Thinking of actually opening up shop...

Originally posted by BankruptRam



Seth- you said first month free then $800 for 3 then what does it go up to? I think $800 for a newer building around 1500sf is fair. Does it have water and a bathroom. That is actually an important thing to have. My shop has a community bathroom at the end of the building but I would love a place in my shop to wash my hands.



It goes up to $950 after that. It has a place to wash your hands, but they have 6 shared restrooms that are maintained 6 days a week. I am really leaning towards the nicer place that is close to me right now. 1, its 5 minutes from my house. 2, its very nice. 3, the surrounding businesses will benefit me. (several repair shops, a custom upholstery shop, two machine shops, an alignment shop, and a vinyl/sticker shop). 4, there are 110 outlets every 5 feet.5, the circuit breaker is on the back wall, with all 100 amp breakers, and they said I, or anyone I choose, can wire in 220. So it will cost me materials. 6, within walking distance of 3 good places to eat, as well as Home Depot and Kragens. 7, Wireless high speed internet for $29 a month.

The other two places I am looking at are a little more run down. One is $100 more monthly, the other is $100 less monthly. Both require a contractor from the county to wire in 220, which means my friends that work in other counties can't do it and I am looking at $1000-1500 to wire 220 before I can do anything. And the cheaper one has a screwed up parking lot. Its hard to turn my truck around in there, and a trailer would never happen. And you get one parking spot. Everywhere else I get two.

I'm thinking the extra $100 for the one closest to me will outweigh the cost of gas driving 30 miles a day, and the cost of electrical work.

Also this is for between 1000 and 1200 SF.

Whatever you do Seth, best of luck to you. You sure do seem to be a talented individual from all your different projects posted up. I would really like to see some offroad stuff you've done, that takes real design there.

^ When I was doing 4WD stuff, it wasn't anything terribly impressive. The coolest thing the shop did was straight axle swaps on Tahoe's and Chevy trucks and a Ford Ranger. All leaf spring stuff. I wouldn't mind building rock crawlers or sand cars though. But we pretty much built mall crawlers.

something else to think about...

i'd just like to warn you about doing this shit for a living. it's so much fun when it's a side job, but whenever you turn it into a business, the stress overcomes. trust me, my shop almost cost me my wife & kids. i love painting more than anything in the world, but when it came down to 12-16 hours a day (7 days/week) just to make ends meet, you start to watch life pass you by. family & friends ALWAYS doing fun stuff without you because you need to clear a grand this week so you're not living in the crate your new compressor just came in.

i thought i'd be able to run my dad's hot rod shop better than he did (young, dumb mistake) & that's when i learned why he used to be such a mean old fuck. i'd make 40, 50, 60G on one car, but by the time i paid all my other guys' wages, workmans comp, rent/utilities, the paint store bill, etc, i'd walk away with about 20-30k over the year it took to build it & THAT'S FUCKIN MCDONALD'S WAGES!!!

i even had to start taking on collision repair jobs (which i absolutely hate) just to clear "X" ammount by friday just to make ends meet. it got to the point that i actually started to despise painting (& actually almost anything to do with cars)

i'm back into it now & i love it again, now that it's not a monkey on my back. do as many or as few cars as i want in a year & it's great.

i don't mean to sound so damn negative, just take it easy & try to make it more of a "side job" or hobby like you're doing now so that your passion doesn't turn into your burden.

good luck man, i'm sure you'll do just fine...JUST TAKE IT EASY (& if it's easy take it twice)

Seth- it sounds like the newer building is the way to go. I've had my shop for a few years now and have kept a full time job the whole time. I just work at the shop on nights and weekends. Hopefully someday I can take on the shop full time but its more fun for me this way right now. Good luck with your decision.

have you ever taken any business courses?

i've seen it TOO many times that talented people, fabricators/bodymen/painters/interior guys are good at what they do but they are not business men. and in time fail at running a shop.

all of them were into cars/trucks before they opened "a shop" & hated life by the time the were done.

Originally posted by corey0814



something else to think about...

i'd just like to warn you about doing this shit for a living. it's so much fun when it's a side job, but whenever you turn it into a business, the stress overcomes. trust me, my shop almost cost me my wife & kids. i love painting more than anything in the world, but when it came down to 12-16 hours a day (7 days/week) just to make ends meet, you start to watch life pass you by. family & friends ALWAYS doing fun stuff without you because you need to clear a grand this week so you're not living in the crate your new compressor just came in.

i thought i'd be able to run my dad's hot rod shop better than he did (young, dumb mistake) & that's when i learned why he used to be such a mean old fuck. i'd make 40, 50, 60G on one car, but by the time i paid all my other guys' wages, workmans comp, rent/utilities, the paint store bill, etc, i'd walk away with about 20-30k over the year it took to build it & THAT'S FUCKIN MCDONALD'S WAGES!!!

i even had to start taking on collision repair jobs (which i absolutely hate) just to clear "X" ammount by friday just to make ends meet. it got to the point that i actually started to despise painting (& actually almost anything to do with cars)

i'm back into it now & i love it again, now that it's not a monkey on my back. do as many or as few cars as i want in a year & it's great.

i don't mean to sound so damn negative, just take it easy & try to make it more of a "side job" or hobby like you're doing now so that your passion doesn't turn into your burden.

good luck man, i'm sure you'll do just fine...JUST TAKE IT EASY (& if it's easy take it twice)



^^^^This is good advise.

On another note with the cost of fuel these days, i'm sure it'll be higher in the future, the closer unit will probably save you money in the long run. The newer unit sounds better and cheaper in the long run, after wiring 220V, etc., etc., etc. Also if its in a better part of town thats always better. Thieves are everywhere, and as soon as word gets around about whats in your shop or people drive by and look in the door you become a target. As for advertising, internet and shows (any shows like 4x4, classic, muscle cars, and mini turcks) are your best bet. Business cards, stickers with contact info, and previous work are all a bonus to get people in the door. Someone mentioned business classes which is a good idea or maybe pick up a book on starting a business. I have flipped though a couple and theres alot of good info in them for first time business owners as well as some of the things lenders and the government will do to help you out. Also mentioned before, friends and business don't mix as i'm sure your aware of. For some reason everyone you know thinks that their entitled to all your tools, services, and parts for free or almost free. I could keep going but i'm sick of typing, lol. Your a smart guy, you'll figure it out.

well think green and get some solor panels and put them on the roof and you can save some money

Good advice guys. I do appreciate it.

I have not taken any business courses. I listen a lot to people that run businesses. My family has been running multiple businesses for years, and I listen to their advice, ask questions, etc. But I want to take a business class this summer at the JC. Its a more fast paced class that way.