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The money waster:
Last week, two business owners inquired about our services.
They're on a tight budget and need to find a building designer for cheap.
What an interesting way to start a phone conversation…
So, can you spend less on the building designer (legitimately)? Well, possibly, by avoiding the situations that wasted money.
Let's start by finding out what happened.
Beauty Salon working from Home:
Grace (name withheld), owns a home in the City of Brimbank. She wants to serve individual clients providing ‘beauty salon’ services from home.
One building designer quoted Grace... and Grace was frustrated with the amount, thinking ‘is it even possible to do a business legitimately at a reasonable cost?’
And so, Grace’s friend referred her to us…
The building designer's quote was to apply to Council for a "beauty salon" at her home. That is a complex and costly permit, with high risk of failure.
We contacted Council and submitted with the use as "home based business". Grace saved thousands on consultant fees and months of waiting.
Storing Food in a Factory:
Another client, Angela (real name withheld), owns a factory in the City of Whitehorse, wants to store frozen foods in her factory.
Angela's building designer submitted documents to Council a few months ago, but the permit is on hold and no one knows what to do next. Angela was stuck, so she sent us the documents for some advice.
Angela plans to put three off-the-shelf freezers against an internal wall. We reviewed the drawings, confirmed that no permit is required, and provided guidance on how to navigate the Council system.
So how do you know?
You may now be thinking... "But isn't that what my architect is there for? They should find out what needs done, and do it accurately."
Yes, you should... However, you can do some initial research to find out the "exact permits" and the "assessment requirements."
This will save you money.
A good consultant will credit you with a few hours of saved work. And if you are unlucky and engage an incompetent consultant, you can avoid going down the wrong path and save you thousands of dollars and months of waiting.
How do you research?
The best way to find out is to visit your local council and speak with the Building and Town Planning departments. The council is the governing authority and is paid to serve the local residents. You will get quality and free advice about the "exact permits" and the "assessment requirements" to reach your building goal.
So here’s the steps:
Step 1 - Identify what you want to build / renovate for you building based on your needs.
Step 2 - Visit the council
Question 1 – Permits required:
- what permits do you need from the council for the building / renovation?
- what permits do you need from other authorities? The council can often advise that as well.
Question 2 – Assessment requirements:
- what information will you need to submit to start the permit application?
- will the proposed work likely get council support?
Armed with the knowledge of the "exact permits" and the "assessment requirements" of each permit, you can get the multiple quotes from expert consultants, and select the best quote to manage each specific permit.
What have you solved with a few hours spent with your council?
First of all, you know that you are heading the right direction from the authority that assesses your permit application. Secondly, you may get guidance from council to adjust your proposal to avoid complex problems and save you thousands of dollars. Last, you get the best price from all consultants because they are quoting for the exact work, avoiding second guessing.
Why don’t I get my answers from council?
But… What if council just asked me to speak with a building designer or an architect?
Well… if you are doing a large project, yes, get a consultant to represent you. This is often too complex to identify what you want to build.
If you are renovating or adding minor spaces to a building, the council should advise you if you can clearly explain the works to them.
What’s the result for Grace and Angela?
In the story we shared earlier, both business owners initially felt they had a tight budget and desperately questioned if it was possible for small businesses to operate in Melbourne.
At the end…
- Grace is on track to have her home-based beauty salon, with money left.
- Angela is on track to getting her food premises registration.
Call or ask us a question if you want to learn more about your project.
Disclaimer: We assume no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions. The information is for general purposes only with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness, or timeliness. You must engage a suitable consultant for your specific situation.
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