The Cost of an Average Manager, Part II

Jan 01, 2001

Professional managers are part of the solution, not the problem

By R.K. Kliebenstein

This is the second part of a series on dealing with staffing changes. Previously, we discussed the self-storage supervisor/owner's role in the process. Now, let's examine the situation from the employee's side of the table. This is an opportunity to ask yourself: "As a self-storage manager, how can I prepare to deal with unmet expectations of an owner or supervisor? What is my role in the process? How can I 'train' my supervisor?" These are issues that, if avoided, may lead to some very negative consequences, such as demotion, disciplinary action and termination.

Do I Understand What Is Expected of Me?

Employees are frequently blindsided by an unhappy owner's expression of dissatisfaction. After receiving annual raises and hearing praises from a supervisor, the employee may have no idea a staffing change is even being contemplated. Have you, as an employee, asked what your owner's specific goals are? Do you know what he expects? Even if things are going "great" at your self-storage facility, have you asked what is expected of you?

It is often hard to get the full attention of an owner or supervisor if he is absent or has many other duties and projects on his plate. I suggest asking your supervisor to lunch. (And expect to pick up the tab; after all, you are inviting him.) Go somewhere off site on your day off. Make sure the location is relatively private. This meeting should never include spouses (unless you are working as a team), and there should never be children or friends with you. This is a business meeting.

Make certain you are prepared before the meeting. Have month-by-month occupancy statistics for the last year ready to review. If you know how to produce charts to present the information, you should do so. Make certain you look at occupancy on four levels: 1) unit occupancy, 2) occupancy by square footage, 3) dollars per square foot and 4) percentage of economic occupancy. If you have recently added new space to the facility, then these reports will need to be adjusted to reflect those changes.

I am amazed at how many professional managers do not know how many units or square feet they manage, or the economic occupancy of the store. If you do not know these basic facts on a daily basis, you are likely a caretaker, not a manager. How can you be the captain of your ship if you do not know how big your boat is? It is your responsibility to be informed so you can communicate with your supervisor on his level. If your occupancy is above 92 percent, have the rates been increased? Are you helping your owner watch for trends? Have the monthly deposits increased each month this year over last year?

During lunch with your supervisor or owner, you need to get answers to the following questions:

What percent of occupancy (per square foot, unit and economic occupancy) does your supervisor or owner expect out of the facility?
At what level of occupancy are rate increases expected?
If occupancy or gross receipts decline, when does the owner want to discuss the matter? (In other words, in his view, how long before this is viewed as a trend, not just normal fluctuation?)
If there is a downward trend, what should your role be in correcting it?

What Do I, as a Professional Manager, Need To Know?

You should always be armed with facts and figures. So often, we throw around percentages and numbers (or vague, unsubstantiated statements), because we do not take time to gather the facts. Here are the basic facts about your market and facility you, as a professional manager, should have documented:

Where do my customers live? Review the ZIP code reports from your computer records. Where exactly do your customers live? If you serve more than one ZIP code, indicate on a map the number of competitors in each zip code serving more than 5 percent of your tenant base. If you do not have multiple ZIP codes, conduct this research by telephone exchange. Most phone books have a map of the surrounding exchanges, and you can identify by phone number where your customers come from. If you have a high percentage (more than 20 percent) of "foreign" customers (those who live more than 25 miles away from your store), then you have a unique market you should discuss with your supervisor or owner. Do not guess at this information--be armed with facts, not assumptions. See Figure 1.

How did these customers find our facility when they rented? I cannot tell you how many times a "caretaker" (not professional manager) will say, "I get a lot of referrals" or "Most of my customers are repeat customers who stored with me before." Very few of them have facts supporting these statements. Most software applications have a customer profile that identifies how a customer found your facility. If you have disregarded the accurate collection of this information over the years, you have missed an important part of being an informed professional manager.

Once you have determined how the customer found the facility, divide the number for each category by the number of occupied spaces to determine the source of your tenants, expressed as a percentage of the total base. Refer to Figure 2 for the lists of categories. Some software applications can produce this report for you--if you took the time to accurately record the information in the beginning. If any category is less than 15 percent, it is probably not "a lot."

Who are my competitors? The professional, informed manager will know who his competitors are and, equally important, why they are competitors. For example, if when you plotted where your customers came from you found a large number are from an area more than three miles away, determine who the competitors are in that area. You may have assumed XYZ Storage was not a competitor because he was more than five miles away from you; but when you looked at where a large number of your tenants came from, and it was within two miles of that competing facility, you quite possibly identified a "hidden" competitor. Look at each competitor in the "path" of your customer (between him and your facility). Determine why the customer drove past the competitor's site to get to you. Here are some possible reasons:
The competitor is full and does not have the sizes you have available.
The competitor does not have a map in the Yellow Pages and customers cannot find him.
The competitor does not have a display ad in the Yellow Pages.
The competitor does not have the climate-controlled spaces or special features your store has.
The competitor's rental rates are higher than yours.

