through Hell to get out rezoned commercial from agricultural.
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Day one I had an office. I rented a cubby hole office for $225.00 a month it was just big enough for a desk and file cabinet but it was a place for me to go to work. It was also next door to the DMV so I knew everyone in the county would pass my sign at least once a year. One year latter we moved to the building we are in now. we rented for several years and finally purchased it .
I got a shop when the neighbors called code enforcement and the officer showed up at my home office(4 years) and basically said if if I had more than 4 company trucks I had to move or face fines.He gave me 30 days and I had to send the county all kind of paperwork showing we had a shop.
The city I live in makes you get one the minute you have at least one employee. I just didn't get a business license there till I had to get a permit. Then I gave them the address of a P.O. Box in another city (that I had), and filed for a an out of town business license!:laughing::laughing:
And they wonder why there is no business in the town!:blink::blink:
And they wonder why there is no business in the town!:blink::blink:
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The day I opened for business, one of the ATS companies I had a service contract with required it.
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We've had one in one form or another since 1951
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your old
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388 Posts
I started off with my 14' cargo trailer and a F350 svc truck with a 9' enclosed utility bed. That worked for awhile.
In a year or two, I needed more storage space. I cleaned out a old chicken coup at our farm, built some shelves and moved into there for a year and a half.
Next, was into a 12' x 30' garage at my house. We were totally renovating the house at the time (not living there, a down to the stud and further revovation)
A year or so after that, I got around to building my shop. Or rebuilding the building it is now....lol That has been a work in progress for the last few years. Just about getting it how I want it.
I never had the cash to build what I wanted when I wanted it. But....always paid cash for the building projects. We started with very little cash resources, and have worked our way up.
Looking back, when I started the house, I would have been better off doing the shop first. I had a lot of work going at that time, and would have benifited greatly by having the shop at that point.
That was a very hectic time in my life, 2009 -2010, 2011. Running the company, farming, and remodeling the house (we did it all except dry wall) Looking back I would not want to do that again, the same way. I was flying by the seat of my pants. It took a toll on me mentally and physically. But the only way out was straight ahead.....and I got it done.
So.....to answer your question.....it was always a desire to have what I wanted, a space to organize my equipment and materials. A place to do shop work, work on vehicles, and do fab work. It did not happen overnight, and still is not complete, but it is mine, I owe less than $50K on my house/shop (same property) and I am 29 years old. We have decent vehicles now (wasn't always the case) and my wife gets to be a stay at home mommy to my little girl (9.5 months old)
We don't have a lot of money.....but we do ok. I don't need a mansion, or brand new 50K cars/trucks. I am happy with what I have, but always striving to improve it.
Do what you can, when you can, when you can afford to do it.
In a year or two, I needed more storage space. I cleaned out a old chicken coup at our farm, built some shelves and moved into there for a year and a half.
Next, was into a 12' x 30' garage at my house. We were totally renovating the house at the time (not living there, a down to the stud and further revovation)
A year or so after that, I got around to building my shop. Or rebuilding the building it is now....lol That has been a work in progress for the last few years. Just about getting it how I want it.
I never had the cash to build what I wanted when I wanted it. But....always paid cash for the building projects. We started with very little cash resources, and have worked our way up.
Looking back, when I started the house, I would have been better off doing the shop first. I had a lot of work going at that time, and would have benifited greatly by having the shop at that point.
That was a very hectic time in my life, 2009 -2010, 2011. Running the company, farming, and remodeling the house (we did it all except dry wall) Looking back I would not want to do that again, the same way. I was flying by the seat of my pants. It took a toll on me mentally and physically. But the only way out was straight ahead.....and I got it done.
So.....to answer your question.....it was always a desire to have what I wanted, a space to organize my equipment and materials. A place to do shop work, work on vehicles, and do fab work. It did not happen overnight, and still is not complete, but it is mine, I owe less than $50K on my house/shop (same property) and I am 29 years old. We have decent vehicles now (wasn't always the case) and my wife gets to be a stay at home mommy to my little girl (9.5 months old)
We don't have a lot of money.....but we do ok. I don't need a mansion, or brand new 50K cars/trucks. I am happy with what I have, but always striving to improve it.
Do what you can, when you can, when you can afford to do it.
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Having a place to go was important to me so that I can have a separation between my work life and my home life. It helped for me to stay focused on work when I could go to work. I knew having a home office would allow for distractions like finishing home projects when slow instead of going good out to look for new business
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6,204 Posts
I'm 25, but the company is 69 years old. Grandfather who started it will be 93 in April.rewire said:
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We have 6 regular guys and have been up to 50 guys when the job requires it....two scissor lifts....a few trucks and one service van. All the equipment necessary to run the business and all the stock and storage crap.
We still don't own a shop of our own. One of our customers bought a 45000 square foot commercial building and opened an eight bay automotive service shop in one half of it and uses one quarter for his storage.
We have rented the last quarter of it (12000 sq ft) since he bought it in 2002 for the paltry sum of $1000/month. We have three offices in it, a bathroom, a small break room and a small reception area. The rest is storage for tools/materials/lifts etc etc. Hundreds of people a week go to his shop for oil changes, tires, rotations, brake work etc and they all see our offices on the way in and out of the property.
We couldn't pay the property taxes on a 12000 square foot commercial building and land plus all the parking for $12,000 a year. In return he gets excellent deals for all of his maintenance work.....usually free labor.
We still don't own a shop of our own. One of our customers bought a 45000 square foot commercial building and opened an eight bay automotive service shop in one half of it and uses one quarter for his storage.
We have rented the last quarter of it (12000 sq ft) since he bought it in 2002 for the paltry sum of $1000/month. We have three offices in it, a bathroom, a small break room and a small reception area. The rest is storage for tools/materials/lifts etc etc. Hundreds of people a week go to his shop for oil changes, tires, rotations, brake work etc and they all see our offices on the way in and out of the property.
We couldn't pay the property taxes on a 12000 square foot commercial building and land plus all the parking for $12,000 a year. In return he gets excellent deals for all of his maintenance work.....usually free labor.
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6,204 Posts
12,000 sq ft for $1000/mo is an amazing deal!
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Its a steal. He could get way more but he is an "odd" sort of fellow and is very particular about who he has in the building and he is practically floating in money so he doesn't need the rent money.
I think its just a token gesture at best and he gets the building looked after for next to nothing so.........
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Here's another pic from this morning. They are moving fairly quick.
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