Archimodpod

Tea With An Architect and mod105 introduce the archimodpod, a mobile consultation booth.

Poor planning costs nation's entrepreneurs £1.4 billion

Not each of course, but shedworkers, homeworkers and other small businesses in Britain are facing a potential £1.4bn annual loss of revenue by failing to safeguard against business threats, according to new research.

The Lloyds TSB Insurance Big Issues for Small Businesses report revealed 1.7 million (38%) microbusinesses were affected by significant incidents such as theft, vandalism or damage in the last year alone. Following this almost a third (31%) of those affected were unable to operate fully for longer than a week.

For around one in five (19%) it took up to a month to be fully operational, potentially risking a further £3.4bn3 loss.

The research - which polled British businesses with ten or fewer employees - revealed that just under one in 10 (7%) owners who have experienced an incident in the last year worried their business wouldn't survive as a result. Yet over a third (36%) of the nation's small business owners haven't taken any measures to protect their business.

Damien McGarrigle, head of business insurance at Lloyds TSB Insurance, said: "These businesses are the backbone of the economy, but many are unnecessarily leaving themselves exposed and vulnerable without adequate protection in place. Unforeseen incidents are likely to have greater impact on a small business, which could jeopardise its future, putting a strain on owners and their families if they are underinsured. Making sure appropriate insurance cover is in place safeguards against the main risks and liabilities, leaving business owners better positioned for success."

Moreover, for more than a quarter (26%) of microbusiness owners, weekends and days off are no escape from the worries of running a business. The poll found that one in five (17%) of those aged 35-44 worry that their business is having a negative impact on family relations, compared to just one in 20 (6%) aged 55 and over.

Work life balance revealed a similar trend with almost three-quarters (69%) of 35-44 year-old respondents confessing to working on weekends or days off. This decreased with age, with just half (56%) of those aged 45-54, and 42% of those aged 55 and over admitting to working out of office hours. More than one in 10 (12%) said that they were reliant upon family members to enable them to run their business, such as through the provision of childcare. 
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Cue Gardens

Regular readers will know that as well as being interested in microarchitectural atmospheres, I also play snooker regularly (St Albans snooker club on a Wednesday night if anyone fancies a frame) so was delighted to read in the Shropshire Star about Dave Evans' shed. He calls it Cue Gardens since, while maybe not ideal for full-time shedworking, it does contain a full-sized snooker table (including a baize on which Steve Davis has played, fact fans). And a darts board and fridge. Here's a snippet:

“I had the opportunity to buy the table from the local club I used to play in and it had been in the garage for a while. I had the shed built especially for the table about two years ago. I have a few people round and we play a few frames and have a chat and a few drinks. It’s a lot easier, we can play snooker and it saves us having to pay over the odds for a beer down the pub."

Well worth a browse. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Francis Pryor: shedworker

Francis Pryor is best known for his work as an archaeologist and his extremely readable books on prehistoric books (Britain BC is on the shelves at Shedworking HQ). He also has a novel in the pipeline called The Lifer's Club with the fine shed-friendly folk at Unbound which is well worth your crowdfunding pounds. And now he has tidied up his shed so that he can become a shedworker. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Homestead Timber Buildings - Manufacturers of Quality Timber Buildings

Sunny artist's studio

A nice shedworking build (with plenty of pictures and more details at their site) by Historic Shed of a new art studio for a client who had been sketching ideas for the build for several years. It's a 12′ x 12′ shed with paired French doors on three sides and a 4′ roof extension on the front supported by large brackets with a seating area. The shed has a metal roof and cypress siding. -----------------------------------------------------

Wednesday posts are sponsored by The Stable Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here

Kevin McCloud charity talk - 'Voyages in my Shed'

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Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Gill Lewis: shedworker

A nice piece in the Daily Telegraph by writer Gill Lewis about the delights of working in her garden treehouse in Somerset and the company of squirrels (click the link to her site which shows how keen she is on it from the first page). Here's a snippet:

"When they [her children] go to school I clamber up here with my coffee and a couple of biscuits and write for hours, away from the phone and the doorbell. My books are about animals and their relationship to humans, and being up in the tree, with the squirrels, connects me to nature. The area is full of deer, foxes, buzzards, starlings and badgers. You don't have to go on safari to see amazing wildlife. My ultimate tree house would be one of those capsules you see in glossy magazines, somewhere really high and remote – with a butler."

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