Live in the Small Warehouse too?
Contrary to what a lot of people probably think/do, I am here asking us if it is even a thing anymore for people to rent a small warehouse or something for their business and also live out of it too? This probably used to be more heard of in the decades gone…
Contrary to what a lot of people probably think/do, I am here asking us if it is even a thing anymore for people to rent a small warehouse or something for their business and also live out of it too? This probably used to be more heard of in the decades gone by but since leases and regulations have become more narrowed in and constrictive it may seem that this is more of a rarity these days. If I have a small business that can keep a small amount of inventory for e-commerce sales on hand then do you know if it is even a thing anymore to rent a small warehouse space, maybe 1-2k feet, and also live out of it too. Residential rents are egregiously high these days, why not just rent a working space for your project and live out of it too??? Is this even happening much anymore? Thanks for hints or any alternative ideas.
Collected discussion
Moderator Announcement Read More » Friendly Reminder r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. Ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. Please do not conduct market research on our community. We are not your focus group and asking us about our pain points, needs, what is hardest about X, etc. is not asking about how small business works or for real help with running your small business. These posts are subject to removal and given the community's disgust with the constant spamming of these posts you might just destroy your brand and contaminate your company search results. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed. If you asked about pain points or are directly or indirectly promoting a product please remove your post. Come back to post an honest question or give a knowledgeable response to someone else's question and leave your company name in your own profile. We can tell if you know what you're doing and the community can reach out if they need to. We welcome honest question posts, especially from newcomers. Thank you for your post. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
A lot harder to get away with these days, also loft no longer means dirt cheap like it used to or even necessarily spacious.
What kind of business and how did you set yourself up?
This is how I feel working from home / remote.
Yeah, sticking to a foldout couch and keeping personal items tucked away in banker's boxes will go a long way here.
I feel like you still need an address to send personal mail to at the very least. I mean no one is really checking but maybe you get a nosy neighbor who reports you and it’s all over
I did this for 6 months when I was younger before. I had a garage bay with a small office and a full bath/shower. Used a mattress I would pull into the office at nights. The biggest downside is your brain won’t separate work/sleep/relaxation. I felt like I was living at work 24/7, which fucking sucked. I saved a ton of money and obviously had easier access to work more on my business, so it was good for the business at the time.
That history started 60 years ago and ended in the 90’s. Lofts are now a luxury line item in real estate listings.
I think most places / landlords / local regulations don't like that. Otherwise, go for it.
This is historically what artists have done with old warehouse lofts.
Will all depend on your lease but I think you will find most commercial warehouse leases won't allow you to live there. You may have better luck finding a small complex owned by an individual rather than a large warehouse condo complex owned by a big corporation. Either that or risk a contract breach and try to stay under the radar
Zoning and building leases may prohibit it. Certainly most industrial parks would not allow it. A freestanding building is more likely to work. Depending on location.
Your lease would almost certainly not allow it. However, there's usually nothing against you 'working late' every night. Mainly it will come down to how obvious it is you're living there - if you keep yourself under the radar, and don't do stupid stuff like cook on open flame with no ventilation, right next to the oily rags etc, then who is even to know? Obviously is someone comes for an inspection and you've set yourself up a proper bedroom and living area, you might find yourself being turfed out pretty quickly.
Don’t plan on taking any ladies home, I presume?
If you just need to have a small amount of inventory you don't need a warehouse. Why choose to live without a shower and a kitchen? Majority of places won't allow this. You can't hide it. Your car will be there overnight. Neighbors and police may notify owner. Owner probably restricts it due to insurance, local laws, liability, even property tax status of property could be an issue.
I did this from 2018-2021 (was planning on less time but the pandemic stretched things out a bit). Concrete walls, no windows, minimal climate control except in the office/bedroom all drove me crazy over time. Every dude friend thought it was so cool, every female friend thought I was insane. Stacked cash for a down payment on a house and never looked back. It was a major sacrifice but I’d do it again to end up where I am now.
Yes...was my goal from birth lol. I own the building though. No warehouse though, I have a mixed use building.
A friend of mine did this for years. They built a small apartment in the corner of the warehouse and he lived there until he got married. They had a couple of run ins with the local govt because its zones commercial. The fire inspector was their biggest pain. But they explained it was for their drivers to stay when they had a short turnaround but were out of hours.
Zoning and building leases may prohibit it. Certainly most industrial parks would not allow it. A freestanding building is more likely to work. Depending on location.
If you owned it sure, if its a lease might be a bit harder to get set up. Also yes there are definitely people who still do this. The cons? Do you really have your own space? Likely living in an industrial area, can you separate personal/business. Theres people out here sleeping in uhaul/storage units, plywood boxes, under viaducts, its definitely a thing.
Technically the city of Chicago wouldn't allow someone to live in my industrial building. And, the lack of a full bathroom would make it either gross or difficult. But, I won't lie, I often think about how I could manage living there if I absolutely had to. I would just get a gym membership so I would have access to a shower.
People are commenting that it’s about your lease. It’s not. A commercial lease, especially for a warehouse will never have provisions for living but that’s not the point. You do it out of necessity, in the back and hope nobody makes a fuss. Living in the warehouse provides you with a free place to stay and where you can work 16 hour days without anybody questioning you. It’s also a good option when your wife or girlfriend kicks you out.
I own a brick and mortar that's right next to a gym with nice showers - I thought about it when I opened, would have saved me a ton of money. Honestly I was just too interested in girls, and knew that no one would want to come home with me to my jobhome. If that's not an issue for you and there's a way to keep yourself clean + cook...why not?
I did that for 3 years in my 20s, and it sucked. Main problem was lack of showers. IIRC a lot of jurisdictions prohibit showers and kitchens in industrial zones, but maybe you can have one anyways.
People do it at self storage facilities…