Let’s get something straight right out of the chute: there are more uses for shipping containers than to ship goods across the oceans. In fact, we are going to, most likely, blow your mind with the number of reasons why shipping containers are perfect for your small business.
Prepare to have your mind blown!
Think back to the last time you were at a construction job, or possibly passed by one while driving somewhere else. Do you remember seeing a shipping container on the work site being used as a portable office? They are usually there, and the reason they are there is because they are portable and inexpensive. Well, things have progressed a serious distance regarding shipping containers; there has been, in fact, a shipping container revolution in the building business, and this article will explain why that revolution is here to stay and why you should pay attention if you are a small business owner.
Let’s begin with cost, since everyone in business always says money is the bottom line to consider for any business transaction.
Shipping containers are considerable less expensive to build with than traditional lumber construction, and the reason why they are less expensive is because no lumber is needed if you use a pre-owned container. Think about it: shipping containers, and there are literally millions of them not being used, are already constructed. All they need is some retrofitting i.e. paneling, floors, recessed ceiling, insulation, and they are ready to go. A small office built the traditional way uses something like 14,000 board feet of lumber just for the framing. A shipping container uses none of that.
Savings! Cha-ching!
Now let’s talk flexibility. A retrofitted and refurbished shipping container can be an office lease space. It can be a small warehouse, a garage, a work shop, a makerspace, a flex space, or a retail space. They are perfect for small businesses, 320 square feet of space which can be anything your small business needs it to be and, now listen now because this is really cool, if your business outgrows the first container, it is a very simple process to add another on. It literally takes a couple of weeks to attach another container as opposed to months of traditional wood-frame construction.
Savings and flexibility! Double cha-ching!
Shipping containers are eco-friendly. Refer back to an earlier statement about saving lumber for framing. 14,000 board feet of lumber . . . how many trees is that?
And my personal favorite reason, which we already referred to . . . a shipping container office or warehouse only takes a matter of weeks to make ready, weeks rather than months, meaning you are never far from being operational, and time, my friends, is money in the business game.
Triple Cha-ching!
So there you have it: inexpensive, flexible, eco-friendly, and convenient.
Does this seem like science fiction? Check out Box Office Warehouse Suites online, the first and only business park in Fort Worth, Texas, thirty-eight suites for rent made entirely from shipping containers.
Go on, take a look at it.
Nope, that’s not science fiction!
