one of the many advantages we get from mail in voting and same day registrationPENSACOLA, Fla. -- New numbers reveal just how many small businesses are struggling under economic pressure.
The networking platform Alignable surveyed more than 4,100 small businesses across the country. In April, 43% of them could not pay their rent in full or on time.
US Small-Business Rent Delinquencies Rise to a Three-Year High
US Small-Business Rent Delinquencies Rise to a Three-Year High
(Bloomberg) — The delinquency rate for US small businesses climbed to a three-year high this month, reflecting the impact ofdnyuz.com
2022 Rent Crisis Breaks Troubling Records
2022 Rent Crisis Breaks Troubling Records
Alignable's Q2 Rent Report shows crisis escalating for small businesses to levels not seen so far in 2022. Minorities, women, veterans, & others feel the pinchwww.alignable.com
US Small-Business Rent Delinquencies Rise to a Three-Year High
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Threat of Closing this year...
- Thread starter amcswain
- Start date
Johnny Best
Active Member
Well you made money at one time to buy expensive equipment, when you start to make money again, save it or buy real estate for a warehouse for the future when things go slow again,
John Miller
New Member
You have two latex printers and a flatbed but not enough business to support them. Why do you have so much equipment? Did you once keep them busy? If so, how did you lose those clients? What am I missing?
Being a small business sucks in most markets... If you're in a "Major" or Semi Major city, rent is crazy.
To get a 1000 SQFT Place right now... It'd cost me $3500 a month for a business... Thats just for rent, doesnt include utilities or anything else. And there is no guarantee in the next 5 years the landlord doesnt double it. Our building is huge... we were paying 25K Per month rent for the past 10 years, expensive but manageable... Then the rent jumped to 50K Right after Covid. Can you imagine all of a sudden having an additional 300k per year rent expense ontop of everything else?
I was tired of having all the equipment for my "shop" in my house, so I was going to rent a place... I was thinking it'd cost 1K, maybe 1.5K a month... but after everything is said and done, it'd be close to 5K Cost to rent a 1-2k square foot place, thatd have the equivlant space of my place now... it's cheaper for me to mortgage a second house and just store it in my house!
So I do believe it when they say 50% of business's are struggling to even pay rent - Those numbers are skewed too, I'm sure in the higher Cost of living places the numbers way, way higher... some places havent had to deal with the insane rent increase yet. I don't see how anyone can start their own business from scratch right now... You'd be in the 50-75K Per year just in getting a place... Then you have equipment purchases... even if you're a 1 man shop, you'd need to pay yourself...so lets say another 50K per year. 125K Per year just to start up with zero equipment.... I know a lot of shops that dont even clear 10k per month in sales, let alone in profit.
Same can be said for business's that are struggling - If you lost some big clients, or a lot of customers arent buying anymore due to the cost of things... It's not as easy as getting out and pounding pavement anymore. All the small shops that are still around, whether theyre established or not... are Lucky, and have good business practices. We're going to see a lot more small business's, whether its restaurants, sign shops, or just someones dream business shut down in the next few years.
To get a 1000 SQFT Place right now... It'd cost me $3500 a month for a business... Thats just for rent, doesnt include utilities or anything else. And there is no guarantee in the next 5 years the landlord doesnt double it. Our building is huge... we were paying 25K Per month rent for the past 10 years, expensive but manageable... Then the rent jumped to 50K Right after Covid. Can you imagine all of a sudden having an additional 300k per year rent expense ontop of everything else?
I was tired of having all the equipment for my "shop" in my house, so I was going to rent a place... I was thinking it'd cost 1K, maybe 1.5K a month... but after everything is said and done, it'd be close to 5K Cost to rent a 1-2k square foot place, thatd have the equivlant space of my place now... it's cheaper for me to mortgage a second house and just store it in my house!
