Use my garage to make money ?

kinobestew123 said:
Restoration yard. Try and source as much old stuff as you can, cast iron radiators, railway sleepers, metal signs, etc as cheap as you can and then sell.

You will have random weirdo's turning up though unfortunately.

All my other ideas are based around cars. Brake caliper refurbishing or a second hand parts supplier that specialises in one particular make or even specific car. I.e. Ford Fiesta specialist or whatever. Have the garage shelved with all the parts all cleaned, photographed and listed and easy to ship out quickly.
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Some good suggestions there, there seems to be decent money in breaking cars.

To be honest, many of these suggestions including my own seem more like a full time business than a semi retired cottage industry set up. I wouldn't consider earning a few hundred pounds a week a cottage industry, unless you have a specific skill set or fine a niche market.

The suggestion about learning to weld and metal working is good, you could earn quite a bit if you're half decent from making gates and the like to sculptures. You could also try turning your hand to those wooden sculptures that are dotted around the place, get a tree stump and a chainsaw and away you go ;).
 
Turn it into a small bakery, spend the summer months traveling selling at farmer markets and the english equivalent of the royal highland show. Then spend winter doing test bakes.
This would obvious work better when retired.
 
Over the next five years collect in fashion household items, as they go out of fashion. Fill the garage. Repair restore if needed, this will help to develop the skills.

Then open a film props business. Supply to local uni, collage, small production companies.

I came up with this idea as a friend has been making films (art director) and has had nothing but problems trying to source small inexpensive items to date a scene. Having to spend a lot of his time dealing with eBay et al to get enough props for the short amount of time they are needed.

The down side is overheads ie storing the stuff. You already have the space.
 
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I started my online retail business out of my garage two and a half years ago with £3k worth of stock. I used to work the business around my 9-5:30 day job which meant long hours. I have only been working on things full time since last year.

Within that time we have grown amazingly and are currently on our 3rd warehouse and looking to expand to our 4th early next year.

I've never been worried about making money or days off. I just have a real passion for what I do.

I've always dreamed of building my own business up and have never really let anything stand in the way of that, no matter how many people tell me to put ideas to bed or the amount of times my efforts have failed.

Every month we turnover more than the value of my house and make enough profit within that time that I could live a lifestyle that 99% of people could only dream off. I would never do that though. Because that's not what I dream of. Making a success of a busiess and having faith in my ability is why I dream of, and that's more important to me than any money.

In essence my point here is that busiess are rarely the product of someone wanting to spend a few hours a week, making a few £100. They're about having a vision, working had and never losing sight of what you really want.

There load of things you can do if you have a few hours a week spare to earn a few £100, usually they're called part-time jobs.
 
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It's usually better to start with a business concept rather than a space.

The point someone made about rates is valid. If you are perceived as running a business from a home, you can also find that part of the proceeds of a sale can then be subject to capital gains rather than exempt.
 
Spamalot said:
I started my online retail business out of my garage two and a half years ago with £3k worth of stock. I used to work the business around my 9-5:30 day job which meant long hours. I have only been working on things full time since last year.

Within that time we have grown amazingly and are currently on our 3rd warehouse and looking to expand to our 4th early next year.

I've never been worried about making money or days off. I just have a real passion for what I do.

I've always dreamed of building my own business up and have never really let anything stand in the way of that, no matter how many people tell me to put ideas to bed or the amount of times my efforts have failed.

Every month we turnover more than the value of my house and make enough profit within that time that I could live a lifestyle that 99% of people could only dream off. I would never do that though. Because that's not what I dream of. Making a success of a busiess and having faith in my ability is why I dream of, and that's more important to me than any money.

In essence my point here is that busiess are rarely the product of someone wanting to spend a few hours a week, making a few £100. They're about having a vision, working had and never losing sight of what you really want.

There load of things you can do if you have a few hours a week spare to earn a few £100, usually they're called part-time jobs.
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Out of interest what's your business?
 
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