After 32 years in business, 25 at current location I'm forced to move out of a 3000 sq ft rented space.
I'm a one man commercial shop well equipped but no CNC.
Considering building a pole barn on my rural property which is what I've always wanted. My dilemma is what's the right thing to do. I'll be 58 this year. I'm still passionate about what I do and I enjoy it. There's no retirement plan. No nest egg. I plan on working until I can't. Business has been decent but always uncertain what's around the corner.
Is it too late in life to do this?

Best move I every made was to buy my own building at age 53 bought old buildings an remodeled them

Depends on what your cash flow is. Working until you can't could happen tomorrow. With no nest egg and no retirement plan, I don't think you have any options. Your business won't be worth much if you get hurt or you want to retire. You are the business, not a shed full of machinery. What is too late in your life is retirement money. Who knows what is going to happen to social security.

Build it tomorrow. 32 years of rent would have made one heck of a nest egg. Retirement is a modern invention and highly overrated. Half of the men in particular drop dead within two years of retiring it seems. If you still love doing it get the building built ASAP.

"The average man in the United States lives around 17 years after turning 65, and can expect to live to be around 81.94 years old."

That means I have 10 years to go.

Build it. I turned an old dairy barn into my shop. I did it myself with no loans, so no overhead, which results in a lot of peace and security when its volatile out there. In rural areas, depending on the state, there are very few regulations when you aren't on commercial property. I actually have zero regulations to follow. My dad had a rented building for 40 years, in the end that payment took him down during 2008.

Build it as soon as you can! I am retiring from teaching in June, and over the last ten years, I built my retirement shop in a poorly insulated 1950's barn. It has worked very well as a space, but I wish I had better HVAC to limit humidity swings. Have two wood stoves and gas and electric heat; the bills are manageable. Hope to add mini-splits in the coming years.

I'm in the build it camp. Building a shop on your land will increase its value. If you ever need to sell your property, that might be a good thing. Paying rent gives you zero options. As you know. At age 64 I faced a similar situation and ended up buying a very large shop. It did help that my son works with me.
I'm also now at the age of 66 giving no thoughts to retirement, and plan on working for many more years. I love what I do for my living, and I'm better at it than I have ever been.

Building something decent on your property is an investment, if it's done right. People looking at rural properties want space to store and work on their tractors. Everyone moving rural wants a tractor, and a barn to store it.
Wood shops are another dream building. For the right person, 400 amps of 3 phase power, high ceilings, and dust collection mean the possibility of setting up a dream shop turning pens.

Build it . 41 years at it and have never rented. Owned 3 different shops in down town business districts and now plan on my last shop on my land behind my house. I'm rural /small farm. 40x60 pole building 12 ft ceilings. Im 69 retired but never stopped working. I will not be building it myself. I do all the wiring, dust collection etc inside. too old to risk getting hurt climbing around trusses and being on sloped roofs. Regards: Harry DeVrieze

By all means build it. I put a retirement shop in my backyard in 1990. Then my job running a 15 man shop went to hell. I eventually out grew that shop, then moved back into it after the Bank Crash. Retired at 69.
It is absolutely the best place in the world for this 74 yr old man.