Shipping Container Bike Shop

There is a common problem that I have observed over the course of the pandemic as a mountain biker here in Utah; there is a huge shortage of bike repair shops. Also as a mountain biker, I can say that we break stuff... A lot. And when we break stuff, we need a place to go get that fixed, but for the last few years if you want to get anything fixed, you will likely have at least a couple weeks wait, depending on how easy it is to fix the part you broke. On top of this, bikes are somewhat complicated, so it takes a good bit of experience working with bikes to be able to successfully repair one and not have it break again in the future. To make this problem worse, there was a surplus of amateur bikers buying and breaking bikes, which made the shortage of bike shops in the area even worse.

Supplies

The tools that I needed to make a scale model was some cardboard, 1/4 in. graphing paper, foam board, spray on adhesive, and wood glue.

Step 1: Brainstorm/design

I started out the project by first brainstorming what problem I wanted to solve. I landed on the idea of a bike shop because I already have a decent background in fixing bikes, and it seemed like it would be realistic to get it started with $10,000. I then sketched up a side view of what the shop would look like at using a 1/4 inch scale, along with a floor plan of the upper level and the lower level at 1/2 inch scale.

Step 2: Making a 3D Model

Now that I had the general design drawn out, I could make a 3D model. I took the template given in the challenge, and stacked two of them on top of each other. I then added some small details, such as windows, doors, a deck, supports, and a desk, and my 3D model was done.

Step 3: Building a Scale Model

After I had the floor plans sketched out and the 3D model complete, I cut the plans out and glued them to pieces of cardboard. I then took pieces of foam board and, using wood glue, stacked the pieces to be 10 inches long by 4 inches wide by 4.75 inches tall. I then added details like windows, doors, and a front desk. I then cut out a cardboard sheet that was 15 inches long by 4 inches wide. This would make up the balcony and the upper floor. I then replicated what I did on the bottom floor, stacking foam board pieces to be 10 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 4.75 inches tall. I then made the balcony a fence. The balcony ended up being 5 inches long by 4 inches wide. Then I cut out the doors, an opening for the stairs, and the widows. The next thing that I did was add the supports to the front and back of the upper floor. These supports were roughly 4.75 inches tall. The last thing that I did was cut out a roof, and that was also 10 inches long by 4 inches wide.

Step 4: Rough Cost Breakdown

I stated earlier that a big reason why I chose a bike shop was because it was a pretty realistic thing to make with $10,000. I broke down all of the costs to show that. For two shipping containers, it would cost approximately $4,000, leaving us with $6,000 available for the rest of the project. Accounting for a parking lot, I figured that a purchase of 2,800 sq feet of land would suffice. Considering that an acre of land in Utah costs roughly $4,000, and that I would only need to buy 1/16 of an acre, I would only need to spend about $250 on land. That leaves me with $5,750. I have a pretty decent background in construction, since that is my current field of work, so I would do most of the labor myself. After evaluating materials cost, I think that it is safe to say that $4,000 will cover the absolute minimum for the essentials. Again, over time, as I racked up more profit, I would be able to upgrade the shop. With the remaining $1,850, I would buy bike parts to get the business running, and I would also buy some other small things like advertising and exterior decoration. Over time I would add more things, like selling full bikes, more advanced repairs, miscellaneous biking gear, and furniture, but $10,000 should be enough to at least get things running. If I need too, I could also run a temporary bike repair shop from my garage to rack up extra funds if necessary. To cut costs on heating and cooling, the exterior would be painted with light, reflective colors, and there would be lots of trees surrounding the building.