The Quickest & Easiest Way To Self Storage Business

Self storage is popular due to high demand for commercial and residential storage. Increased demand has seen a proliferation of such facilities in urban areas.

The business provides an excellent investment opportunity for investors and venture capitalists. You can start a small storage facility and earn regular income.

To start the business you need to consider development cost, real-estate issues, permits and licensing. You are also responsible for customer’s property and provide adequate security.

Write a Business Plan

Write a Storage facility business plan and conduct a survey. Your business plan should outline your goals, startup costs and promotional.

Other things to include in the plan are executive summary, business structure, incorporation, and a summary. You also need to include projections, marketing strategy, and profit/loss
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Carry out a Feasibility Study

Conduct research and carry out a feasibility study. Find out trade specific information through journals and local publications.

Understand your customer demography, demand, and study competitors. Learn from local competitors by studying prices, type of facility and capacity.

Look at their operational hours, staff strength and occupancy rate. This would provide valuable information for competitiveness.

Determine Startup Costs

You need to determine your startup costs. Startup costs include rent, purchase of storage equipment, staff wages and procuring operational license.

Others include the purchase price of the land and structural development. The size and scope of the business will determine the amount of money you need.

Try target savings, partnership or borrow from friends and family. Seek financial assistance from local banks and other financial institutions in your area.

Costs

If your storage space leases at $4.5 per square foot annual rents. Then at full capacity you stand to make $225,000 in gross annul rents. Expenses could range from $1-$2 per square foot based on utility costs, loan repayment and maintenance.

Storage Business Licensing

You need a federal or state license to operate a storage business. Make your business a legal entity by incorporating into a limited liability company.

You need good liability insurance and fire safety certification. Make sure you file a tax identification number.

You must also ensure full compliance to state and federal laws guiding the enterprise. Find out what is obtainable in your country. 

There are laws guiding auction of goods, insurance, storage and security matters. And membership of a self storage association would be beneficial to your business.

Find an Ideal Location

You could rent or purchase commercial space for the business. The lot should conform to zoning requirements and building codes.

Property lots to consider are warehouses, large storage facilities and buildings. A good location to consider is a new developing residential area.

The location should be accessible and have adequate parking. Other requirements include security, utilities and good drainage system.

If you intend building from scratch, submit building plan for approval at the town planning local authorities. And make sure you hire only certified building contractors.

Purchase Storage Equipment

You could assemble and install storage units or purchase pre-fabricated units. Make sure the units your install are waterproof, rugged and theft proof. 

There is a large selection of units offered by manufacturers. Ideal units are made from metal or concrete material.

The units should have tapper proof locks on the doors. And the sizes of the storage units are determined by the space available.
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Services

You should consider providing different services to meet customer demand. Offer your customers different sizes of units to accommodate their storage needs. You could include additional features such as storage boxes, climate controlled units or moving services.

Marketing

You can attract patronage by using newspaper advertisement and local publications. Print flyers, banners and billboards to attract patronage.

You could organize an elaborate opening ceremony and invite important people in your locality. Build a website for your storage business and include images.

Add location of storage facility, about us page, email address and a phone number. Drive traffic to your website through online advertisements, yellow pages and classified websites.

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