Yep.
In theory I fix mowers on site ie MOBILE so it is not a workshop, it is a depot.
In practice I only ever do minor repairs on site and bring most back to the shop where all the good tools are.
The insurance company was fine just so long as I had sufficient camera coverage,
Two shots on the front & back gates and two angles again on each door.
They gave me $ 100,000 property thieft coverage. It is registered as a home business.
It will just depend upon how you want to run the business.
I pick up and deliver and from being on here you will have seen here, a lot of folk have big mowers but small or no trailer.
The shop up the road charges $ 50 to pick up, I do it for free.
The brand name big boxes charge $ 90 each way.
Remember we are talking Aust monopoly money so you can halve that for USA $.
Thus there are not many people coming & going, it does not look like a shop , no external signage, no people parking out front.
As a "home" business I do not need council approval to opperate so no OH&S visits, no EPA inspections.
However if you are planning on being an employer then things will need to be different as the premisis will need a license
Before you get too far pop down to your local government information centre and get all of the hand out fact sheets on opening & running a small or home business.
Over here it is all laid out, black & white.
The department of Labour & Industry has a flyer showing everything I have to provide employees right down to toilets to employee ratio, washing / changing / eating fcilities etc.
If you want to kick off as a one man op then you should be able to get by renting a disused barn.
Drive around the area and look inside the doors, most likely you will see a lot of SMALL shops in there.
I mow about 5 acres of road verge that the council formerly had to do, so that keeps me in the councils good books.
If it were me I would give it a year or two before I ended up with all the liabilities being an employer imposes on me.
Thus if it looks like it is not going to work you are not too far out of pocket.
Local authorities are funny things.
The landlord used to be a vet and has a clinic in the near by town.
She close it down & the local real estate agent wanted to rent the office , reception & parking space.
However the council would not allow the estate agent to occupy the space till it had been deregistered and a vet clinic which would cost several thousand as there had to be a full bio-hazzard audit done on the building & unsealed ( lawn & garden ) areas.
The same council was happy for coffe shop to open in what used to be the mechanical workshop of a petrol station
