Although starting your own business might be challenging in the beginning, all the effort is worth it in the long run. As a business owner, you will have to make several important decisions, one of the first ones being where to locate your business.
For many, the obvious choice is the garage, and there are several reasons why. First of all, it eliminates the need to commute, making it possible for business owners to work during the hours they select themselves. Another important matter is the money, or rather the savings – since they don’t have to pay additional rent for a working space, they can invest more money in their products and their improvements.
However, in order to be successful, you need to know a few things first. Having the best garage door cabinets to store your inventory or the best desk for work is not enough – there’s a lot more that goes into that. We decided to help you and gathered some of the best tips for starting a business from your garage.
So, let’s just explore them!
1. Make sure you know what you want
Even though many people who decide to start a business have some idea about what it is that they want to do, they usually don’t have a concrete path established, which is quite a mistake. Before you invest your money and time, make sure that you know what it is that you want to accomplish with your business.
Don’t worry if your original motives change over time. Amazon, one of the biggest e-commerce sites today, was started by Jeff Bezos with the intent of it being a company distributing books – now, you can buy literally everything there.
2. Choose a business that is suitable for a garage
The truth is that not every business can be located in a garage. Take a business attorney as an example – if they arranged meetings with their clients in their carport, they would probably lose some credibility. On the other hand, an automobile or bike workshop fits perfectly into that space.
Although most manual jobs are a great fit for such a space, they are not the only options. Virtual assistant, online retail, tutoring, graphic design, or social media management firm are just some of the business ideas you should have no problem starting in your garage.
3. Think about your budget
When you are convinced you have a great business idea, it’s very easy to let the dreams about being as successful as Apple or Google take control over your planning – and especially your budget. Before you start investing in the most expensive machinery or computers that are available on the market, and stacking your inventory to the point when there’s not a lot of space left, think about what you actually need to operate.
The thing with businesses with innovative products is that you never know whether the customers will actually be interested in buying them. You might think that what you came up with is one of the greatest inventions of the century, but the potential customers might think the complete opposite.
If your product turns out to be as great as you have believed it to be, there’s nothing stopping you from buying more expensive supplies as your company expands.
4. Prepare your garage
If you plan to start your business in the garage, it cannot resemble the disorganised and oil-stained chaos many homeowners have, as it simply won’t let you focus. In order to get in the mindset of someone starting a business venture, you need to prepare the space you’ll be working in.
Take your time to organise it and create plans to transform it into an ideal work environment. Many people nowadays rearrange their garages into separate working areas (especially now due to the COVID situation and several businesses introducing the work from home policy), as it allows them to have their own space to focus and be productive.
5. Realise that failure is part of the success
Remember that it’s okay to fail. Not every business will be successful, and that’s fine – the important thing is not to give up just because one idea didn’t work out. Take, for instance, Steve Jobs. Many of his ideas had failed before he finally achieved success with Apple, and nowadays, it is one of the most profitable companies in the world.
Another example from a different industry is Stephen King. Now considered to be the king of horror novels (no pun intended), he was rejected more than 30 times before he was able to publish his first book – Carrie. At one point in life, he was so unmotivated that he threw his manuscript into a trash can. Luckily, his wife took it out and encouraged him not to give up. Today, his novels have been sold in more than 350 million copies – something he would not have achieved if he gave up.
Don’t treat failure as a sign to stop pursuing your dreams. Instead, treat it like a lesson on what not to do, to avoid making the same mistake twice. It’s all about perspective – whether you see something as good or bad, it depends solely on your mindset.
The bottom line
The truth is that a garage-based business is probably the best way to start your journey with entrepreneurship – not only will you be able to save money due to the fact you won’t need to rent a separate space, but you will also be able to work flexible hours.
As you can see, there are many things you need to keep in mind when starting a small business from your garage, such as your budget and the area that you will be working in. However, probably the most important thing you need to realise is that failure is okay – it happens to even the best of us.
We hope that after reading this article, you have a better idea of what goes into starting a business in your garage, as well as understanding that it’s not as easy as some people make it out appear to be. Although it definitely is something that requires hard work, seeing your business succeed is worth all the effort. Good luck!
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