How do my rates and my store compare? As a professional manager, you should know your competitor very well. You should know the strengths and weaknesses of his location, as well as his level of quality, management and curb appeal. You should know each competitor's rates in any size category that represents more than 10 percent of your unit mix. You should check their rates quarterly, and visit the facilities annually. You should keep a notebook of your quarterly information and annual-visit data.

You will want to have a photograph of each competitor's store, and a map of where it is located. There should be a table showing its strengths and weaknesses. When you have a few years worth of data, you can begin to see trends in rent increases, the amount of turnover in manager staffing, how the store is maintained and what activity is happening in the immediate surrounding area. Is there a lot of building going on? Are there new retail stores in the competitor's neighborhood? Are there a lot of vacancies in strip malls near the competitor? How do the houses look? How do these facts compare with those of your facility?

What are my closing ratios, and do I understand my facility's traffic? I am certain as a professional store manager, you log each and every caller and visitor you get. You know how many calls were converted to visits, and how many visits became tenants. If you dared to be totally honest, you logged every call, not just those that made you look good. You know what time of day is the peak because you recorded the time and date of each call and visit. You recorded messages left on your answering machine during times you were closed or out of the office touring the property.

You may find you need to be open on Sundays because there were calls left unanswered. Are you closed on Sunday because your competitors are? That might be the very reason to be open on that day. Are you checking your caller ID to see who called but did not leave a message (and then logged the call on the traffic report, and followed up with a return call)?

Don't Whine and Complain--Suggest a Solution

One of the most compelling reasons for a manager to fall in disfavor with an owner is loss of respect. This often happens because the employee is seen as a chronic complainer or whiner. If you have a legitimate concern, discuss it with your supervisor, but always offer a solution, not just a complaint. For example, if you have researched your Yellow Pages ad and believe it needs to change because there is no map, redesign the ad on paper before you bring it up to your manager. Call and find out what a larger ad or an ad with color will cost.

If you and all your competitors are full in the 10-by-10 size category, and you have an abundance of vacant 5-by-10s, suggest combining some of those 5-by-10s into larger units. Know which tenants this would affect, and make certain you do not suggest combining where the door configuration does not work, or where tenants to be moved are difficult to contact. Understand what this change does to your rents per square foot. What is the break-even point for loss of revenue per square foot vs. gained occupancy? If you are going to suggest new landscaping or individual door alarms, do you have cost estimates for these improvements? Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.

Now That You Have the Facts...

Now, do something with all this information when you review with your supervisor. Armed with facts and figures, you are a professional manager informed about his facility's activity. Perhaps your closing ratios are weak (less than 75 percent). Perhaps you could benefit from additional training--ask your supervisor for it. Do not think needing additional training is a sign of weakness. This is not an "ego" thing. This is a request of your owner or supervisor to help you be a better manager.

Examine the competitors. Perhaps you've gained several new competitors over the past few years who have features such as individual door alarms or climate control. Maybe they are located on a main street and you are on a back street. Where are your rates in comparison to the competition? Are you a market leader or follower? How are your occupancies compared to the competition? Did you guess at their occupancies, or did you have their managers provide you with facts?

Discuss with your supervisor your Yellow Pages ad, its size and placement. Perhaps you need to remodel the office or paint the buildings. Maybe the landscaping looks tired. Is the parking lot clean and well-maintained? How does your signage look?

You may have a good case for discussing a merit increase if your store is operating at 94 percent occupancy (if it is higher, there should have been a rate increase to existing and new customers in the last 90 days); your deposits are 10 percent more than they were last year (based on the same number of units); and the economic occupancy is better this year than last, with an increase of at least 10 percent in rates per square foot. Why not suggest you receive a pay increase equal to the percent increase in rents per square foot? This would be a true measure of how well managed your store is.

By the way, did you suggest the rent increase, or make the increase kicking, screaming or doubting? What are the goals for the facility? How is the store operating today, and what are the expectations? Is an outside consultant needed because you and/or the owner just cannot figure out what is happening? Set specific goals for occupancy and rates per square foot. Suggest an incentive if you exceed the goals. Ask how you can be a part of the solution, not the problem. Prove you are a professional manager, not just a "caretaker."

