Rent for your shop

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smf

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I know this will be different based on location and size but...

For you guys that have your own shop, how much on average are you paying for rent?
 
I'm in Billerica, MA. My shop is 54x24 almost 1300sq ft about 1100 workable space.

I have a mezzanine upstairs for an office and extra storage. I also use under the mezzanine for all my shelving and product storage.

I pay $1050/month. And for my area that's fairly cheap for that much space.My shop is located in an industrial area with 2 body shops, 4 or 5 mechanics, land scapers, etc. The building is not exactly well maintained and I would say that my shop (interior) is probably the best shop on the street only because of the work I have put into it myself (no help from the landlord). I'm not on the main road but about 1/2 mile off the main road.

With the shop you also have to take into account heating, electric, water (if you have to pay it). I only have to pay for heat and electric so my total bills for the shop per month is average about $1250.
 
In my area rent is way to high to have shop unless you do production work or charge $100hr. So I will stay in my garage for now and I like working from home makes it easy for me.
 
I work from home. Works fine except for full size trucks and SUVs. I have a car wash two blocks from my house also, which is nice
 
Pureshine said:
In my area rent is way to high to have shop unless you do production work or charge $100hr. So I will stay in my garage for now and I like working from home makes it easy for me.
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You just need to be careful with this.

I started in my home garage without issues. I eventually sold my house and moved into an apartment, so was using my mother's 2 car garage to detail out of while I was looking for a shop (about 5-6 months). I eventually had the town called on me as one of the neighbors got tired of listening to the vacuum, polishers, etc and the constant cars coming in and out. We received a letter from the town stating that a complaint was filed and that I was to cease operations immediately if I did not want to be fined for running a business in a residential area.

If your only operating part time or not doing a high volume you can probably get away with it for a little while. But as you grow your going to get busier and your going to want a shop. And it looks much more professional having a fixed location (shop) than having people drop their cars off at your home. It definitely works for awhile but it will hold you back in the long run.

Since I opened my shop in May 2013 I have doubled my business.
 
SeaJay's said:
You just need to be careful with this.

I started in my home garage without issues. I eventually sold my house and moved into an apartment, so was using my mother's 2 car garage to detail out of while I was looking for a shop (about 5-6 months). I eventually had the town called on me as one of the neighbors got tired of listening to the vacuum, polishers, etc and the constant cars coming in and out. We received a letter from the town stating that a complaint was filed and that I was to cease operations immediately if I did not want to be fined for running a business in a residential area. I had all my neighbors sign off on my business too. If you are doing a home base business of any kind you should have your neighbors sign off on it.

If your only operating part time or not doing a high volume you can probably get away with it for a little while. But as you grow your going to get busier and your going to want a shop. And it looks much more professional having a fixed location (shop) than having people drop their cars off at your home. It definitely works for awhile but it will hold you back in the long run.

Since I opened my shop in May 2013 I have doubled my business.
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I've been doing it 2 years and my home owners ass. approved me and the city not worried at all. As for looking professional no true really I'm booked 2 weeks out all year and all my customers like I have a small shop and they feel like their getting a personal touch. Since I'm only work on one car at a time. My garage is sound proof no one hears anything. Before you speak make sure you know what your talking about their are a lot of use who do this from our homes and no problem. If having a shop works for you thats great. Not sure how it will hold you back? If your mobile you are still bugging neighbors doing everything out side and making noise so your statement makes no sense really.

Todd
 
Todd I was not trying to cause a fight and I'm sorry you took offense to my post. I would have no way of knowing your town and home owners assoc approved you operating unless I was to make some calls which would just be ridiculous on my part.

And I know there are a lot of Detailer's who work from their homes. But majority do not go through the proper channels as you have. Getting approval from the town and home owners assoc. etc.

I'm glad you have a successful business and I meant no harm with my post. Was just an FYI. You obviously don't need to worry about that and that's great.

