Self-storage industry veterans Rick Beal, Magen Smith and Matthew Van Horn have launched a new industry consulting firm, Atomic Storage Group, which specializes in facility auditing and third-party management services as well as feasibility for new developments. The company’s founders also have expertise in joint ventures, marketing and sales training, according to “Behind the Roll Up Door,” a weekly self-storage newsletter produced by Van Horn.
“Magen and Rick are close friends of mine, so it's an amazing opportunity to bring together our combined experience to help independent self-storage owners, operators and investors across the country,” Van Horn said. “Together Magen, Rick and I have over 40 years of self-storage experience. I mean, we can basically measure our lives in square feet.”
Beal most recently served as vice president of development and management for Easy Storage Solutions, where he led the consulting and third-party management division. He was previously business development manager at Cubes Self Storage. He also serves on the board of directors for the Utah Self Storage Association.
Smith is founder of Magen Smith CPA LLC, which has provided daily accounting services to the self-storage industry for more than a decade. In her career, she’s served as a facility manager and owner. In 2016, she co-founded Safe Space Development, which specializes in conversion projects and ground-up developments, as well as the Perfect 10 Self Storage Group, which manages Safe Space assets.
Van Horn is a co-founder of 3 Mile Domination Self Storage Services, an operations company specializing in self-storage consulting, feasibility studies and management. He’s co-author of the book “Self-Storage Domination” and co-host of the weekly “3 Mile Domination” podcast.
The group came together to help operators and investors navigate the changing dynamics of the industry. “The self-storage industry has changed, is continuing to change, and will likely never be the quaint little industry we all grew up in,” Van Horn said.
Smith and Van Horn are also participants in “Ask the Storage Experts,” a subscription-based consulting service for the storage industry. It was launched in April by Cynthia Ashby, who founded consulting firm Dynamic Self Storage Solutions in 2017.
All three Atomic members are regular presenters at the annual Inside Self-Storage (ISS) World Expo, the industry’s largest conference and tradeshow, and contributing writers to ISS magazine and website. Video copies of their expo seminars can be purchased at iss-store.com, in both on-demand and DVD formats. Their articles can be read at insideselfstorage.com.
To coincide with the launch of the company, Atomic is offering all interested clients a complimentary strategy session, according to the newsletter.
