There are so many different businesses you can start – with more being created all the time – that it isn’t always going to be easy to pick something you want to do. You might know you want to be a business owner, but then what? Which kind of business in what sector are you going to run?
Well, as we’ve said, there are lots of options, but in recent years the self-storage industry has really grown, and more and more people are using this kind of service. When you look at it like that, it’s easy to see that there could be a lot of mileage in starting your own self storage unit, and if you keep reading, you’ll find plenty of benefits that you can pretty much count on if you do.
Steady And Growing Demand
As we’ve said, there’s a definite demand for self-storage units, and that’s one of the biggest reasons for starting this kind of business – it doesn’t make a lot of sense to pick an industry that no one’s interested in or that was once popular but is now falling out of favor; you want something that’s not only popular, but that’s growing, and a self-storage business ticks all those boxes (and plenty more, as you’ll see when you read the rest of this blog post).
The thing to remember is that there’s just more ‘stuff’ around than ever before – people can (and do) buy loads of it, and in the end, it often starts to get in the way and fill up their homes. The other thing to remember is that people are very sentimental when it comes to this stuff – you’re probably the same – so they don’t want to throw it out (especially if it cost a lot of money). The solution? They can hire a storage unit and keep everything nice and safe but away from their homes. If you can be the one who hires them that storage unit, you’ll make money from a problem people are really solving themselves – tell them you’ve got a storage unit for them, and they’ll already know why they need to use it!
High Profit Margins
Self storage businesses are usually ones that can offer you high profit margins. Yes, you’ll need to spend money to start with, but once that initial investment in the land, constriction, and overall infrastructure is made, the ongoing costs of running the business are quite low, as long as you stick to a few important rules.
One of those rules is about staffing. The great thing about a self storage unit business is that unlike a lot of other types of businesses, self-storage facilities don’t use a lot of staff – they’re just not needed. In fact, many facilities run with really minimal personnel, and you might be able to manage with just one manager and some part-time help, depending on your opening hours. So don’t try to overstaff the place because it’s not necessary and you’ll lose a lot of money in the process.
There are also minimal maintenance costs to think about because all you’ll need to do are occasional repairs, cleaning, and, something you might not have considered, pest control. Other than that, there won’t be that much to do, especially as you can’t go into anyone’s unit, and you’ll only be responsible for taking care of the communal areas.
Finally, when it comes to making a profit in business, growth is key, and since we already know that self-storage units have the potential for a lot of growth, there’s also the potential for a lot of money to be made.
Flexible Business
No one wants to be stuck working set hours without any kind of flexibility these days – we’ve started to realize that the work-life balance is more important than we thought, and many of us have had a taste of flexible working, whether that’s hybrid or remote working or flexible hours, for example. When you’re trying to decide what type of business you should start, one that’s flexible is a good choice, as you’ll be able to enjoy the flexibility that’s so needed in life.
Why does owning a storage unit mean flexibility? Well, for one thing, you can get automated systems and use technology to allow people access to their units, even on a 24/7 basis. You can use the same system to make reservations, take payments, and deal with access issues, so that could mean there’s no real need for on-site staff at all (except for security, perhaps), and you can work as and when you want to from home, saving time, money, and effort.
It can also be flexible, especially as you’ll know that’s what people are looking for. You can offer a range of storage unit sizes and types to cater to different customer needs, for example, from tiny lockers to massive units that can fit cars or boats in them. That’s a great idea as it means you can really expand your target market and get a lot more customers than if you just stuck with a few sizes and didn’t cater to everyone.
If you’re looking for a flexible business for you and your customers, self-storage could definitely be it.
Passive Income Potential
Following on from the point above, one of the most appealing things about running a self-storage facility is that it could offer a nice way to make a passive income. It really depends on how things are set up and how you’re running the whole thing, but there is a chance that it could just run happily in the background and bring in money, meaning you can have a very flexible working life, or you can have another job as well, and the storage unit business can be what’s known as a side hustle (albeit a bigger one than people normally choose).
So what are the things that can make a storage facility a great option if you’re looking for a passive income? For one thing, many people want to hire a storage unit for a long period of time. It’s true that some will only want them for a matter of weeks, but others will want them for months, years, or even on a permanent basis, and that’s especially true if they’re running a business and use the unit for stock storage, or they have a collection of something and don’t have room in the house to enjoy it. All of that means you’ll get a stable and predictable income for a long time into the future.
Automation
On top of that, you can use automated systems, like we mentioned above. When these are in place, a lot of the administrative work is taken out of your hands, meaning you can enjoy the benefits of the payments people give you without having to do many tedious, repetitive tasks to get them.
As long as you set up efficient systems and processes, your storage facility can be a business that generates revenue without you having to do all that much at all – there’s not that much ongoing effort to think about.
You Can Hire Experts To Build It
Another big advantage of picking to run a storage facility business over and above anything else is that you can hire experts to help you with all the different aspects of creating the place in the first instance. For example, you can get a storage steel framing contractor to ensure you’ve got a good basis for everything to be built from, and they’ll be able to design a building that suits your needs and makes it easy for customers to use, which is all-important.
You can also hire people to help with site selection, as well as buying the land, and that’s important. Having a great storage unit with loads of room and lots of security features is fantastic, but if it’s in the wrong place and no one can get to it, or there are too many other facilities around, or it’s just not a safe place to be, then you’re not going to make the money you set out to.
Then there’s the marketing and sales – that’s all part of the build too, even if it’s not in a practical way. You need to build the business just as much as you need to build the physical storage units, and by getting help from experts in marketing, you can create a buzz before you even open, and hire out as many units as possible in advance.
Conclusion
Putting all of these experts together means you can create the ideal business that’s interesting, profitable, and answers all the questions any customers might have – as well as solving their problems. That’s what makes a successful business, and as long as you keep up to date with everything to do with storage facilities so you know how to improve and what to change as time goes on, you really can’t go wrong.
