Thinking about going from a storefront location to a home location and wondered what any of you who have done that move think about it. I'm established now had been renting my residence and now I'm thinking about owning a house again but would have to move the shop to it in order to keep my expenses under control. I could do most of the work I'm doing now at the home location, but just thought I'd ask those of you who have made this same move if your decision worked out for you.
Thanks,
-------------------- Chuck Gallagher Pro Graphics Signs by Design Cabool, MO 417.962.3291 "I grew up in Letterville" Posts: 776 | From: Cabool, Mo. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have been working out of my house for over 36 years! So have others...well maybe for not so long.
Since you are now an established sign shop in the area, go for the move!
A smart move would be to send a brochure with a biz card to all your established customers...that way you won't have them wondering if you are out of business.
-------------------- Si Allen #562 La Mirada, CA. USA
(714) 521-4810
si.allen on Skype
siallen@dslextreme.com
"SignPainters do It with Longer Strokes!"
Never mess with your profile while in a drunken stupor!!!
Brushasaurus on Chat Posts: 8831 | From: La Mirada, CA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3503 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
-------------------- Chuck Gallagher Pro Graphics Signs by Design Cabool, MO 417.962.3291 "I grew up in Letterville" Posts: 776 | From: Cabool, Mo. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Chuck, Si's idea is great. Right after the move, when you have a few minutes here & there, it wouldn't hurt to call the customers to make sure they got your card & brochure. Tell them you don't want to loose them as a customer & basically schmooze. While on the phone, ask if there is anything you can do for them.
If your phone number won't change, (ie, won't need to send new cards) I'd consider postcards instead of brochures & cards. When you get the mail, if there is a postcard, you automatically flip it over & read it, before you open any envelopes.
Before you do this, check the zoning & the sign code. Knew a woman who bought a house at the very edge of commercial/residential. Her side of street was residential, so when she moved her beauty salon to home, she was only allowed a 2x2 sign. And she had a really long name.
posted
You know, Chuck... all this is going to do is start the home based vs. shop arguement. Storefront is a term that really shouldn't be used to the extent that it is because very few sign shops are what would be considered a storefront.
In my opinion, home based businesses in a rural area are acceptable as long as there is seperate outbuilding for the business.
If you live in an urban area, I think that being homebased makes you look rinky dink and unprofessional. It makes me think cheap. Too cheap to rent or buy a commercial space. Too cheap to pay for a seperate phone. Too cheap for whatever. I think it is hard to take someone seriously when you have to kick their dirty skivvies out of the way or their kids are running around or dinner is cooking or (fill in home stuff here).
Very few of the businesses I deal with on a professional level are homebased. Not my doctor, my mechanic, my insurance guy, my suppliers, my heating guy... the only one that I can think of is the guy we used to buy our checks from.
Hey, just my opinion. You asked... I answered. It doesn't make anyone right or wrong.
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6464 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
If you are established by reputation.I'm not so sure that Location,Location,Location is the factor. If the Location,Showroom,Office is your qualification for being in the sign business. Separate building built on ALREADY owed land is your BEST bet. Question here is......are your customers loyal to you as the Sign Artist? or the building as to your legitisy? In MY OWN case, I AM the company,not the building not the location
-------------------- PKing is Pat King The Professor of SIGNOLOGY Posts: 3113 | From: Pompano Beach, FL. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
Many good comments made on this topic. Espeically making sure your area is zoned for a home occupation.
I live where I work. I got away with saying I have a home occupation when the place was built, but it looks like a pole barn (40'x65'stick building)instead of a house. The ex didn't want to put much money into a house, so it looks like a barn. Many people do not know I live here too. (living quarters at one end). I had a home occupancy permit at first and was later zoned commercial so I could have a bigger sign and hire help if I wanted. I have no nieghbors, just corn fields around me on a U.S. highway. The location is great for semi trucks coming in right off the highway and a lot of work from just having a sign out front. (as well as the word of mouth).
Pros are things such as tax right offs, and less overhead as well as being able to go back out in your bunny slippers at 2am to put a coat of clear over your airbrush work before it goes out at 8am.
Some of the cons not mentioned above are people showing up or calling at 11pm (or Easter Sunday as has happened to me) or not having a family cookout without a customer showing up. You are always at work.
Make sure of zoning and neighbor's attitudes about your business and think seriously if you want to do this to your personal life. It has worked for many people, but others have had a hard time putting in the work hours when they are at home. Too many distractions.
Good luck.
Pam Pam's Signs
-------------------- Pam Eddy Niles, MI ple@qtm.net Posts: 460 | From: Michigan | Registered: Dec 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I reversed it too, built a shop 4 years ago with no regrets. I didn't care for customers showing up at any time, on any day. I felt uncomfortable having customers walk through my house to get to my office. The only way I'd ever consider going back to home based would be if there was a seperate entrance to my office where I could keep the house & business seperated. But that still doesn't help one other thing I hated. If there was work sitting there, I'd work. Now when I go home, I'm not at work. My wife likes it much better too. No more sign smells, sign dust, strangers in the house. I agree with Bruce's and Pam's observations.
posted
In my small town almost all businesses are homebased. Even home builders. Everyone around here is used to going to one anothers house. But we only have around 2700 people here.
We are zoned residential and can only have a 12" x 12" sign hanging by our front door. But that's fine. It keeps the area from looking like an industrial park!!
I've never had anyone complain about coming here and most of the time my daughter helps to cut the anxiety down a little with just her presence!!
