Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines camaraderie: as a spirit of friendly good-fellowship. Wikipedia says friendship is the cooperative and supportive relationship between people or animals. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, affection and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis.
Today as I sit here watching the seconds tick away on the clockhaving filed and cleaned everything, holding down the fort by myself, wondering what other projects I can find to help fill the timeI received an e-mail from a fellow Self-Storage Talk member. This person was inquiring about another member weve not heard from in quite a while. There was concern and caring for a member whom this person hasnt even met in person, but who has impacted many of our lives. It got me thinking about all the people, some quite the characters, who comprise our storage world.
I realized, once again, why I enjoy my job and the people. Its the shared camaraderie we have. Ive made so many friends since I joined Self-Storage Talk during its formative months. Yet Ive actually met few of my SST friends face to face. One thing I do know is when I encounter a problem, theyre there to help. If Im having a bad day full of gloomy customers, SST members will step up and chase those blues away. If I have exciting news to share, theyre there to enjoy alongside of me. When a situation stymies me, guess whos there to help me problem-solve my way through? You guessed it, the members of SST.
Now a social psychologist would have fun analyzing the lot of us. Forget Facebook, its not nearly as full of the sorts of craziness we experience in our world. The way we deal with issues that pop up and the professional manner in which our members support and assist each other is quite a beautiful thing to behold. Were a snapshot of the entire industry and its a really great photo! We have people from all walks of life whove come into storage from some really varied backgrounds Check out this thread about who SST members were before they entered the self-storage industry. The one thing we all share is a quest to learn more, better ourselves and partake of a rich mix of expertise all in one place.
Whether we reside in Cashiers or Poughkeepsie, Oklahoma City or Palm Desert, Nashville, Clearwater, Seattle, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand or Brazil, SST members add as much insight and uniqueness as the cities they hail from. Right about now, I believe were above 3,500 in membership. What would you have to pay for a conference where you had 24-hour access to that many industry professionals? The cost would be astronomic. These 3,500 people shine brightly in my eyes because they care. They care about their property, watching out for the owners or employees and by doing the best job they can and taking care of their customers.
The common thread among the members brings us back to the definitions above: mutual knowledge, esteem, affection, and respect and rendering services to each other. If I were an owner and interested in hiring the best, Id start by trying to recruit members from SST. As a matter of fact, log on and read MusicCity Gals post about her new position.
Those out there afraid of our forum just simply dont know the wealth of information theyre missing. Im sorry for them, but thankfully there are so many more that are forward-thinking. Whats the harm in learning? By learning, you grow, you expand your horizons and none of these are bad things. We all know that knowledge is power and you need to simply harness the power of SST to grow your mind and your business. Its truly a simple way to grow your business acumen and your team at no out-of-pocket expense. Show your intellect and astute observations about our industry by logging on here.