But it's something that many people who operate without the city/town approval do need to worry about. Most neighborhoods will not allow a business to operate in a residential area. All it takes is one phone call to the town to shut down a home operated business.
 
SeaJay's said:
Todd I was not trying to cause a fight and I'm sorry you took offense to my post. I would have no way of knowing your town and home owners assoc approved you operating unless I was to make some calls which would just be ridiculous on my part.

And I know there are a lot of Detailer's who work from their homes. But majority do not go through the proper channels as you have. Getting approval from the town and home owners assoc. etc.

I'm glad you have a successful business and I meant no harm with my post. Was just an FYI. You obviously don't need to worry about that and that's great.

But it's something that many people who operate without the city/town approval do need to worry about. Most neighborhoods will not allow a business to operate in a residential area. All it takes is one phone call to the town to shut down a home operated business.
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It cool I just took it personal and shouldn't have done that. You are right if your going to do it out of your garage need to cover all your base. I sure did cause didn't want to start this business and then get shut down a few months later.
 
It doesn't matter where you do your work, so long as its done right! Keep on keepin on! I've done work at home, at the shop, and at the customers home. The quality of work is the same no matter where it was done! :-)
 
Not gonna discuss numbers on here but you've got rent, electricity, heat, insurance (not cheap), central alarm, the unexpected (I've come to expect the unexpected on an almost monthly basis)

and as seajay stated, I'm in an industrial area with really very little visibility. the building isn't pretty but the inside of my unit is hands down the most well kept because I've busted and continue to bust ass to improve the look in there because image is everything (if image didn't matter - we'd probably all be doing something else)

and I'm sure some guys legally can work from their home, and I wouldn't criticize that if its all legit. But in my area, I don't know any home you can run a detailing business out of. Just not happening. Everyone is pretty much on top of one another and pays high taxes. They don't want the guy next door having cars and clients coming and going.

Most guys in my area are doing it on the side (from their home), strictly mobile, or working inside of a performance shop (which is a turn off for some people). My shop is built for detailing / polishing paint and thats all that goes on in there. Some people respect and appreciate that.
 
Gurge said:
Not gonna discuss numbers on here but you've got rent, electricity, heat, insurance (not cheap), central alarm, the unexpected (I've come to expect the unexpected on an almost monthly basis)

and as seajay stated, I'm in an industrial area with really very little visibility. the building isn't pretty but the inside of my unit is hands down the most well kept because I've busted and continue to bust ass to improve the look in there because image is everything (if image didn't matter - we'd probably all be doing something else)


and I'm sure some guys legally can work from their home, and I wouldn't criticize that if its all legit. But in my area, I don't know any home you can run a detailing business out of. Just not happening. Everyone is pretty much on top of one another and pays high taxes. They don't want the guy next door having cars and clients coming and going.

Most guys in my area are doing it on the side (from their home), strictly mobile, or working inside of a performance shop (which is a turn off for some people). My shop is built for detailing / polishing paint and thats all that goes on in there. Some people respect and appreciate that.
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If your doing productions work then working from home would never work I do one car a day and my neighbors only see me when I'm washing the car. It stays in the garage till the customer comes gets it. I only one car a day and my biggest concern is not to bug any of my neighbors even though they signed off on my business. We all have to live here and I don't even want them to be bothered by my work ever.
 
Pureshine said:
If your doing productions work then working from home would never work I do one car a day and my neighbors only see me when I'm washing the car. It stays in the garage till the customer comes gets it. I only one car a day and my biggest concern is not to bug any of my neighbors even though they signed off on my business. We all have to live here and I don't even want them to be bothered by my work ever.
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Thats great that you have that arrangement with your neighbors. Because in my part of the country, thats pretty much never happening. Whether its a bother to them or not. So I'd be thankful you can get away with that.

I wont name names but I'm friendly with another detailer out of state who was working from home with a verbal ok from the close neighbors. Eventually the wrong person caught wind of it and the county paid him a visit. He has a shop now.
 
