They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This sentiment can easily be applied to self-storage facility door maintenance. Whether you employ roll-up, swing open, or the sliding variety, self-storage facility doors are a critical...
“Arizona was magnetic,” says MiniCo founder Hardy Good, a self storage veteran who moved to the state in 1965. “I came here to see my parents for Christmas, and I was hooked. I went back to Ohio, quit my job, sold everything, and moved to Phoenix.”
If there’s one thing those in self-storage enjoy, it’s a good networking event. The industry is well-known for hosting many throughout the course of a year, from intimate seminars and luncheons to large trade shows and conferences. Attending these...
Fires, floods, hurricanes, burglaries and finding hazardous chemicals in storage units are just some of the disasters you may have – or will encounter – running a self-storage facility.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had the misfortune of experiencing about...
Much has been discussed recently about the growth of technology to manage the shift towards “unmanned” facilities or “contactless” self-storage. Certainly, operators are heavily invested in offering their customers a safe and secure experience while...
In 2021, self storage was the darling of the Wall Street Journal, with the paper declaring the industry “The Pandemic’s Hot Property.” Last week, the same outlet reported that self storage rents and occupancy had fallen to record lows as the “Pandemic...
When considering a self storage conversion, it’s important to understand the most essential factors that either make or break the project. These factors include building requirements, market demand and financial feasibility. In this article, we will...
Does it make sense to offer rental rate discounts? That is the question every self-storage operator faces at different times. During the past few years, the lack of new self-storage facilities entering the market is one of the reasons the industry has...
Updated with poll results July 11, 2023
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Should you hyphenate self storage? The debate about whether to hyphenate or eliminate may not be as old as the industry itself, but the question has lingered like a bad tenant for quite some time.
“Hyphenate,”...
Having the specific skills for a particular job is important, but even the most qualified job applicant may not pan out if there is a poor “fit” between the position and the workplace. Whether one wants to call it job or corporate culture, work...
“The cat is out of the bag,” says Joseph Steinberg, AI and cybersecurity author, advisor, speaker, and expert witness. He’s talking, of course, about artificial intelligence (AI) and its application across various industries. “This technology is here to...
It is the rare self-storage owner, operator, manager, or industry professional who doesn’t attempt to keep the operation’s annual income tax bill to a minimum with tax planning, either year-round or end of the year. Why then is a bill for a tax that is...
When I set out to start my company, I knew it was important to choose the right mix of employees. I wanted a group of smart, creative, problem solvers with open minds and strong work ethics. Ideally, everyone on the team would get along, be invested in...
The Self Storage Hawai’i UnConference is a unique event that offers self-storage professionals the chance to network with their peers, learn from industry experts, and enjoy the beautiful Hawaiian Islands. The unconference is held this year in Waikoloa,...
When people think about storage containers, images of industrial vessels with steel boxes stacked on top of each other may come to mind. These containers, also known as intermodal, ocean, freight, or shipping containers, are made to transport goods long...
Having been in the self-storage industry for over 26 years, spanning through multiple economic cycles, I have seen this industry grow with each cycle. While many think of self-storage as “recession proof,” that doesn’t mean we escape each cycle...
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was enacted in 1978 to protect consumers from abuse by debt collectors. The FDCPA defines a debt collector as “any person who regularly collects, or attempts to collect, consumer debts for another person…”....
Uncertainty regarding the economy has hung over the United States and the world since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, but the latest federal rate hike of .25 percent has caused even more uncertainty and hand wringing within the self-storage...
Self-storage has evolved over the last 40-plus years. In bygone days, developers had a relatively easy time locating a site and building what was essentially rows of garage-type units. Today, it takes tenacity, capital, and sometimes sheer will to...
Lauri Longstrom-Henderson was quite happy being semi-retired after many years in the self-storage industry. And then she received a call from Mini-Storage Messenger Publisher poppy Behrens asking her to come back as the Director of Sales & Marketing...
The last time I was really hungry was my third day into a keto diet. Most of us who work in self-storage (whether managers, district managers, or owners) have a good job, and we have food. Not everybody in the world has options of what to eat or even...
What Small Business Owners Need to Know:
It’s a move some feel may signal a nationwide change regarding employee time off. Illinois has become the third state, along with Maine and Nevada, to require employers to provide paid time off to employees for...
For diesel buyers, price relief can’t come soon enough. Essential to truck fleet operations and a costly drain on business profitability, the distillate fuel oil was selling for a historic high of $5.75 a gallon this past summer, more than double the...
Most people in the self-storage industry know me as the lady in the red dress. At home, the most important people in my life know me as mom. One of those people is my youngest son, Colten. Colten was diagnosed with autism when he was four years old,...
Silicon Valley has been attracting a lot of press since the beginning of 2023, but the copious news coverage is not exclusively related to technological innovations with conversational AI (artificial intelligence). The media has also been reporting on...
There was no jumping from skyscrapers like in 1929, but over the last few weeks, business owners have been on edge. Their concerns stem from the recent beating the banking industry has taken. Three high- profile banks, many fueled by small business...
I had the good fortune to meet John Eisenbarth, vice president of operations for Everett, Wash.-based West Coast Self-Storage, about 11 years ago.
It became apparent to me that his business acumen included much more than growing the company and...
What’s it worth?
That’s the ultimate question when it comes to determining valuation for developments and for sales and acquisitions in self-storage and all other classes of real estate. Getting the right answer involves answering a complex series of...
In this digital age, when we have an overabundance of free information at our fingertips, why do people spend their hard-earned money on magazine subscriptions? The answer is content. That may seem straightforward on the surface, but anyone who has read...
It is exciting to see the self-storage industry evolve to capture the growth of available technology to enhance the customer experience while meeting the operational requirements of running a real estate business (i.e. the rental of space to be used for...
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