Improving functionality of janky basement stairs

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I recently bought an old house, and I'm working on making an unfinished basement a functional workshop space. At the moment it's incredibly annoying to carry anything down there (not to mention the obvious safety issues), since

1. The exterior door (from driveway) opens in

2. There's a huge step down from it to the landing

3. The stairs end right at a half-crawlspace

4. The clearance height at ground level is a little less than 6' (and the "ceiling" is a massive structural beam)

I'm struggling to engineer a functional solution given the space limitations, so I'm seeking out advice from the experts. Any ideas?