Spare Time? What's that!

Some people ask what I do in my spare time...

And my answer to them is "What spare time?!"

When I'm not showing and selling big houses ~ I'm still showing and selling "little" houses. What do I mean by that??

Well, my husband I and own a "shed manufacturing" business right here in Lancaster County. At Fox's Country Sheds & Structures, we design and build custom (and just regular 'ol ones) garden sheds, pool houses, and garages. We sell them retail through our website or on our facility property at discounted prices, but our main aspect of the business is wholesaling to dealers, landscapers and even custom home builders. We also ship out of state, and build "shed kits" for delivery to those who want to put the shed together themselves and save on shipping. Our most recent kits have been shipped to Virginia, Long Island and I have an upcoming shipment of a Cabana style shed to Florida.

I love both of my careers! Selling these "little houses" - sheds, poolhouses and garages - is like having a "closing" every single day!

When I am working on-site at Fox's, I meet fantastic retail customers -- just like home buyers:

• and help them to choose the colors of vinyl siding that will best match or complement their home,
  
• help them to choose shingles and shutters,
  
• help them to determine the best placement of their doors and windows to maximize and complement whatever their needs are.
  
• We also provide whatever support we can to those needing township permits or have special deed restrictions on colors and sizes of accessory buildings.

For those who do not have easy access to the site for our trailer to deliver their shed or garage, we do a "build-on site" right on their property. This means that our construction crew shows up early with all of the supplies they need and will custom build the structure right in front of your eyes right on the site you specify. It's very much like the famous "Amish Barn raisings" that Lancaster is known for. We do a large number of these build-on site jobs, and have had three scheduled for this week alone, two of them out of the Lancaster County area and one right in downtown Lancaster City.

We order lumber and building supplies by the truckload ~ and I can honestly say that I know how home builders are hurting with the rising costs of building supplies! But, while home sales are down, our sales of sheds and garages are going up... I find that homeowners are not moving, but rather adding economical storage to their homes and getting their *stuff* out of their garages and into their backyard sheds. They are also "vacationing" at home, and have been adding pool houses, cabanas and gazebos to their backyards rather than splurging and taking long distance trips!

My favorite part of this shed-building business, though, is working with custom orders. We use our architectural software to design new structures in various styles to meet the needs of our customers ~ whether they are our retail customers of the customer of one of our dealers. We are working on some designs of a Cape Cod style building for a local country club lately to store some of their recreational activity items, and have recently quoted a local boys club for a number of cabins for their campsite.

I also love helping a customer to design a special potting shed or garden shed that would complement their historic home, or whatever their specific design needs are. There are those who just want a regular ol' tool shop or garage, but then there are others who really want something special that no other neighbor of theirs has ~ those are the fun ones to work on!

We have done government contracts -- always a challenge but very satisfying -- and give discounts to municipalities and philanthropic and church groups. What better way to build your business ~ any business ~ than by giving back in some way.

I see our buyers sometimes take weeks to decide exactly what style and colors to choose ~ just like building and purchasing a house. And, with my real estate experience, I know exactly what they are going through! It's really no different to most people, and it's an investment in their property that they want to be sure will meet their needs for years to come. I can completely understand.

So you see, "houses" to me really do come in all shapes and sizes!

We also sell custom vinyl swingsets and gazebos - all built by our local Amishmen with unsurpassed quality and attention to detail. We are delivering a gazebo to a cemetary and have a bid in for our swingsets to go into a number of apartment rental complexes throughout Pennsylvania. The really fun stuff is the rubber mulch that we sell with our swingsets ~ and you'll often see me *testing* it out by jumping up and down on it ~ it's quite springy and fun!

For those of my collegues who have home buyers and sellers who need more room ~ whether a backyard shed or even a single or two-car garage ~ feel free to refer them to me at Fox's Country Sheds. I promise to take excellent care of their needs, and you will look like a hero for solving their storage and garage or parking dilemmas.

So again I ask -- Spare Time?? What's that!?!

Do you have a family business that you also help to run? I'd love to hear about it!

Fox's Country Sheds & Structures is located at 537 E 28th Division Hwy, Lititz, PA, right in the heart of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We are just east of Brickerville at the Route 501 intersection, and west of Ephrata, along Route 322.

You can also visit our Shed Blog or our website at www.FoxSheds.com .