What type of premises

[Mark Pack]

Sorry, I’ve messed the polling options up, so unless an administrator corrects this just add your comments by post. 😳

Cheers Mark

[Richard Urquhart]

i think a shop with off street parking is the way to go but far to much money

i have a small office above and mot workshop so I’m lucky i can get large vans in there workshop even use there ramps when i need to so I’m very lucky

but I’m tucked away round the back on the second floor
so i would say shop with some undercover parking if you can afford it
however the lower the overheads the more competitive you can be with out being cheap !!

[Nick Minall]

It also depends on what you sell and who you sell too, public or business.

[Phill Fenton]

It all depends on the type of work you intend to do. If you are looking to service the business to business market you need a decent size of premises with space to bring in vehicles and put together large signs. A shop won’t be big enough to allow this and in any case the rent and rates will be much higher than an industrial unit .

A shop is much higher profile but could result in attracting the wrong type of clientele with a lot of enquiries from the general public that expect to pay only a fiver or so for a sign 🙄 I work out of a small industrial unit and have recently introduced a “minimum charge” to deter all the people that want me to make “names” to stick on their kiddies bikes for christmas 😕

[Lynn Normington]

Hi again Mark I think you can proberbly edit your poll so
people have a choice!!!!

Lynn

[Phill Fenton]

Well I decided to vote for the workshop or the shop anyway 😕

[Brian Maher]

hi mate,
without sounding rude… which can you afford to have?? 😕

we too are hoping to move this year,so i know what your going through 😉

the shop front is always nice but is it worth paying high street rates when your main customers never pass it anyway…
the money you save on the rent could help upgrade a machine…leading to more options…

location is important but not the be all and end all…

if your work is good enough then they will find you…just keep at it
we rarely advertise, most work is by recommendation, i reckon most of our big clients have never been in our workshop…

just my humble advice…

brian

[Lynn Normington]

Phil the fence can become slippery at some stage 😕

Lynn

[Chris Dowd]

We’ve always gone down the Industrial Estate route, the premises we are in now we went for height so we could add a mezzanine floor. Plenty of our own parking, and loads of room to get vehicles in (even with the Mezzanine floor).

Sounds funny, but we don’t have any signs on our unit (as we have previously had a lot of problems with Pikes passing by) People who need to find us, find us.

Chris.

[David Rowland]

interesting.. looking at Mezzanine floors the other day.. however had no prices… what is the budget on those and what area did you get done chris.

we could do it but have some issues with building structures.

oh. we are in an industrial estate with a busy main road and parking area… the town is about 4 minute walk though.

[John Childs]

As has been said above, it depends on the type of business you are looking for.

Me? I don’t want to deal with the public, so commercial it is. 😀

[Chris Dowd]

Dave,

We did about 1900 Sq ft of mezzanine with a height of 10′ to the underneath, got it very cheap at auction, had to dismantle, transport and fit ourselves, not too bad tho!

Have a look on ebay, a few companies on there who make mezzanine floors.

Chris.

[Robert Lambie]

ive now fixed the poll folks, please scroll up and vote? 😀

[George Elsmore]

neither have bought an old petrol station with front canopy still intact!!!!

George

[Shane Drew]

workshop for me.

a shop is pretty limiting, you’ll find yourself getting smallish jobs but a workshop will promote larger work.

I had a shop front with a workshop out the back many moons ago. Only work I got thru the shop was ‘tyre kickers’ or people comparing quotes.

Moved to a workshop only, tyre kickers don’t waste my time anymore because it looks more ‘business like’ and intimidating if you like. Saves me heaps of time not having to do the ‘pr’ thing with people you know are not really interested…

cheers

[Brian Maher]

quote :

Chris Dowd”]We’ve always gone down the Industrial Estate route, the premises we are in now we went for height so we could add a mezzanine floor. Plenty of our own parking, and loads of room to get vehicles in (even with the Mezzanine floor).

the mezzanine floor is a great job… dunno about the rules in the uk but over here in ireland the council charge business rates on commercial units,its calculated on floor area….but the mezz. floor while it can double the floor space you have , it cant be used to calculate rates as its not part of the permanent structure of the building…this why they are so popular in large industrial units here…

[John Gregson]

Hi Mark,
I’m kinda in the same situation as you. I’ve got an industrial unit about 1700 sq ft with mezzanine, perfect for my screen printing op and for doing vehicle livery.

Problem is that it is tucked around the corner, hard to find with no passing trade or advertising benifit at all.

I’ve been thinking of shop front with rear yard. Great for advertising. But as Brian said it all boils down to cost and shop front prices, especially in Newcastle, are fetching silly money.

Cheers John

[David Rowland]

interesting Brian, anyone no about business rates and these types of floors?

[John Gregson]

Hi Dave,
I think for a mezzinine you would be charged extra – try the local council website. I’m in a council run enterprise centre unit so all my bills are included and I don’t get charged extra for rates.
Cheers John

[Dave Bayes]

Business Rates in England do take into account Mez flooring, or at least, they do when the local authority find out it has been installed. The reason it t does is because rates are based on rateable values which are calculated on rental values. If you install mez flooring, the rent which the property will command if let on the open market should in theory increase which in turn will push up the property’s rateable value. The rental value of mez flooring per sq ft is considerably less than your usual floor space, I may be out of touch in terms of values but as a guide the mezzanine is not going to be worth any more than 25% of usual useable space. Hope this makes some sense.

