Stimulus spending

We achieved another milestone for our business last month. For years, Garry and I have talked about opening a showroom for Artiwood and leasing a space with room for growth. With four staff now working for us, and a fifth hire on the cards, the time was right to invest in new facilities.

We began looking for suitable office space around our area in June. Much to our surprise, we stumbled upon a commercial space in the building next door to our apartment. We’ve lived in Moore Park Garden for more than 15 years. We never knew this space existed. While the space is a little smaller than we wanted, the convenience of a three-minute walk through the carpark downstair to the office was simply too good an opportunity to pass up. It’s also on the main route between the central city and the airport, making it easy for interstate visitors to drop by if they’re in town on other business.

Since June, we’ve been securing approval from the landlord and body corporate for a new fit-out, and sourcing quotes from builders. Construction finally kicked off in late August. The builder spent several days demolishing the existing interior, followed by two weeks of building and fit-out. Garry went to town with his own toolbox. He resurfaced the workbenches, laid a new floor in the kitchen and installed IKEA shelving throughout the new showroom room zone. We finally moved into the space in mid-September.

The result is impressive. The business finally feels like it’s come of age. We finally have a meeting room (complete with magnetic glass whiteboard – my little indulgence), an open-plan office space with desks for five staff, a stylish showroom, extended workbenches for parcel dispatching and storage space for spare parts and company archives. The company is now less reliant on trade shows, and customers and prospects can view our products year-round.

Even better, the fit-out cost us almost nothing. The Federal Government recently gave small businesses stimulus grants to help them weather the pandemic. We decided to put these unexpected funds towards our showroom investment. It would be fair to say that we’re pleased with the final result. It’s been money well spent.