warehouse space vs store front

[Shawn (EIP)]

warehouse space vs store front

let's assume the warehouse space is on the first floor with a loading dock

pros:

Cons:

?

[JBLUE]

Pros for warehouse.

Cheaper rent

Limited walk ins

Cons

None for me

I dont know what I would do in a retail environment. Go crazy maybe

[Screened Gear]

This is my answer to this. How many store front screen printers have you seen?

[shirtz]

We have been in a store front since 1993 and it has been successful. The upside is you can charge retail prices for small one piece two piece  dtg or embroidery jobs.
The down side is putting up with time wasting pita customers. I learned real quick and hired a girl to be our customer service person. I like the fact that we are accessible to the public and are in a highly visable location. You never know who is going to walk in the door, and I mean that in a positive way. Good Luck

[mk162]

The key is a blend of both.  We are a storefront, but we are far enough off the road that it keeps most crazies out.  I would not want to be in a retail strip mall...bad idea.

You want to be easy to find, but not too easy.

Brannon or Sonny, is that about what you would say about my shop?  I also see that in a lot of other shops around here, but you guys are in more shops than I am.

[alan802]

We are slightly off the beaten path, but we are still on a main road that gets a bit of traffic so we are really still store front but it looks like 2 warehouses.

[Fresh Baked Printing]

This is my answer to this. How many store front screen printers have you seen?

Is this a trick questions? I've seen every store front printer there is in my area. Of course I haven't seen the warehouse locations since I don't lurk around in industrial parks.
Seriously though, there are 4 in my little area of Minneapolis alone and I've seen several more retail locations just driving around the Twin Cities.

I do know that one retail location printer has mentioned to me that there are a ton of time waster walk-ins.
I think a retail location would be hard for a one man operation to run efficiently where as a warehouse location could be run as a one man shop.

I've thought about getting a literal store front of 500 sf more or less on one the busier avenues in Minneapolis and outfit it with maybe a 4/1, flash, DTG and a heat press and then run the serious equipment from a warehouse type space nearby. The retail front would be used primarily as a show room and sales office to drive work for the warehouse location. My calculations put the the renting of two spaces in line with one decent retail space of totaling the square footage. Any thoughts on that?

[Homer]

we are moving from a high traffic retail area, 30 mph speed zone in a plaza w/ a 7-11 (high walk-in)  to another main road in a 45 mph zone, not in a plaza. . . . We are not an impulse buy product so we don't need that type of availability. We did it for a while to get the awareness, but now we need an open floor plan, bay for vehicle wraps, less walk-in BS. . .if you market yourself right, and being a one man shop - you should really look into a warehouse. you should still be easily found if needed, not in a sketchy area, safe for soccer moms. . now is the time to jump, buildings are vacant everywhere, dying for occupants. . .negotiate a good deal and stop fking around moving those machines. . .get a shop set up RIGHT and start making phone calls.

 oh by the way - we are going from 2200 sq/ft to over 7k. . .the cost is 300/more a month.....WIN. . .

[GraphicDisorder]

I am in an industrial park, no walk ins, no foot traffic, nobody bothering us about printing 2 shirts.  I couldn't be happier with that currently.  We are in 8,000 sqft. 

If I ever decided to go with a store front, I would do a small 1-2k sqft one in a strip mall and put a person or two down there taking orders and have it all produced here.  I think that would work best, let the workers do work, let the sellers sell. 

So far though we are still probably 99.9% internet.  We have some word of mouth locals and it is increasing rapidly but I don't have the hands to handle the local market yet. 

[Shawn (EIP)]

we are moving from a high traffic retail area, 30 mph speed zone in a plaza w/ a 7-11 (high walk-in)  to another main road in a 45 mph zone, not in a plaza. . . . We are not an impulse buy product so we don't need that type of availability. We did it for a while to get the awareness, but now we need an open floor plan, bay for vehicle wraps, less walk-in BS. . .if you market yourself right, and being a one man shop - you should really look into a warehouse. you should still be easily found if needed, not in a sketchy area, safe for soccer moms. . now is the time to jump, buildings are vacant everywhere, dying for occupants. . .negotiate a good deal and stop fking around moving those machines. . .get a shop set up RIGHT and start making phone calls.

 oh by the way - we are going from 2200 sq/ft to over 7k. . .the cost is 300/more a month.....WIN. . .

That's awesome man your shop was a squeeze.

[Shawn (EIP)]

I have warehouse experience and a shared loading dock 12 feet from my entrance though my issues there were a bit different , one being next door to a bigger shop (that now does my contract work) and 2nd  being located in the ghetto. If I move into a warehouse space today I'm still only going to have the same amount  of business but I would have higher rent and a power bill. The wife argues that a retail location has the potential to generate the money to cover the higher rent do to walk ins and what not... and she would work the customer service counter/show room. We figured that we would  have "walk-in" hours  12 - 6 unless other arrangements have been made and closed to the public on weekends unless a pick up is needed. I've been out of my basement for 3 years now , in 3 different locations business being the same no matter which spot, my obvious issue is not being seen... and yeah being a shotty sales rep for myself.

[Fresh Baked Printing]

One retail location I know has hours from something like 12-5 or something, allowing them to print in peace  in the morning and a bit in the evenings.

[Shawn (EIP)]

I'm starting to think maybe it would wise to pick a college town (theres plenty here) maybe the one I'm printing for now.  Scope out the area for other printers , what rent is going to run me and move in without losing any of my current customer base.

[JBLUE]

I'm starting to think maybe it would wise to pick a college town (theres plenty here) maybe the one I'm printing for now.  Scope out the area for other printers , what rent is going to run me and move in without losing any of my current customer base.

Man its not the location You have got to look deeper. Get a friend to go under cover and see how these other guys are handling their customers. Get real bids from them. Have them ask to tour their shops if they can. I know that sounds kind of shady but at this point you are hurting and you need to do something. There are tons of shops that are in the biggest ghettos on this planet and they are cranking out work like crazy. I am in a spot that even when I give customers detailed instructions they still have a hard time finding it. There has to be some other aspect that your missing.

[Shawn (EIP)]

I'm starting to think maybe it would wise to pick a college town (theres plenty here) maybe the one I'm printing for now.  Scope out the area for other printers , what rent is going to run me and move in without losing any of my current customer base.

Man its not the location You have got to look deeper. Get a friend to go under cover and see how these other guys are handling their customers. Get real bids from them. Have them ask to tour their shops if they can. I know that sounds kind of shady but at this point you are hurting and you need to do something. There are tons of shops that are in the biggest ghettos on this planet and they are cranking out work like crazy. I am in a spot that even when I give customers detailed instructions they still have a hard time finding it. There has to be some other aspect that your missing.

I hear it all from my customers. I know a little about every print shop that matters in my area.