So I do believe it when they say 50% of business's are struggling to even pay rent - Those numbers are skewed too, I'm sure in the higher Cost of living places the numbers way, way higher... some places havent had to deal with the insane rent increase yet. I don't see how anyone can start their own business from scratch right now... You'd be in the 50-75K Per year just in getting a place... Then you have equipment purchases... even if you're a 1 man shop, you'd need to pay yourself...so lets say another 50K per year. 125K Per year just to start up with zero equipment.... I know a lot of shops that dont even clear 10k per month in sales, let alone in profit.
Same can be said for business's that are struggling - If you lost some big clients, or a lot of customers arent buying anymore due to the cost of things... It's not as easy as getting out and pounding pavement anymore. All the small shops that are still around, whether theyre established or not... are Lucky, and have good business practices. We're going to see a lot more small business's, whether its restaurants, sign shops, or just someones dream business shut down in the next few years.
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Use that money and just get a larger house... You'll come out ahead.
I've seen hundreds of commercial leases, they are usually 5-10 year and give the option for the tenant to guarantee renewal for another 5-10 at a set rate. (Usually only about 10-20% higher..nothing astronomical ) If you just have a 5 year lease with no renewal terms you need to negotiate better.
It's different in Canada. 5 years is the standard term, some people go for 10, but 5 is most common - real estate is so hot right now, no one will give you a lease with guaranteed rates for 10 years, or 5 years with a renewal at xx percent. They'd rather you leave in 5 years so they can double the rent.
You guys have full 25/30 year set mortgages too - over here thats pretty much unheard of. Every 5 years we have to renew at the current rates.
I bought my place at 2% interest.. now I'm at 5+. Last year I was paying $950 a month for my mortgage.... It renewed a year and a half ago, and I'm now paying $1800 a month, ish... And that's with my piddly 200k mortgage (I live.in a 2.5k sqft townhouse... I paid 380k, and mortgaged 200) lots of people are having to sell because they're way over leveraged with what then current interest is. Plus.... 3 of my neighbors just sold their townhouse, same layout.... For 1.1 million.... It's crazy. In 6 years my property is worth double...
Everyday there's a list of a dozen restaurants or smaller shops that are having to close because their rent has doubled... Then a timmies or Starbucks or McDonald's gets put in. All the unique businesses are going away, and the chains are coming in, it sucks.
But yes... I plan on buying a property with a big chunk of land and building my own workshop on it. To get a property here with even a small chunk of land for a workshop is in the 2-2.5 million range though, so even then it's pretty expensive. I can sell my townhome for 1.1 million, and have a 850k down payment... But I can't take on a 1-1.5 million mortgage right now. So all my money goes towards paying off this mortgage and saving up enough to drop down the mortgage to a more manageable amount.
It is what it is, I'm lucky to have a decent job, and enough space in my current place for a side business... I get by with enough to save for a "better future". I just don't see how anyone can start a business in this day and age from scratch unless its out of their garage, or if they have a huge nest egg saved up and are willing to risk it in hopes the business takes
off.
You guys have full 25/30 year set mortgages too - over here thats pretty much unheard of. Every 5 years we have to renew at the current rates.
I bought my place at 2% interest.. now I'm at 5+. Last year I was paying $950 a month for my mortgage.... It renewed a year and a half ago, and I'm now paying $1800 a month, ish... And that's with my piddly 200k mortgage (I live.in a 2.5k sqft townhouse... I paid 380k, and mortgaged 200) lots of people are having to sell because they're way over leveraged with what then current interest is. Plus.... 3 of my neighbors just sold their townhouse, same layout.... For 1.1 million.... It's crazy. In 6 years my property is worth double...
Everyday there's a list of a dozen restaurants or smaller shops that are having to close because their rent has doubled... Then a timmies or Starbucks or McDonald's gets put in. All the unique businesses are going away, and the chains are coming in, it sucks.
But yes... I plan on buying a property with a big chunk of land and building my own workshop on it. To get a property here with even a small chunk of land for a workshop is in the 2-2.5 million range though, so even then it's pretty expensive. I can sell my townhome for 1.1 million, and have a 850k down payment... But I can't take on a 1-1.5 million mortgage right now. So all my money goes towards paying off this mortgage and saving up enough to drop down the mortgage to a more manageable amount.
