Business premises location

[Ty Korrigan]

Hello, 

Looking for sage opinions and advice from the honourable and most venerable citizens of this Parish, especially those who have experienced similar.

 We currently operate from home with a garage attached.

However it would be nice to separate home from work life.

I have just been offered a unit in an industrial park visible from a well trod road that leads to the local tip and sharing clean modern premises with a construction firm to who I have subcontracted to before and they to I.

Our turnover has been relatively stable since 2018, more than enough to live on but not enough to employ a full time climber without taking a salary hit.

(Don't try to equate UK employment costs with France)

The unit is 800 euros per month all in and far larger than my current needs.

A new alarm and surveillance system is included.

My feeling is that having a presence in this area would raise the profile and credibility of the business and so potentially bring in far more work thus more than compensating for the cost of renting a unit.

I can have our business signage displayed promenently on the building visible from the road and put an A board out front.

 Please, share your thoughts and experiences.

      Thank you

         Stuart

 

 

 

[Fellstoflats]

I've absolutely nothing useful to add to this really, but I'm intrigued- did you transfer UK qualifications to France, or train up over there?

[Ty Korrigan]

58 minutes ago, Fellstoflats said:

I've absolutely nothing useful to add to this really, but I'm intrigued- did you transfer UK qualifications to France, or train up over there?

 

In France, no qualifications are required to become a tree climber.

Insurance companies don't ask for anything other than your business registration certificate and even then, they are pretty lax about who can obtain insurance.

The authorities are only now beginning to more strictly regulate the industry.

Regardless of that, France doesn't recognise UK NPTC certificates.

 

 

[Fellstoflats]

Useful to know, thank you!

[green heart]

Stuart, here's my thoughts:

my own (UK experience only) is that any treework/forestry businesses that are unattached to a domestic residence, consistently tend to attract local unwanted night time 'visitors'.. regardless if they are alarmed.

A second visit then follows, within 12 months, and so on. 

This can be surprisingly stressful and time consuming. 

Having a house (or occupied caravan/campervan by the work building) generally reduced those  'visitors' by 80-90+%

Last negative: UK commercial rental contracts are like the Wild West, from a Tennant perspective 😳 

Maybe things are different in France, tho ? 

So, I'd make an uneducated guess, that the welcome extra passing trade and enhanced publicity, from a busy location would outweigh the 'security issues/losses/ hassle ' ?

-why not give it a try, with an 18 month 'get-out early' clause in your contract terms ? 

 

[Mick Dempsey]

800 a month seems like a lot of moolah, for France.

 

Thats a mortgage on a small house.

Edited 6 hours ago by Mick Dempsey

[Ty Korrigan]

5 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

800 a month seems like a lot of moolah, for France.

 

Thats a mortgage on a small house.

It is, outrageous given it's just empty space, not even a loo (can be installed at my cost) but it's the least expensive in town.

I'm also not in rural France but in a satellite town of a major economic hub.

I'm faced with a stalemate situation.

To afford a house of my own I must move out of town.

Move out of town means relocating the business away from the epicenter sweet spot of my clientele.

People call the most local business not one 15kms away where properties become affordable.

Fine if I didn't also have ambitions to employ and replace my truck and could take the inevitable hit in calls.

€800 equates to one days work after paying the subby climber.

It fills me with anxiety to think I might be pissing money away for no good reason whilst also filling me will anxiety that if I don't do it I'll never know if it will indeed work out just fine.

 I must let the agency know tomorrow, meanwhile, devoid of alcohol, I'm going to eat and entire bar of Dairy Milk...

 

 

 

 

 

[Mick Dempsey]

It is of course your decision.
Yes, geographical price differences are significant.

I thought your ‘siege d’entreprise’ Years ago was great when I was up there a decade ago, great road side location.

€500 seems more like it.

 

Maybe try and screw em down a bit perhaps.

 

[green heart]

Then give it a go, with the option to change your mind (without any penalty, either way) in say, 18 months time? 

Anticipate one or more break-ins and don't leave any power tools/valuables there overnight -it looks less secure than a cardboard box.. 

 

I think Mick's right, it does seem a high monthly rental cost -but then I'd imagine renting a couple of old back-street shipping containers might cost €400 a month, anyway ?

We just bought three of them, including an office unit, 'temporarily' rather than rent them.. and that was 2 decades ago; they're still in daily use!