Even though self storage is a very lucrative business that does not mean that everyone is able to do it. Not everyone should just invest all of their hard earned money or their borrowed money into self storage. Why you may ask? There are several reasons that we will discuss in this blog, some of which are just opinions while others are fact. You can always take your pick. When thinking about investing into self storage you really have to do your homework.

First of all, why are you investing into self storage? Do you think that it is ubercool to sell people and empty space? Do you believe that you are able to help people satisfy their needs and come to their rescue when they are evicted out of their homes? Whatever your reason to want to invest and be a part of the self storage world, make sure that is a sound one. You do not want to invest that much money into the brand only to flake out on it later. When you get in to self storage you have to put your whole effort into it and not get discouraged if you are not making the money that you sought after right away.

Self storage is not something that you can just dump a bunch of money into and hope for a happy result. Self storage planning and owning is hard work and your time is money when you are an owner in self storage. If you are just getting into the business, many will tell you that you are too late. What they mean by that is many feel that the market is saturated and there are to  many hands in the pot. So if you put a self storage facility out there, you might not hit all of your occupancy goals because the self storage facility down the street is trying to capture the same market you are. This is business is just like any other business when it comes down to trying to capture the market share.

If you do not know anything about self storage or even real estate, you better make sure you have someone on your team that does. The moment that you purchase land and begin to build and you have not chosen the right cost for the real estate in conjunction with what the projected profit will be, you will be in a hole financially quickly. Just like a house, if you do not make a payment, you house will eventually be taken away. The first couple of months might not be what you expected and could very well be slow. Make sure that you think about the area in which you want to put a self storage facility on before you break ground. Some people found it a very good idea to purchase a facility that is already established and ready to go. They feel they can restore that store to its former glory. At least they feel they can turn a profit.

Be smart. If you really believe that you can open up a shoe store in a mall that has ten other shoe stores on the same wing and make money, you are mistaken. The same goes for self storage. If you are looking to put your facility in a market that has so many other facilities, think again. You are going to put so much effort into lowering prices, shopping your competition, making upgrades to your facility that might not be needed if you were in a different area of town. You can literally drive yourself crazy if you are trying to figure out how to close the doors of your competition. Be smart, they are trying to do the same to you. If you are going to invest in a self storage facility, do your homework. Really think about it. Many believe there are too many storage facilities out there, maybe they are right.

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

What are the things you should look for when making sure a facility cares about its’ tenants?  Not everyone believes that customer service will win you customers in the long run. There are many self storage owners that believe that you can win the business of many people just by offering a very low price. That can not be so far from the truth. Owners need to realize that there is more to keeping customers around to store with them. Below are a few things which will help you determine if a storage facility is right for you now and for your long term storage needs.

Convenience: Does the property make it easy to store?  Unfortunately not many owners think about their location. For the owners that do, they should ensure that the customers can get to their facility well. Sometimes a customer will be able to see the facility from the street but they are not able to get in due to how the facility entrance is. Having a way into the facility off the main street can really help with making the location convenient for them.

Are there a lot of hidden charges you were not told about? There are some facilities that will actually wait until the customer comes into the storage facility in order to tell them what the extra costs there are to store. Some customers will still decide to rent where other customers will decide to go ahead and walk out. No one wants to feel that they are being lied to.

Do you have to sign contracts or give a deposit? Most companies inform customers that they can store month to month. So why sign a contract to stay for six months or more if you just are not planning to store that long? There are many facilities that just say pay for the storage as long as you need it. When you do not need it anymore go ahead and move out.

Helpfulness:  Does the property take extra steps to help you move?  Having a property manager that will help you get all of your belongings moved safely is a property manager worth being around. Now of course there are some managers that will physically help you move, where others will simply instruct you on where to go. Either way they are being helpful to you. Are there dollies, carts, elevators, and loading docks? These are all good questions to know about the facility. If you are storing on the second floor, you do not want to haul things up the stairs. Having a dolly to get your couch from your truck to your self storage unit is very helpful.

Owners need to keep these things in mind when either running or building a new self storage facility. Yes they can have very low prices but will those low prices keep them their or make the customer happy. If the customer has an issue they want to know that their self storage manager will take care of them. Otherwise they will go somewhere else to a facility where the manager made them feel at ease.

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

There is much need for a self storage facility to have a call center that is answering their calls for them when they are not able to. You will hear different self storage facilities rave about how well their business has increased since they decided to use a call center. Many business owners will tell you that they had no idea they were missing out on so much business before they had some one answering their phones for them.  Facilities could be missing 2 to 10 calls a day which could translate into 2 missed rentals if they did not have a call center in place.

It would seem that a call center is essential to the business of a self storage company. Many business owners have discussed having a call center in place that could grab their missed calls. The debate has been whether or not they should hire more people in the office to answer the phones, have a call center their self or to have a third party service answer the phones for them. After careful debate, mulling over some financials, and long thought, it was perceived that having a third party call center was the best idea.

For the business owners that believe they can run their own call center they have to think about a couple of things. They have to think about where their call center will be, how many agents they need to answer the phones, what systems they need in place and so forth. Companies just believe they can hire people route calls to their call center and they are up and running. Having a call center is a complicated idea and there has to be much thought contributed to the thought of running one.  Sometimes the thought of having an internal call center is dismissed by the idea of having to run the everyday.

Call centers are very valuable to the self storage industry but self storage owners have to really think about the idea of trying to run one their selves. They should truly consider an outside call center who has the knowledge an know how in order to run an efficient business. Let them worry about the everyday business while you train your employees on how to turn the leads that come in from your call center in to renters.

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Not everything when it comes to moving needs to be a chore. You can easily get ready to move if you plan accordingly and take your time. Try to remove any stresses from your life. There are many things that you need to get done before your move date, but that does not mean that you should be stressed out about it. It just means that you need to take some time and plan your move so that everything goes smoothly. So below there are some quick tips that you could use when you are trying to plan you move to a self storage facility or to your next home.

When packing picture with glass pack them like you hang them that way the stress is off the glass. If you are a picture taker and hanger, then you should have a full box that is full of pictures in their frames. Be careful to place your picture frames back to back so there not any damage to the glass or the frame. Of course you should label the box fragile just to make sure whoever handles that box will not be so rough with it.

Make sure your phone is on at your new house before you disconnect from your old house. When you move in to your new home you want it to look, feel, smell like your home. There is no reason to have the phone on at your hold home. Have the telephone company move your service over to your new home a couple of days before your move. Therefore when moving day is upon you, that is one less thing you have to think about and do. It is a good idea to give everyone who needs to get a hold of you, your cell phone number so you can bring that with you everywhere you go.

Hire someone to clean your old house when you move out so you can concentrate on your new one. It is not a bad idea, if you can afford it, to have someone detail your home. You have people detail your car from time to time, so it is not a far stretch to have someone detail your home. If you find someone locally to clean your old home, you will be helping the local economy as well.

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.