Travel distance to workshop

[YorkshireMartin]

Guys,

I really need a new place to work and unfortunately, around my way, space is pretty expensive. Well, it's expensive unless you're literally moving a full time business in there, which I'm not doing yet.

1,000 sqft is going to run me about £600/mo in rent, add to that utilities and insurance and I'm sure the total will be approaching a grand a month. For the limited pieces I do currently sell I might qualify for business rate relief but not sure. In any case, as we're also saving to move house, £600/mo is out of the question.

A shared space has come up but it's 30 miles away. Shared spaces dont seem to come up often but I just have a feeling that it's too far away to be useful.

Time is pressing and I am getting a bit desperate.

How far would you be willing to travel if the ideal workshop space came up and was a massive saving over what was available locally? How far is practical.

I realise its perhaps a question of how long is a piece of string, I'm just interested in your opinions.

Cheers

 

[custard]

30 mile commute on a lightly used duel carriage way...pleasant opportunity to listen to the news in peace.

30 mile commute from one side of London to the other...stuff of nightmares.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

30 mile commute on a lightly used duel carriage way...pleasant opportunity to listen to the news in peace.

30 mile commute from one side of London to the other...stuff of nightmares.

Indeed. This would be down the M62 and the timing of the journey would avoid rush hour, mostly. Kind, sorta. It's likely to take me about 1hr to get there on average.

 

[custard]

Sounds promising.

Shared spaces can be a huge advantage, the machinery's normally a step up and well maintained, there's often advice on tap, and that missing bit of scrap that's essential for a jig is more likely to be forthcoming!

I've seen furniture making partnerships fall apart in a shared space though, but that's normally because of spats over clients or when one person starts moving in a different direction which inconveniences everyone else (like one guy will move from furniture making towards joinery, and then monopolises the spindle moulder, or starts doing fitted kitchens and stuffs the workshop full of stored cabinets).

If you get on with the other people and the ground rules are clear, then I'd go for it.

 

[ColeyS1]

I wouldn't travel 30 miles- sod that. That journey would be manic !

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[NazNomad]

30 miles? 30 metres is plenty far enough.

 

[marcros]

I think that an hour each way is going to test your motivation, and there is likely to be a cost to 60 miles each day. It is also a decent chunk of time when you are not producing or doing things that support that- accounts, marketing, buying materials etc.

 

[deema]

Well, 2 hours a day travel, thats 10 hours a week, or 40 hours a month. I would look at what I would earn in that time and make a commercial decision assuming that you can accept the journey time.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

I don't know where you are travelling from of travelling to, but I would think about where your customer base is likely to be. If you are making stuff for clients, then that usually means there is a certain level of affluence. Move away from the affluence, i.e. to a lower property value area, you might find you will less, or nothing! I would certainly commute to a higher affluent area and pay higher rent, if this is where I could sell stuff. I knows few makers in the affluent golden triangle in Yorkshire and they have viable businesses, (still bloody difficult, but viable). I had a business in a low rent area and failed miserably. It depends on what you do, too, but almost anything made these days, even fairly pedestrian stuff requires someone with big disposable incomes to patronise.

Mike.

 

[powertools]

If you are not running a full time business do you really need 1000 sq ft.

 

[woodbrains]

If you are not running a full time business do you really need 1000 sq ft.

Hello,

Of course he does!

Mike.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

If you are not running a full time business do you really need 1000 sq ft.

No, I could make do with 750. Single garage size (300 or so) wouldn't work due to the machinery I already have. The way units tend to be split, 1000sq ft seems to provide the best overall value. 500sq ft for example, would only be £100 per month or so cheaper from what I've seen locally. Obviously depends where, some of the brand new units are obscenely priced (and empty), in a sink industrial estate in Bradford for example, you could probably get an entire distribution facility for a bag of chips but good luck holding onto your tools.

Admittedly, the heating and lighting costs etc would be higher for the larger premises, but for the flexibility you'd get such as having separate areas for racking/drying and finishing, it would certainly make sense to spend the bit extra even if you're only doing say 25hrs a week.

I'm losing my workspace completely at Christmas so I have to make a move in any case or pause until I can acquire land to build my own shop.

woodbrains, coincidentally, our other company is based in the golden triangle. As both my little venture with woodwork and our other business are both B2B focused at present, the affluence of the immediate area hasn't made all that much difference over the years. However..I do remember one occasion where it did and it paid off well (networking with local landowner). I agree with the principle of what you're saying though, especially if you're a designer maker for the B2C market.

I just need somewhere to work that will accommodate what I have in one place.