Perhaps you have increased the rents per square foot, kept honest and accurate traffic reports, have up-to-date and accurate competition reports, and made realistic suggestions for improving the facility's performance, such as additional merchandise for sale, increasing the administrative fee or revising the unit mix to eliminate "flat spots." If your suggestions and accomplishments have gone unnoticed, it may be time for you to shop for a new owner. Then he may find out what the cost of an "average" manager really is.

R.K. Kliebenstein is a regular contributor to Inside Self-Storage and the founder of Coast-To-Coast Storage, which offers management consulting as a part of its full range of services. From feasibility studies to exit strategies, Coast-To-Coast Storage is the owner/operator's one-stop shop. Mr. Kliebenstein can be reached at 877.622.5508 (toll-free).

Figure 1

ABC STORAGE: WHERE CUSTOMERS LIVE
Source	# of Customers	% of Occupied Spaces	How Far From Facility
Zip Code or Exchange 1
Zip Code or Exchange 2
Zip Code or Exchange 3
Zip Code or Exchange 4
Foreign
Do Not Know
Totals

Figure 2

ABC Storage: Customer Source Report
Source	# of Customers	% of Occupied Spaces
Direct Mail
Drive-By
Former Customer
Internet
Referred By Competitor
Referred By Customer
Referred By Other Source
Walk-In
Yellow Pages
Do Not Know
Other
Totals

Marketing for the Holidays

Dec 01, 2000

Marketing for the Holidays

By Pamela Alton

Is it me, or do the seasons seem to fly by these days? Here we are in the midst of winter, with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming upon us faster than any of us seem prepared for. Now is the time to think about "specialty marketing," which will incorporate these holidays and perhaps make your facility stand out above your competition.

Thanksgiving

Now is the time to think about a canned-food drive for needy families in your community. Contact your local church, chamber of commerce, homeless shelther, etc., and inform them that you wish to participate in a canned-food drive. You may elect to offer a small reward to your existing tenants. If they bring in so many canned goods, you will give them $5 off their rent for that month. New rentals should also receive some sort of discount if they bring in goods at the time of their rental.

Have a big box decorated with holiday themes and place it in front of your office for donations. Post notices throughout the facility so current tenants know about your efforts. You might also consider offering a "free turkey" drawing: Each person who contributes canned goods or other nonperishable food items fills out a form for a drawing on a $25 gift certificate for a local grocery store. Offering a $10 grocery gift certificate on each new rental is also a great marketing tool during this time of year. And don't forget to have that special banner made and hung on your building or sign that notifies the public you are collecting canned goods. Be sure to notify your local media as well.

Christmas, Hanukkuh, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice...

This time of year is perfect for your local "Toys for Tots" campaign. Contact your local Marine Corp and volunteer to participate in its program. A local children's hospital is another good place to contact. Similar to the canned-food drive, get a large barrel or box, wrap it in festive paper and place it in your front office. Again, post notices throughout your facility with information about the drive. You may also elect to offer a free drawing for a ham or turkey, like you did at Thanksgiving.

Other ideas include some creative promotions. Purchase several small Christmas trees and give them away with each new rental. Offer a "Photo With Santa" promotion each Saturday afternoon in December and announce it on your outside advertising, sign and fliers. This will bring in existing tenants, as well as prospects who might not have otherwise visited your site.

Make sure with any specialty promotion that you mention it in your telephone sales presentation. Any community involvement should be noted with your local newspaper, which may include a press release in its community section. This is a free service offered by most newspapers and will provide you priceless exposure.

This is the time of year when specialty marketing will pay off for you and your facility--as long as you promote your efforts with advertising, fliers and banners. If you don't notify the local community of your efforts, then you aren't making the most of your time and energy. Start decorating for the holidays and thinking of ways to reach out to those in need. Happy Holidays!

Pamela Alton is the owner of Mini-Management^®, a nationwide manager- placement service. Mini-Management also offers full-service and "operations-only" facility management, training manuals, inspections and audits, feasibility studies, consulting and training seminars. For more information, call (800) 646-4648.

Commercial Records Management 2001

Dec 01, 2000

Commercial Records Management 2001

By Cary F. McGovern

Commercial records management moved into the third millennium with a great deal of change. What is the effect of industry consolidation, the movement to digital records and the use of the Internet? How has the industry changed and what can we expect?

Effects of the Commercial Records Industry Consolidation

As you probably know, the commercial records industry has been in consolidation for the past decade. Several players have consumed the high end of the market in North America, Western Europe and Australia. Initially, Pierce-Lehay, Brambles Industries Limited and Iron Mountain bought large local and regional businesses vigorously. Over the past two years, Brambles has changed its name to Recall, and Iron Mountain has purchased Pierce-Lehay, making it the world's largest provider of records-management services.