Too each his own I guess.
-------------------- Amy Brown Life Skills 101 Private Address Posts: 3502 | From: Lake Helen, FL, USA | Registered: Feb 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Chuck, I think it depends on who your customers are and "how" they shop. If your present location is next door to the cafe, and people drop in after a cup of coffee then moving to a new location out of town could be a problem. If your customers are used to you coming to them, then your location doesn't matter.
Rather than ask us, i think you should go ask some of your CUSTOMERS. "hey Bobo, I'm thinking of buying a house and moving my shop there... what do you think?" At the least, it will give you an opportunity to have a conversation with a customer. They might give you some interesting feedback that we'd never think of ("Gee Chuck, will I be able to get my 55' trailer into your driveway? ...What happens if we need to bring over another cement mixer for you to letter? ...Will the neighbors mind if we leave the refrer cab going while you do the truck? ... Will you still be open at 7:30?... )
-------------------- :: Scooter Marriner :: :: Coyote Signs :: :: Oakland, CA :: :: still a beginner :: :: Posts: 1356 | From: Oakland (and San Francisco) | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hi All & thanks for all the comments, pros and cons. I do live in a small community and there are several homebased businesses here and I really don't think that part makes a difference on "looking" professional because these folks are way laid back and that just doesn't seem to be a factor. This particular house could be arranged to make it look like a serperate portion is just for the shop, so there won't be in skivies kicking to check out a sketch. I looked at the place again today I think it will work out fine and the other personal reasons will be addressed too. So thanks again for the input and I'll see how it all pans out!
-------------------- Chuck Gallagher Pro Graphics Signs by Design Cabool, MO 417.962.3291 "I grew up in Letterville" Posts: 776 | From: Cabool, Mo. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
I to am home based in a rural area. Having the computor and table set up in the dining area is great when doing work and making dinner at the same time. The draw back is that it does look somewhat unprofessional to bring people through the house to get there. I'll be working on an entrance to remedy this. I do have a seperate shop, which is still where I meet most customers, and do all the cutting and painting, and the bigger signs. As far as our local sign bylaw, we are allowed 4 square feet of signage. My sign is around twice that size. I have found that unless someone complains, these bylaws are generally not enforced in rural areas. If they are the way around this is to letter a licenced vehicle and park it in view of the travelling public, no bylaw against that. I've not had to many people dropping in on strange or inconvenient times, but you could always include in your signage 'by appointment only'. I would definitely recommend a seperate phone for the business, especially if you have kids, or hate interuptions in your off time. Lots of great suggestions in this post, good luck with making a decision.
-------------------- "Are we having fun yet?" Peter Schuttinga DZines Sign Studio 1617 Millstream rd Victoria BC V9B-6G4 Posts: 521 | From: Victoria BC | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I've gone from homebased to storefront to homebased again. My shop is separate from the house so there are no privacy invasion issues here. We also have a gated entry that remains closed when I'm closed but no matter, I don't get drop ins anyway. My current focus is repeat customers and they phone first as I'm rarely in their line of travel out in the boonies here.
I personally didn't like my office in the house the first time around. When I go out to my shop, it feels like I'm in my own little world.
My current situation works great for me, but then I'm not after new work constantly. Bar none I made more money with a storefront. Probably because I worked more.
I've been a "home based" shop for 24 years. We recently (5 years ago) moved from a high traffic area, down by the beach, where we had been for 14 years, to a very rural area, 20 miles from town.
Granted, I had a loyal clientel base, but the move was a good one (went from 800 sq. ft of shop space to almost 2,000). We in fact, have ADDED to our customer base from some of the smaller towns out this way.
We sent out post cards initially (nice, 4 color ones) to announce the move about 90 day ahead of time. I took prepossession of the new house 3 weeks prior to closing, and spent those three weeks working at the "old" shop days, and renovating/building the new shop evenings and weekends.
The week we closed, 400 envelopes with a flyer, new business cards and a cover letter went out. We took the "new, larger location to better serve you, our valued client" approach. One important thing I did, was paid for the old phone number for a year, and had it forwarded it with notification to the new number (I couldn't keep the old #, as we moved into an area serviced by a different phone company).
Even with that ol "20/20 hindsite"..I think we did it right. only lost a couple of clients (who were already coming in from waaaaay East of me, and I moved 20 miles West. The only thing I may have done different, was to find some way (local advertising) to let people out here know we were coming.
And oh yeah. Zoning, Usage, etc...do all that FIRST. We included it as a contingency on the purchase offer. The restrictions I agreed to: No advertsing by address (we use a PO Box on our stuff, and in the phone book...and we're almost exclusively a "by appointment" business, so no big deal), I could only use a percentage of the dwelling for biz use (It's a nearly 4,000 sq ft raised ranch, with an attched 2.5 car garage that walks into the basement...plenty of space), and I can only conduct business between 7 am and 6 pm weekdays. That's no sweat either, since my hours have always been 7:30-5:30.
I'm really disciplined about not working beyond those hours in the shop, which was the toughest thing to overcome. And we have a seperate shop entrance, that when it's closed and locked, it's closed and locked.
The biggest pain in my ass, is that every time Cordillo's gets a new pizza delivery guy, he wants to talk about airbrushing and striping his 1987 S10 or 2002 Eclipse when I come to the door to get our saturday nite dinner!
Keep on keepin on
Brian Briskie
Posts: 465 | From: / | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Applause]](graemlins/clap.gif)
![[FYI]](graemlins/fyi.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic