I just decided to try sugaring. I really do not remember why I took up the hobby, but I did it small scale for our own use for three years boiling inside and made the decision to do more. That was last year when I used a block arch. It was a successful experiment so I am increasing this year as well. This year’s changes are mainly in boiling. I will have a new arch/pan and a new shack. This year did take a large investment that I will not make up in less than 3-4 years, but I had to get out of the weather, and I had to replace the block arch anyway. The building is multi-purpose so I did not build it just for sugaring.
You are correct that you will see what changes need made and that they will rarely be cheap. After year one, I bought “backyard Sugarin” which is a great book for a small producer. The best resource outside of this site I know of is the North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual. It is an excellent book. My wife got me mine for Christmas through our extension office.
I am no expert, but I have asked a lot of questions on this site and to others and seem to be working though my problems without too many problems. So far, everything has worked; some things better than others of course.