This consolidation has not been easy for Iron Mountain. Taking over Pierce-Lehay has proven to be an arduous task at best. The company will be busy with this integration for the next two years. In many markets, Iron Mountain is suffering from customer backlash and defection. Most local and regional companies had strong relationships with their local vendor. Iron Mountain is more rigid and inflexible to local businesses' unique demands. Although the company has strong relationships in the Fortune 500 market because of national and international contracting terms, it does not have a lock on local and regional markets. In addition, Iron Mountain has typically concentrated on the 1-million-plus population markets. North American markets ranging from 100,000 to 1 million in population size are wide open for new start-ups, with the 100,000 to 300,000 markets having the highest number.

Since Iron Mountain is a publicly traded company, you can substantially rely on its observations about the market and the financial nature of the commercial records business. For more information, read the company's press releases at www.ironmountain.com/index.htm . To get another look at how the consolidation has affected local competition, you may want to read Norm Brodsky's article, "Size Matters," in the September 1998 issue of Inc. magazine. It can be found at www.inc.com/incmagazine/article/0,,ART992,00.html.

My start-up consultation services with self-storage operators have never been more active. This has been the best time to go into the commercial records business in the last 15 years. If you own or operate a self-storage, moving and storage, courier or warehousing operation, you already have many of the components in place for records management. However, it is a different business from self-storage and requires an effective business plan.

Three Basic Questions for the Movement to Digital Records

There are three questions that operators of commercial records management businesses consistently ask. No one knows the answers, but there sure is a great deal of conjecture about the possibilities.

Where are we now in the transition to digital records?
Where are we going and how will we get there?
How long will it take?

I recently addressed the commercial records industry at a conference in Europe where I was on the program with Bill Saffady.¹ Saffady is considered a world-class expert in the movement to digital records and a Fellow of ARMA International. As a college professor, he specializes in this subject and writes abundantly. His observations are on a practical level. He postulates that although electronic and digital records are beginning to proliferate, there is a growing body of traditional records that accompanies them. Paper is not going away for some time.

Although we are in a transition to digital² records, the timeline is being principally determined by cost and sociological implications. Most organizations have literally hundreds of business systems that operate in their day-to-day environment. The cost of implementing new software and systems is staggering. One system at a time will succumb to digital delivery. Even though the current systems will change, paper documents will not be abandoned altogether. In fact, the opposite seems to be true--the more digital systems we invent, the higher the rate of paper consumption. Today, in any network, there are printers, fax machines and copiers. Estimates by industry pundits imply that there are as many as eight to 10 copies of most documents in any enterprise. The mass is growing and no one seems to be able to figure it out.

Of course, for those of us "Trekkies" who observe the weekly antics of Captains Kirk, Picard and Janeway of the Starship Enterprise, we see no paper being used. How did they get there from here, and how long did it take? What we now know is that we like paper and the cost of change is enormous. Surely it will happen, but over a long period of time.

In several of its press releases over the past year, Iron Mountain has emphasized the nature of storage as "permanent revenue." I don't know about you, but to me "permanent" means a very long time. The average growth of paper in storage in all developed countries is approximately 15 percent to 20 percent annually. This number is growing because the base keeps getting larger. Industry estimates indicate there are more than 1 billion boxes in storage in commercial records centers in North America alone, and an additional 1 billion boxes in self-storage facilities, moving and storage operations, warehouses, customer sites and other nooks and crannies everywhere. Countries of Western and Eastern Europe, Australia, South America and Asia are growth markets as well. Paper records storage seems endless.

Implications of the Internet

One of the most significant changes that has taken place in records management over the past 50 years is the use of the Internet. Today anyone can have inexpensive access to the web via a personal computer and Internet service provider (ISP). Many Internet services are available for free or a very low monthly cost. If you don't know of any free services, you can check out Blue Light at www.bluelight.com , a free service available in hundreds of cities. Simply click on the "Free Internet Services" button on the bottom of the site's left-hand toolbar.

You can expect all commercial records centers to use the Internet for customer access, retrieval services and electronic delivery. You may want to try it for yourself by accessing FIRMS software at www.firmshome.com/guest and requesting a free log-on ID and password. Additionally, more and more commercial records operations are offering a transition to digital services such as imaging and data-repository services through the Internet. ISPs, ASPs (application service providers) and SSPs (digital storage service providers) are growing on the Internet.

You can determine where you want to be in the spectrum of commercial records management services. Storage continues to be an annuity business, and services can offer relatively high margins while technology decreases in price every day.