Gurge said:
Thats great that you have that arrangement with your neighbors. Because in my part of the country, thats pretty much never happening. Whether its a bother to them or not. So I'd be thankful you can get away with that.

I wont name names but I'm friendly with another detailer out of state who was working from home with a verbal ok from the close neighbors. Eventually the wrong person caught wind of it and the county paid him a visit. He has a shop now.
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I've been approved though city and home owners so all good here. My home owners post all home business in our home owners paper so if anyone has a problem with the business they have 14 days to put there .02 in. No one in the neighborhood had any comment on my business. The cities only concern was water going down the storm drain which no water does.
 
Love my shop! My Z28 and my buddy's Trans Am. We do about 40 cars a month out of here.
 
LOL at the neighbors... if any call on me and the city TRIES to shut me down (I won't BTW), they will also be shutting down every daycare, mechanic, lawncare service, painting, music band, etc.. in the neighborhood.

Now, that being said, if the volume was large (several cars at a time) and had several people working with me then yes, most neighborhoods won't allow. But, I'm a 1 man show, no problem.

Besides the overhead of a shop.. I'd rather have that proffit in my pocket
 
Zoning laws do apply to almost all areas. I never heard of any place that has none. Seajay's correct, once someone complains it's over. People who buy homes in a residential neighborhood have every right to peace and quiet. Running a business from a garage makes noise.
I do cars at my house and also do mobile detailing. I know that as soon as someone in my neighborhood complains I will be mobile only.
 
Being I do it part time I use my garage, when its in climate weather my brothers heat/cool shop is always available to me:)
I much prefer doing my work from home, hate dragging all my stuff out only to have to put it all away after a long day or weekend.
 
rustytruck said:
Zoning laws do apply to almost all areas. I never heard of any place that has none. Seajay's correct, once someone complains it's over. People who buy homes in a residential neighborhood have every right to peace and quiet. Running a business from a garage makes noise.
I do cars at my house and also do mobile detailing. I know that as soon as someone in my neighborhood complains I will be mobile only.
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Some of us in rural areas live outside the city limits. There are lots of these rural towns that have outgrown their own boundaries. 100 yards away, I wouldn't be able to run a business out of my home (I don't... but I could) and I would pay a lot more in property tax and sales tax on vehicles (almost twice as much). But here? I'm not in any city limits, and the county doesn't have any particular zoning laws. I WOULD still need a business license, but that's it.

There's also a difference between a home business and a home office. If you're a mobile detailer, you could probably get away with it. That would be classified as a "home office". The example was brought up about lawn care companies, for example. As people don't bring their lawns to you- there's really no business being conducted in the home. What's the difference between driving "to work" in a van full of gear or in your family sedan? Some HOA's and very strict cities don't allow vehicles like that in residential areas, but most are pretty lax with that kind of stuff. Daycares are also often on a special permit in a lot of cities, and other type of home businesses that aren't as intrusive as a mechanic, detailer, machine shop, etc. But if you're doing any sort of commercial work AT the home address, that can get messy with zoning laws depending on what that work is. That's not always the case though. Some cities even allow certain amounts of home business work, depending on the volume and type of work. There's an older gentleman who rebuilds lawn mowers out of his home. Even has a big sign in his front yard. He had been given a special permit from the city to do so (He lives right up the road... IN the city limits). So you never know! Never hurts to ask.

I think there are pros and cons to having a storefront, so to speak. There are those who are averse to doing business in someones home. They may not take you seriously. There are others who wouldn't care. All comes down to knowing your market. Where I live, for example, it's a pretty run of the mill, rural, middle-income place. These folks aren't paying for detailers by the hour. You'd have some, but to be sustainable, I think you'd have to do high volume wash/wax work. And I think the best way to generate that AND keep costs down to a price point that would be attractive, would be a shop. We have ZERO hand wash type places out here. I think people would line up on a warm day to get a quick wash and wax, done right! Then maybe you could build a client base for paint corrections and even mobile washing/detailing gigs!
 
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