It is what it is, I'm lucky to have a decent job, and enough space in my current place for a side business... I get by with enough to save for a "better future". I just don't see how anyone can start a business in this day and age from scratch unless its out of their garage, or if they have a huge nest egg saved up and are willing to risk it in hopes the business takes
off.
Goatshaver
Shaving goats and eating bushes
Yeah I think websites are just more of a contact point and to showcase offerings unless you're coming up at the top of searches for printing, less likely to generate traffic naturally.
I'd say also making a google business profile may help to if people are searching for printing in your area.
Talk to the local chamber of commerce, look up trade shows and get a list of vendors at them, reach out to them with samples of marketing items they could display or give out at a trade show.
My problem is I'm not a sales/marketing kinda guy. I love doing the production but the business side is what I'm not great at, and that's what I'm going to focus getting better at.
someone in this thread i think, made the comment that if you don't have a website you don't seem like a legitimate business
kind of like not having a "business phone" (land line) and a yellow pages ad in the old days)
i will consider that there may be some truth to that, although it's hard for me to wrap my head around...
kind of like not having a "business phone" (land line) and a yellow pages ad in the old days)
i will consider that there may be some truth to that, although it's hard for me to wrap my head around...
when i was a computer consultant (still am) we had an office in an office park (comcast office was right next to our door)
the president of the condo association asked me why i didn't have a sign up.
my feeling was EVERYONE who we did business with knew who and where we were. i had the luxury of not having or wanting walkins
i am still of the opinion that WHILE IT IS POSSIBLE that a really great client may just walk in the door, IT IS MORE LIKELY a pain in the ass will be the only one coming in
word of mouth from existing GOOD CLIENTS is the best you can hope for
the president of the condo association asked me why i didn't have a sign up.
my feeling was EVERYONE who we did business with knew who and where we were. i had the luxury of not having or wanting walkins
i am still of the opinion that WHILE IT IS POSSIBLE that a really great client may just walk in the door, IT IS MORE LIKELY a pain in the ass will be the only one coming in
word of mouth from existing GOOD CLIENTS is the best you can hope for
Ron at Forest Litho
New Member
Wrong. I have gotten local business come in from searches on social media which is backed up by the fact that I have a basic free webpage that one can put on Linked in or Facebook, etc as your website. And then people can click on it and go to it, so it makes them feel that you are actually in business and then they call you!
victor bogdanov
Active Member
The warehouse complex I'm in lost about 5 tenants this year, used to be 20 out of 20 occupied now about 15 / 20 units occupied.
I see more and more for lease signs popping up in similar warehouses, 1.5k-5kl sq ft
I see more and more for lease signs popping up in similar warehouses, 1.5k-5kl sq ft
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Don't you have expensive and cheap parts of town? We have business parks that are one step up from a storage unit.. there might be 100 small business in them. Some are in nice parts of town and some are in industrial areas next to where the hookers hang out and the rent varies. If your in a major city, I couldn't imagine you don't have a cheaper working class area or industrial part of town. Look for window tinting companies, or lawn care / pool services shops... That's where they have their store in those small business parks.
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
I have to search out sign companies all the time to sub work out. If they don't have a website it's a negative in my book. The OP is asking about getting business, a website doesn't cost much and don't hurt having one.
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
Sounds like the trees are shaking out the people that spent money they didn't have in order to keep up with a volume of business that wasn't gonna last. Never saw that happen before 
i am sure you are right.
BUT
i still think a FREE website is next to useless
without SOA he will be on the 11th page of the search
I just got a free membership for a year. I'm just waiting for them to send the details
Thanks! I'm open to that. We mostly sell banners, foamboards and digital products like flyers and business cards.
I like that idea. No I don't have a work truck. We don't install. Just printing services.