[Mark Pack]

Thanks for the great response all.

The route I want to take is generally the commercial route. Like some of you have said, “Joe public can be a pain in the rear and only want a couple of quid sticker making”.

The cost of an average high street shop is roughly £500pm, were as a unit of about 1000sqf is in the region of £350 to £450pm.

I also think that I need a place where I can have a large work area. And I definately need somewhere I can get vans in. If not I’ll have to find a shop with a drive and build some kind of carport or something.

Cheers Mark

[David Rowland]

I just been trying to get a low down on this.. cant find any websites offering information regarding the business rates rules on Mez Floors…
I been on VOA Gov but its so confusing..

if we put a floor up in our workshop, we will have to pay extra rates if just use it for Storage only? or if we put a small office up there? or a small work table or two? Does usage effect the rates?

I guess there questions should directed at the landlord, but I just a little lost on Dave’s comments as cant find any web resources to back it up.

[Kevin Flowers]

Dave,
in my area shops have a rating system, as in the shop front by 14′(?) back is classed as a sales area. Then you have another rate for areas further back, then storage areas kitchens open yards etc. I don’t know about actual commercial units but would think a similar system is in place for mezz floors. Your local council business rate team should beable to give you the info without to much fuss.

Kev

[Carrie Brown]

Your best bet will be to speak to your local council, I found something a little while ago about it and as far as I am aware, whether you use it for storage or office it is still a rateable area?

Knowing you though you want to find out about this today 😉 Keep searching the net Dave and stop getting distracted by the car wash girls 😛

[David Rowland]

thanks

[Chris Dowd]

I heard recently that mezzanines were charged at 50% rateable value, don’t know how true it is. Like I said in an earlier post on this one Dave, until they re-value (which I believe is every 5 years and most were done last year) it’s a bonus!!

Chris

[David Rowland]

ok.. thanks .. i pass this onto my collegue to be aware of …
i am now wondering if the councils set the business rates for each area or wether it is nationally based. I dont control this part of the business so i am fairly fresh to it.

We just knocked down the false walls and have a large space, our new big router is arriving tomorrow and we planning to put some ‘stuff’ upstairs… just got to indentify what we can and cannot do as such or be prepared for any legal stuff.

[Lorraine Clinch]

I moved from high-street shop (tiny), where business was fairly good, but did get the ‘2 A4 sheets for laminating’-type jobs walk in also.

I moved literraly around the corner about 7 weeks ago, to a unit approx 2.5 times larger than the shop, have a 4ft x 8ft glass-topped bench and LOADS of storage space for boards etc.
All vinyls are along a wall using the template on this site for racks. Also have use of the unit next door for vehicles.

Strange, but I could swear that the jobs I get now are larger, & more money. Almost as though because I have a shop which is tailor-made, that I am more ‘legit’, or that customers have more confidence in my business!

[Shane Drew]

It is not your imagination Lorraine.

I noticed a similar change in clients attitude when I started wearing a dedicated uniform. People started thinking I was more proffessional.

When I purchased a new van instead of doing business out of a 20 year old Kombi, people started pulling me over in the street and asking me to call in and give a quote. I wished I could have afforded the new vehicle earlier.

It all comes down to 1st impressions. People will draw a conclusion on your business based on your presenation, way before you open your mouth and try and sell your services.

I have a public relations background, and 1st impressions are one of the most important aspects of any small business, more than any small business realises.

Congrats on the move. I hope the growth gets better as each month goes on.

Cheers

[Lorraine Clinch]

Thanks Shane. A new vehicle is my next aim-instead of the cr*ppy old Peugeot I am driving at the mo. (I park it around the corner, in the hope that my business will not be associated with it. Even worse that I am on the edge of a car sales lot (reasonably upper market ones too! 😳 )

[Nicola McIntosh]

good luck lorraine……as your business increases, you will probably find the need to buy a new printer 😉

nik

[Lorraine Clinch]

I know….Cadet, Versacamm, which one, which inks, blah blah blah….It’s all been going around in my little brain for weeks. I’m sooooo envious of you all with your printers 😳

[Neil Davey]

Lorraine, ref to the printers I wonder if it’s better to try and get a good deal with a company who have one and sub the work out.

Solves the problem of financing and maintaining your own!

I wonder if, to justify spending thousands on a printer, you have to keep it working all the time!

At the moment I sub any print jobs out and it works great.

Just a thought 😕

Neil

[Lorraine Clinch]

Hi Neil

You are right, of course, I pay very little for my prints, in relation to what I can charge, and of course I have no running costs, or the worry of such an expensive machine.
I’m just dreaming really. Mind you, I wonder if more of my vinyl jobs would become printed ones if I had the option?

[Nicola McIntosh]

quote Lorraine Clinch:

Mind you, I wonder if more of my vinyl jobs would become printed ones if I had the option?

it would lorraine, the amount of time it saves me just printing a 3 colour design for vehicles rather than layering it up….is fab 😀 its like having another employee but this one doesnt speak back and does what its told 😉

nik

[Cheryl Tissington]

I’m all excited, I ordered mine yesterday ! :dance2:

I can’t wait……..small children & Christmas spring to mind :lol1: