Who here started in their garage?

[rubo]

I actually made a full circle garage--->shop--->garage. There is another shop in the future - but there are contingencies...For now it's good not to have an overhead - considering about 80% of my business comes from online. For the rest of them I have an office @ Starbux . Anybody else?

 

[James Burke]

Jeffrey Bezos started Amazon.com in his garage. Read on and be inspired:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203914304576627102996831200



JB

 

[synergy_jim]

started in my basement. 10 years ago with an sp-300 and a laminator.

 

[Speedsterbeast]

Two and a half years in (full-time) and I'm moving UP into a garage out of my house.
Just built a 1200 sq ft shop with in-floor heating, four large windows and and it's going o be lit up like the sun.
I'll be acid staining the floor and then coating with epoxy and urethane. I should be in by Feb. So excited I can hardly stand it. I'll be sure to post pics when I move in.

 

[phototec]

This company was started 7 years ago in a garage. Hard work, dedication, and quality helped us expand into one of the largest operations in the South. We used to farm out everything but vinyl. But these days, it isn't uncommon for us to fabricate storefront signage for our competitors. Ambition can take you places, though the headaches certainly have a way of increasing as you go.

We just moved into a new facility back in February and doubled our square footage. I'm really proud of our new place! It's a mess in these pics, but these were taken during a "snow day". I don't see how that's an excuse, but I'm using it anyway haha.

Guess I'm done tooting my own horn... For now at least.

Man, that building is enormous, with those high ceilings I'll bet it costs a small fortune to heat that place?

That kind of building is nice, but I sure wouldn't want to pay your property taxes and utilities...

It is a very, very nice building, one of the best I have seen on here!

 

[visual800]

Started in a laundry room on the side of the house and did all work in driveway. Started in 89. All I had was a jigsaw, one shot paints, airbrushes and an overhead projector. I was so damn broke I would wipe off the images on the transparensies so I could reuse them cause they were $1 a peice, no lie. Then one year someone came up with E Z Por Squirt bottles. You put your one shot paint in it and it was awesome. I even built a holder for them out of MDO and carried it around with me in van.

OH and BTW back then MDO would last forever and everything you needed to be built for your shop was made from old signs made from MDO.

 

[Z SIGNS]

Started in a garage in 87.
Still in a garage but it's 4,500 s/f

 

[Sign Up Graphics]

Sign Up Graphics

I am still in a garage and love it.

 

[Bingham Signs]

Started in a garage 1989. Hand lettering only. Then technology ruined my livelihood, so I embraced it. Running a wrap for a race car last night and an error message comes in Flexi production manager.....write port error.......NO SOLUTIONS. I want to go back to my brushes. They didn't tell me that I couldn't use them. By the way...still in a garage and I make it work.

 

[toucan_graphics]

I actually made a full circle garage--->shop--->garage. There is another shop in the future - but there are contingencies...For now it's good not to have an overhead - considering about 80% of my business comes from online. For the rest of them I have an office @ Starbux . Anybody else?

MY office is at Starbucks!
I started in 2005 in my garage, went through a divorce and sold my equipment in 2007. I took a few years off, deployed with my National Guard unit, did freelance design work and work a 2nd shift job. I got back into signs in February of this year. Started/restarted from scratch in a 1bedroom apartment with a cutter and a heat press. I do any kind of cut vinyl you can think of and outsource everything else like shirts, digital printing etc. In the first 6 months I barely made anything. what "profit" I made from a job just got rolled into more supplies for new jobs. Now 10 months into my reboot and I am finally getting a reputation. I've actually started getting calls from referrals. "Joe/Sue/Cindy told me you were the man to talk to. I need....." If things keep going like they have been the past weeks, I should be solvent and profitable very soon. I'm currently at that point where I need to really figure out if I should quit my factory job and focus on the biz full time or if I need to keep my steady paycheck for a while longer.
I will stay home-based until it is no longer financially logical. I have toyed with the idea of renting a shop with an apartment upstairs in one of the downtown buildings, but for now I take the payment at Starbucks, make the signs at the house and deliver/install at the customer location.

 

[James Burke]

MY office is at Starbucks!

Perhaps the coziest place on this thread so far...with great perks, literally.

I'm currently at that point where I need to really figure out if I should quit my factory job and focus on the biz full time or if I need to keep my steady paycheck for a while longer.

Every entrepreneur's dilemma, with no hard/fast answers...

I take the payment at Starbucks, make the signs at the house and deliver/install at the customer location.

Treat your customer to a good cup of coffee, build good will and then and write it off...great idea.

JB

 

[phototec]

I have toyed with the idea of renting a shop with an apartment upstairs in one of the downtown buildings, but for now I take the payment at Starbucks, make the signs at the house and deliver/install at the customer location.

The apartment over the shop is a great idea, best overall solution.


I attended a photography seminar many, many years ago, and the photographer did just that, he purchase an older building cheap converted the downstairs to a studio and converted the upstairs into living quarters (apartment).


That idea always appealed to me, making very good sense, and over the years I have read many stories about different photographers doing the same thing.

 

[LeLuni]

As far as a laminator is concerned... I've heard a lot of great things about the Big Squeegee. I know there is a merchant member here who I believe is the one that developed that product and sells them online. And although I wouldn't trade my laminator for the world, you might look into that as an efficient solution until you're able to pick up a decent laminator.

Thanks, Kyle, I checked out the Big Squeegee online and it really looks like a perfect start-up tool. Awesome.

John

 

[Suz]

Rented a 2-car garage first, which was pretty big. Landlord figured they could get double the rent after I fixed it up, so then I lost it.

A few years later, I built my own 4x4 Shed, cost me about $200.00, built it myself. It's now (30+ years later since I built that!) and when I got married, hubby made it his lawnmower shed and moved it to where we now live. But I do go in sometimes just to remember. Hehe!