Just Opened A Shop

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So I just rented my first shop for my business. Before starting my own business I was a structural steel fabricator/installer for a few years and now have been doing mostly on-site welding for the past few years and using the garage behind my father's house to do any in-shop fabrication.I'm looking to take on larger jobs and no one was taking me serious with a shop behind a house in a residential area.Anyway Just wanted to see if anyone on here who has shops could give me any pointers/advice about starting out.Thanks.
Reply:round here thats normal to have shop close to your house.but then again, i do mostly portable work. only advice i have is ''word of mouth advertising''MM 251MM 135Lincoln Pro cut 55Bobcat 250Miller Thunderbolt ac/dcolder ac forneyJackson nexgen 3n13-Smith OP setups97 Dodge dieselMakita chopsawJet swivel head bandsawlincoln tig 300/30030a spoolgunpuma port. gas air comp.
Reply:Luckily I'm in a month to month situation. The building is owned by one of my customers who has a large towing company and is giving me a great deal on rent for the area.I wish you could get away with running a business from your yard around here but zoning is very strict and hiding a welding shop is pretty difficult.Im dreading the gas bill... its been freezing out the past few weeks.Thanks for the input.Good to hear other's issues so I know what Im up against
Reply:Just like 7A749 said, it is another bill, but can you afford to have it or not have it is the question. I was lucky when I started my company in 2006 by building a 21x32 building off my parents horse barn. No insulation, 4" concrete floor, cold as hell in south jersey winters, but I didn't have a monthly payment. I just bought my first house in Nov 2011 that is 6 acres and has a 42x60 existing shop on it that the guy did concrete work. 8" floors, metal trusses, and best of all some big *** gaps in the doors keep it cold. Only 1 mortgage a month though!The guy was old, was a complete and stubborn, major Ahole, took 9 months to go from initial talk to signing, but that is why I got it cheap too. I have always been taught to just deal with it condition scenarios which lead to more money for tools and what not.I can deal with cold by adding layers, I can't deal with having too much overhead and not enough work.
Reply:Good luck in your adventure. I don't have a commercial shop. I'm glad it is a month by month deal. It will give you the basic utility costs without having to pay it every month. Depending on overhead door setup , heating bills can be as much if not more then rent. Open door and watch $$$$$$$$$$$$  go out .     Just getting setup is gonna cost bucks. I work in my barn and what I have tied up in machines, tools ,equipment, and material is costly. Hopefully, you won't have to stock too much metal. I guess it depends what type of work you do. Machinery sure does make it easy and efficient. You just need to separate your wants from your needs.    Good luck and I hope it works out.
Reply:I hate paying rent of any kind IMO.. I have seen guys use old shipping containers and Boxes off of delivery trucks set them on the ground seen 2 side by side hooked together. Best of luck to you tho..Word of mouth and bus.cards best way to get ppl coming to your shop I have found anyway. Keep very accurate records, good record keeping is priceless!! Get the job done in the time frame you promised do a great job fab and welding and you will be a good success storyMiller 250DX HTP 221 DV AC/DCHenrob O-A Miller 180 MigMiller 150 Inverter   Hobart 10,000 Welder-Generator   Have a good day!!!
Reply:I was lucky to rent a 40'x60' building on 2 acres when I started in the early 80's. It was $200 a month but had no running water. I figured I should be paying around $600 so I put the difference, $400, a month into a building account. After buying some land to build my house, I built my shop first. It was a 30'x50' and I had scrounged enough building components through the years to frame the whole thing except for two 25' purlines. The only tin I had to but was the rood tin. The back wall is a different color than the front and there is two different color trim but it was payed for from the first.No matter how cheap the rent is, plan on building your own some day. I would hate to think that I would have to move my shop I have now as every thing is right where I want it in custom racks and drawers. It a rent shop it is just a matter of time and you will have to move. Owning your shop is best if you can pull it off.
Reply:A lot depends on where you are located- no way I'm getting 6 acres out hereRental is the only option around here unless you are talking Multi Million purchase and if I had that type of money I wouldn't be talking to you guys$1.00 sq./ft is on the low side, could get it lower but I would be out of range of my customer base so that is not an option.It is part of the cost of business for me so I don't sweat it or think about not owning the space.benefit is- I can move at the end of the lease and sheite if I ain't makin' enough to pay the rent and have to move out/break the lease there ain't no money for them to come after anyway.Most property owners know this so they're not going to throw money at it trying to collect money that isn't there.Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:Originally Posted by FABCONSo I just rented my first shop for my business. Before starting my own business I was a structural steel fabricator/installer for a few years and now have been doing mostly on-site welding for the past few years and using the garage behind my father's house to do any in-shop fabrication.I'm looking to take on larger jobs and no one was taking me serious with a shop behind a house in a residential area.Anyway Just wanted to see if anyone on here who has shops could give me any pointers/advice about starting out.Thanks.
Reply:Broccoli1,Same here in NYC area, my shop is 15 min from the city. Around a dollar/sqft is on the cheap side. Right now owning just isn't an option. I looked into buying a mixed use property that I could have a live/work situation but they are few and far between. Not to mention big bucksBobThat's what I have. 40 x 60 and I'd definitely love to own my own one day. That's awesome you built your first shop out of material you saved over the years.  Thanks again for all the input everyoneCody WernerFABCONwww.fabconwelds.com
Reply:Don't overlook checking with local banks for good deals. I did and 2 years ago I moved my biz to a new location about 15 miles away.I found a 9700 sq ft Morton building with a 1/4 acre blacktop parking lot on 12 acres. The place was divided into about 2/3 shop and 1/3 living space. The bank was pretty much gonna be stuck with it if something didn't happen soon.So bought it for $280,000 and rented out my house for $750 month and my old shop for $350 month. Now the shop and house have gas heat. I only use the house heater tho. We use wood in the shop. It works fabulous thanks to good insulation.Now I already had a great business going and the size has really made work much easier.And even tho I hate to admit it...... it truly does impress customersAfter I found this place, I have spotted dozens of excellent locations in my area with similar circumstances. Much cheaper to buy used in this economy from my experience.Miller Dynasty 700Miller 350P with Aluma-pro push-pullMiller 280 Dynasty with expansion card Dynasty 200 DXMigMax 215 Enuff power and hand tools to create one of anything..... but mass produce nothing!!!
Reply:Thats the crap part, I have some big garages, so I work from home, but I'm trying to compete with a few local shops that make boat towers, some customers think they can screw me around since I'm not as big as the other compition locally, but I do good work, and do my best to let my name speak for its self. I recently started getting decals made and slapping a decal to everything that is newly fabricated.