Shortcuts aren’t always a bad thing. We’ve all performed tasks that were needlessly time consuming or convoluted, and removing steps ultimately improved the process. It’s the idea behind the concept of “working smarter, not harder.” However, there are...
Many in the self storage industry have begun to explore new and emerging technologies in order to keep their facility operating 24/7, even if there’s no one on-site 24/7 – or even at all. Remote managed properties, or unmanned facilities, are becoming...
“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...
The self-storage market has been valued globally at over $40 billion. As part of the industry’s growth and expanded use of technology to operate these businesses, self-storage operators are increasingly exposed as the targets of potential litigation,...
Unmanned. Manless. Autonomous. These words continue to crop up in self-storage industry ads, articles, speaking sessions, seminars, and more. “Unmanned self-storage” has frequently been billed as the future operating model of choice as industry...
The self-storage market has been valued globally at over $40 billion. As part of the industry’s growth and expanded use of technology to operate these businesses, self-storage operators are increasingly exposed as the targets of potential litigation,...
The dictionary defines data as “facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.” In this digital world, in which facts and statistics are literally only as far away as a finger tap, the question is how self-storage operators can use...
When you really need new ideas or fresh thinking or a creative solution to a challenge, a typical, day-to-day approach in your thinking is not the optimal process. Using the same old thinking will simply lead you to the same old ideas you’ve already had...
It’s everywhere. Virtually everyone uses it. It defines modern life, with both good and bad effects. And it keeps changing and growing.
It’s technology. It has changed how industries, including self-storage, do business, how consumers buy and use...
Cybersecurity is critically important for all businesses in all industries, including self-storage. And the increasing number and types of cyberattacks worldwide make cybersecurity even more important.
Cybercrime costs the global economy nearly $1.5...
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Let’s take a poll. When you need to know something about a business, where do you look? Call it a hunch, but we bet you look online, even if it is just to find the email address or phone number to ask a specific question. From time to time, we are...
The dictionary defines data as “facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.” In this digital world, in which facts and statistics are literally only as far away as a finger tap, the question is how self-storage operators can use...
The amazing power and flexibility that information technology brings to the marketplace and to people’s lives come with some caveats. One of them is the risk and reality of cybercrime.
Every industry is subject to cybercrime’s potential harm, including...
By Andy Kelly, Principal and Broker of A B Kelly Realty, LLC (Self Storage and Commercial Property Management) and Principal of Sierra Self Storage Consulting, LLC
I started in the storage business in 1992 as an area manager. The industry had very...
Automated technology is supposed to make our lives less complicated and it has in many ways. It has done wonders for many industries, including self-storage. However, setting up your technology, including your website, has become more complicated and so...
By Christine DeBord
We all know how important it is to meet our customers where they are and to interact with them in the way they want to interact. That’s why we’re all hyper focused on SEO and AdWords to make sure our customers can find us online. But...
The Next Competitive Battlefield
The self-storage customer experience is changing. You may even be wondering why it’s called customer experience and what all the hullabaloo is about. The term customer service is different from the experience the...
The Ins and Outs Of Internet Marketing
*This is an update of the article written for the June 2016 issue of the Mini-Storage Messenger.
As a builder, owner, and operator in the business for over 40 years (my first experience in self-storage was working...
The Intensifying Need For Self-Storage Data
Data is broadly defined as “facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.” As such, data can come in many forms and focus on an infinite number of topics or subject matters.
Even within...
Understanding the Legalities
Starting with the passage of the E-Sign law in 2000 (formally the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act), landlords, including self-storage landlords, were given the opportunity to conduct their leasing...
16 Common Networking Mistakes That Can Derail Your Career
Networking is a skill that can help you develop and build long‐lasting business and social relationships. As with most skills, networking can be done well, but it can be done poorly as well,...
How to Use Social Networks to Attract Top Talent
Hiring top talent has never been easy. With the current tightening of the labor market, though, it’s tougher than ever to find the best people. Gone are the days when an employer could post a help-wanted...
Handling Suspicion Of Criminal Activity At Your Facility
Law enforcement commonly describes certain red flags for self-storage operators that might suggest criminal activity occurring at their facility. As it relates to drugs, operators are told to...
How To Handle Productivity Problems Of The Digital Age
Similar to other industries, the self-storage industry’s reliance on technology and the internet is intensifying. Self-storage facilities across the country are adopting cloud-based property...
Can It Generate Extra Income?
By Scott Zucker
Self-storage owners and operators are smart to consider all types of ways to increase the value of their portfolios, but one most often overlooked is using the credit screening and reporting tools.
Under...
Keeping Pace With Technology To Protect Your Investment
By Stan Houser
Savvy self-storage operators are taking advantage of technology to gain a competitive edge and command a premium price in the marketplace. They are enhancing their investments in...
What To Do When An Employee Becomes A Cybercriminal
By Bryce Austin
The FBI caught David Yen Lee at his home before he could depart for the airport where his flight was waiting. The hard drives the FBI sought were in his possession. On those drives were...
New Technology Answers The Call For Smartphone Advances
Technology of the 21st century continues to knock down the doors of self-storage facilities, opening new opportunities to improve efficiency as well as the customer experience. While many of the...
What It Means To Be “Smart” In Self-Storage
By Pete Frayser
In decades past, the word “smart” was not a term that puzzled many people. “Smart” was a simple, succinct word and certainly was not layered with double entendre or vagueness. At its core it...
New Offerings In Self-Storage Software
By Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell
Computers have become such an integral part of any business that making sure the software needed to run your business is up to date has become as important as paying your bills. The...
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