Leasing Small Warehouse Spaces vs. Working Out of Your Garage

• Signs You’re Outgrowing Your Garage Setup
• 5 Benefits of Moving to Small Warehouse
• More Storage
• Organization
• Scale Your Business
• Business-Enhancing Amenities
• Learn and Network
• Leasing Warehouse Space Worth It?
• Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re ready to drive your business forward and your garage workspace is no longer cutting it, now could be the time to lease a small warehouse to optimize efficiency and growth.

Signs You’re Outgrowing Your Garage Setup

As your operations have grown, you’re probably well acquainted with the drawbacks that come with operating out of a small space. It may be time to move your business out of the garage if you:

• Have run out of space for storage, production or fulfillment.
• Find staying organized increasingly difficult.
• Have missed out on sales and other opportunities.
• Need to refine your professional image.
• Are ready to expand via new products or markets.
• Want a better work-life balance.

If these problems sound all too familiar, it’s time to explore other options. Fortunately, you don’t have to make the financial leap from garage to giant industrial warehouse or expensive office space.

5 Benefits of Moving to a Small Warehouse

Leasing a small warehouse space is a simple, economical option for transitioning your business away from home and into a more efficient environment. Here are the top five advantages of making the change.

1. More Work, Storage and Fulfillment Space

One of the biggest cons of working out of a garage is the lack of space. Most are only a few hundred square feet, which adds up quickly when you factor in:

• Storage for supplies and inventory.
• Work stations for assembly.
• Fulfillment areas to package and ship.
• Office equipment for managing the backend of operations.
• Specific tools, accessories or equipment for production and inventory staging.

Even the most streamlined setups will reach maximum capacity at some point, and you don’t want a lack of square footage to be the reason you turn away clientele. 

2. A Better Organizational System

Operating out of a garage forces you to complete every part of your operations from the same two or three work surfaces. Before you know it, inventory tags have ended up in the same bin as shipping labels, and the boxes you set aside for fulfillment have become temporary supply storage. 

Upgrading to a small warehouse automatically gives you a few extra hundred feet to work with or more. You’ll have all the room you need to install shelves, furnish individual work stations, and designate specific areas for each stage of your operations.

This might even translate to more satisfied customers — processing and fulfilling an order is easier when everything is in its place.

3. The Ability to Scale Your Business

Unlike shared offices or storage sheds, a warehouse can easily grow with you. For example, RISE Commercial District has a range of warehouse sizes available to lease, each with drive-up access for easy transfer to your new space. And because you lease your warehouse, you don’t have to take out any loans to expand your garage or invest in a physical storefront.

4. Access to Business-Enhancing Amenities

Warehouses offer far more than storage space — the best ones come with amenities designed to help your business thrive. RISE Commercial District warehouses are climate-controlled and include:

• Fully fenced and gated property with keypad entry and video monitoring for optimal security.
• 24/hour access so you can create your own schedule to meet tight turnaround times.
• Shared dumpsters for convenient, eco-conscious waste disposal.
• Utilities built into your lease, including electric, water and trash.
• Forklift access for moving bulky orders and simplifying logistics.
• Free business Wi-Fi so you can handle all aspects of business from the same space.
• Shared conference rooms, restrooms and kitchen areas to make those long hours more comfortable.

5. Opportunities to Learn and Network

Businesses from all industries operate out of RISE Commercial District warehouses. Shared communal spaces are the perfect place to network with other entrepreneurs and keep a pulse on the market. 

You’ll have the chance to connect with like-minded professionals who truly understand what it means to own and run your own business and exchange ideas that can propel your operations.

RISE Commercial District also offers educational opportunities to give you hands-on training in finance, marketing, human resources management and beyond so that you have all the tools you need to succeed.

Is Leasing Warehouse Space Really Worth It?

Still not sure if moving from a garage to a warehouse is worth it for your business? Consider the following:

• Cost: If cost is holding you back from expanding, creating a list of your current operational expenses, including the cost of any lost sales or professional opportunities that come with not having a functional, professional space, may be helpful. Estimate how much you could grow profits or sales if you had more square footage to increase your output and quicken fulfillment times. You might find that upgrading to a warehouse has the potential to pay for itself and then some.
• Flexibility: As the adage goes, you’ll never know until you try. Choosing a warehouse with flexible lease options is the perfect way to do that. RISE commercial District offers a variety of options. If you’re undecided but eager to learn, set a timeline for yourself. For example, at the end of a 12-month lease, review your input and output along with your profit and expenses. 
• Goals: Adding new inventory, expanding into new physical or e-commerce markets, or creating innovative products all require space that you may no longer have. If your business goals are bigger than a garage can handle, leasing a warehouse could be the way to get there.

Frequently Asked Questions About Choosing a Warehouse vs. Garage for Business

Check out these FAQs to learn more about operating out of a warehouse.

How Does Leasing a Warehouse Work?

The first step is determining what size warehouse you need. At RISE Commercial District, we’ve made that easy with our commercial space quiz. Just answer a few questions about your business needs, and in just a couple of minutes, you’ll learn which options are best suited for your goals. We’ll even give you a tour of our facilities so you can visualize yourself in the space.

Once you know what kind of warehouse you need, you’ll work with a member of our team to find the flexible lease arrangement that works for your situation. 

How Will Transitioning to a Warehouse Impact Workflow?

Having a thorough transition plan in advance can minimize or eliminate downtime when you make the move. Here are a few tips:

1. Set a goal date for when you will be fully operational out of the new warehouse space, then create a timeline of smaller milestones between now and then. 
2. If you work with others, communicate expectations clearly and designate who is responsible for which tasks and when.
3. Hire professional movers to make the process faster.
4. Transition in phases, starting with relocating inventory and supplies that aren’t essential for day-to-day tasks.
5. Reorganize and declutter as you pack so you can start operations as soon as you’ve relocated.
6. Back up all of your files and business accounts to cloud storage for seamless reconnection.
7. Choose a warehouse with features that simplify loading and unloading, like forklift and drive-up access.

How Does a Warehouse Compare to Alternative Options?

Coworking spaces and shared offices lack the same floor space that warehouses provide, and you can’t leave items or establish permanent workstations in a shared area. You also can’t choose who has access to the space at any given moment. Warehouses provide the perfect balance of privacy and security with flexibility and scalability. You have complete control over how you conduct your business and handle your inventory, and you’re not limited to someone else’s hours. 

Schedule a Tour of Your New Warehouse Today

With warehouses across Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota, RISE Commercial District is your solution to a growing business. Schedule a tour today or watch a virtual walk-through to get started.