One thing that this has really made me think of is how a young person would go on. I mean, if you want to start an IT company or something, you can get a shared office very cheaply, but woodwork...for anything more than a scroll saw, you need space, and I think youngsters are priced out of the market. It's such a shame, the cost of land/space in general.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

I think that an hour each way is going to test your motivation, and there is likely to be a cost to 60 miles each day. It is also a decent chunk of time when you are not producing or doing things that support that- accounts, marketing, buying materials etc.

I think you're right. Motivation would certainly be tested, but that may be a good thing? If you're starting any kind of business you need bucket loads of motivation, if theres even a hint of laziness, you're already going south.

Half of this battle is knowing whether I'm in the right game. Do I have, or can I develop, the skill necessary to even do this? I know I lack a lot of skill, but in order to develop the areas I lack in (all of them lol), I need space to continue the journey. Right now, space is my nemesis.

It's a tough one. I do have one ace in the hole for this though, in that I travel for "free" as I have a company car with personal fuel, so from that point at least, I have an advantage.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

If you are not running a full time business do you really need 1000 sq ft.

Hello,

Of course he does!

Mike.

Tell you what mate, you jest but for the last big project I did, I had 15 sheets of 18mm ply (in various states of finish) in an area of work thats 200sq ft at best. A nightmare doesn't even begin to cover it. I practically had to use it for flooring. lol

Don't ever want a repeat of that! :lol:

 

[YorkshireMartin]

30 miles? 30 metres is plenty far enough.

:lol:

Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to work in their back yard.

 

[AndyT]

At that distance, you're going to be pretty well committed to commuting and working full days when you get there, to make the journey worth it. That's fine if it fits the way you work, but could be a pain if you just wanted to pop back to put another coat of finish on, or do an extra hour or two in the evening to complete a job.

Also, what about visiting customers to quote for new work? Could you be in a position where you needed to go out and then back, then out to the workshop, doing the hour's journey four times in one day? That would be annoying and unproductive.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

At that distance, you're going to be pretty well committed to commuting and working full days when you get there, to make the journey worth it. That's fine if it fits the way you work, but could be a pain if you just wanted to pop back to put another coat of finish on, or do an extra hour or two in the evening to complete a job.

Also, what about visiting customers to quote for new work? Could you be in a position where you needed to go out and then back, then out to the workshop, doing the hour's journey four times in one day? That would be annoying and unproductive.

Very valid points Andy, thanks.

Thank you for the input everyone. Might have seemed a silly question to ask but its a sizeable commitment/change so a range of opinions is always valued.

 

[petermillard]

I'd take 300sq ft on my doorstep over 1000sq 30 miles away, personally. And not to be flippant, but it sounds like you're 'just about' managing with 200sq ft at the moment?? We'd all like more space than we have I'm sure, but we have to cut our clothes to match the cloth (must be a woodworking version of that...) and I simply don't take in jobs that I can't handle.

Now, if you regularly need 15 full sheets of Ply in various stages, then sure, go big if you can find it/fund it, but I opted for convenience over size; a 60-mile round trip would drive me nuts.

Good luck [THUMBS UP SIGN]

 

[YorkshireMartin]

I'd take 300sq ft on my doorstep over 1000sq 30 miles away, personally. And not to be flippant, but it sounds like you're 'just about' managing with 200sq ft at the moment?? We'd all like more space than we have I'm sure, but we have to cut our clothes to match the cloth (must be a woodworking version of that...) and I simply don't take in jobs that I can't handle.

Now, if you regularly need 15 full sheets of Ply in various stages, then sure, go big if you can find it/fund it, but I opted for convenience over size; a 60-mile round trip would drive me nuts.

Good luck [THUMBS UP SIGN]

Thanks Peter. I'm only managing because I have my machines elsewhere, so I have a massively inconvenient setup already. lol

I like your videos on youtube by the way, I was watching some a few days ago

 

[tomatwark]

One thing to think about aside from the cost of the premises is the location, from a customer point of view.

If you are intending to go full time in the end and stay living where you are, your customers may not be prepared to travel 30 miles to your workshop to discuss on going projects.

If you advertise with your workshop address you will pick up work near there, then you have the issue of the times when you need to see customers outside your normal hours which means an extra trip out for you and more costs.

Also a work shop tucked away in a back street somewhere means you won't get passing trade.

I you are thinking about this as a part time venture the shared work space has another disadvantage in that you will not be able to see what is happening to your on going project, and also if you leave part finished work around for days on end you are likely to upset other full time workers.

I have had several workshops over the years on industrial estates, behind shops and on farms all had their advantages and disadvantages, what you need to do before jumping in with both feet into a lease, is to work out how you are going to get the business through the door.

You will also find that depending where you are other things will come along that you may not of considered making and the nature of the business will change, my business has reinvented itself several times in the product we make over the years and is in the process of doing so again at the moment.

At the end of the day although you might have a rose tinted vision of making this and that because you enjoy it, you are in business to make money and once you commit to premises that is all that really matters.