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I'm thinking about starting a share shed in Sydney's inner west
I have a building in my backyard that I have long wanted to turn into a shed. The dimensions are 6.5 x 11 metres.
It’s time – or it will be at the end of this year. I’ll be easing into part time work at the end of the year so I can spend more time at home. I already have two smaller sheds (3 x 5 each) but I out grew them long ago.
So why a ‘share shed’? My wife has a ceramics studio next door to this building and she has created a community there. I want to do the same. Communities are important when people move into retirement.
Right now, I’m doing research and getting a few ducks in a row.
The shed will have mid range machines, enough hand tools, a decent DC system and benches to accommodate 4 users at any one time. I will be seeking advice down the track on machines, DC etc.
Right now, it’s the business model I am ruminating on because that will impact on what goes into the shed and how I arrange it.
That building is currently on Airbnb as accomodation (see photos) and brings in around $15K per year in rent, so I need the shed to bring in some revenue to justify the exercise.
I would welcome your thoughts.
- From what I can see, there are five people in Sydney who run proper courses on woodwork. Three of them are in my suburb – Marrickville – and I know two of them. Courses are where the money is and they run a succession of courses with increasing levels of difficulty. When people finish the suite of courses, there is an option for them to attend and work on their own projects, but space/time would be limited. I suspect there are people who finish all the courses and find it is not possible for them to keep dropping in and making stuff. What do you think people who know what they are doing would pay per half day (4 hours) and per full day to have access to a decent shed? Or would a per week cost be better and people can book in when they want to attend?
- Then there are the local occasional users who have a project and no space, no tools and little knowledge. There are increasing numbers of people moving into apartments who are not able to do any DIY stuff. These people would require more attention, but that’s okay. I wonder what they would pay?
- Down the track, I might do classes for young teens and perhaps parent and child – that was suggested to me by a local mum. A lifetime ago I taught high school, so I could do this well.
- There are other user groups I have thought of, but that’s enough for now. For casual users, there will be a booking system (my wife uses that for her studio) to limit the number of people at any one time to 4.
It's all pretty fluid at the moment and there would be much I have not thought about. And yes, there will be problems and disappointments. I would welcome your collective thoughts.