If you ask self-storage developers what mistakes should be avoided when developing a new site, the answers you get will be wide and varied. Moreover, I suppose many people would say that the biggest mistake they’ve made in this scenario is the one that they, themselves, have experienced. Others, might cite the experience of someone they know. Simply put, there is no one answer. More times than not, it comes down to lack of planning or the simple age-old adage of putting the proverbial “cart before the horse.” The propensity to do this shows up in many ways. In this article, I will explore some, but certainly not all, of the ways in which this phenomenon may show up. Research Makes A Difference Doing your homework ahead of time is essential when developing a new self-storage site. Perhaps the most extreme form of not doing this, as it relates to our industry, is when someone has actually developed and placed a project into service without first doing the proper research to determine if, in fact, there is a suitable market. Once the new facility is constructed and the doors are open for business is without a doubt a bad time to figure out that there is little or no market for renting units at that location. Click Here to Read More…]]>