1 Saffady, Willam, Managing Electronic Records, 2nd Edition. Price: $35, Catalog No. A4609. This Association of Records Managers and Administrator's (ARMA) second edition provides discussion of records management concepts and methodologies as they apply to electronic records. This may be purchased from ARMA International at www.arma.org.

2 Most people use the words "digital" and "electronic" interchangeably. "Digital" is the more appropriate term since many analog records are in fact electronic as well, such as traditional video and audiotape. "Digital" implies bits and bytes.

Regular columnist Cary F. McGovern is a certified records manager and the principal of File Managers Inc., a records-management consulting firm specializing in implementation assistance and training for new, commercial records-center start-ups, as well as marketing support for existing records centers. For more information, visit www.fileman.com.

FileMan Records Management is developing a model for selling records-management services on the Internet. The company will soon be piloting several versions of its method. If you are interested in becoming a FileMan Pilot participant, e-mail [email protected] or call toll-free (877) FILE-MAN.

Managing Business Growth

Dec 01, 2000

Managing Business Growth

How to utilize simplicity and respect in advancing your business

By Stan Colona

If your ultimate goal as a self-storage operator is to develop your business to a significant-sized operation, you will need to pay special attention to the management of some often overlooked but important areas. There are a variety of internal and exterior variables that will determine whether a business will grow and prosper. External forces include competition, demand for your product and the supply of capital. The internal forces are likely to be more controllable, and include staff and operations.

One day, during an orientation training of middle-managers at one company I worked for, the CEO and founder of the company came in to join our group. When he entered the room, we all felt his presence. His stature in the company and the industry was well-known. He immediately established a comfort level and apologized that he would not be able to spend the entire day with us. He had, however, come to tell us two very important things, and he hoped these concepts would guide us through our careers as business people and leaders. He said, "First, some people make this business real hard. But it's real easy. We rent little garages--lots of little garages. The second thing I want to tell you is: Take care of your people and your people will take care of you."

For many years and through three job promotions I allowed those words to guide me. As I became more effective at managing larger portions of the company, I began to realize how to best apply these concepts. Keeping things simple and establishing mutual respect with your team members are basic but crucial ideas. The art lies in their application to your business.

During a company's growth, the concept of keeping things simple can be elusive. Transaction volumes and other issues outside of normal operations become more prevalent and time-consuming. Development and refinement of effective management systems becomes critical. Management operations can be as simple as a day planner used to schedule daily meetings and appointments, or elaborate as expensive, proprietary reporting sytems.

The latter can tell you almost everything you would want to know about your multiple locations, if you have them. The best systems always produce a one-page executive or key-indicators report. The intent of the report is to allow a manager to view a "snapshot" of the progress of key areas of the business. It allows the user to identify problem areas, allowing him to research or otherwise focus on them.

Having a powerful management system will also assist you in the application of the second important concept: taking care of your people. Most operators assume taking care of your team is limited to providing top wages and benefits. However, really applying a mutual-respect philosophy goes well beyond compensation. If you want to establish respect throughout your team, you must acknowlege some fundamental truths about human nature:

Most people want to do a good job.
People, including your employees, need to understand what is expected of them.
There is often a large gap between good intentions and performance.

Establishing a management technique that identifies goals, measures performance, reports feedback and rewards accomplishment will stimulate and maintain the growth of your self-storage business. Without sufficient human-resource systems, even your best team members will not reach their full potential--and neither will your facilities. One of the most important factors in the success of a self-storage property is the on-site management team. It makes sense that as your operation becomes larger, the weight given to the people-factor of your business should also increase.

Remember this: Smiling faces rent more spaces.

Stan Colona is one of the founders of XPS Services LLC of Dallas. He and his partner, Brad Boyd, have combined industry expertise of more than 20 years. They have managed more than 300 properties, lead more than 600 managers and visited an estimated 2,500 facilities. Known as the "Agents of Change," Mr. Colona and Mr. Boyd offer cutting-edge consulting services to self-storage operators. For more information, visit their three websites at www.xpsservices.com , www.ministoragejobs.com or www.ministoragemanagement.com.

Holiday Decorating

Dec 01, 2000

Holiday Decorating

By Teri L. Lanza

Festive panache goes a long way in creating holiday cheer for employees and customers ...and creates great marketing opportunities, too.

A special thanks goes out to the Bialek family of Manitoba, Canada, for allowing us to draw on its "Merry Christmas Page," www.mts.net/~tyndall/cmas/xmas.htm. The family claims to be setting a record this year for the largest rural Christmas display in "The Heart of Eastern Manitoba," with upward of 15,000 lights.

December is a time of celebration for most of your customers and employees, regardless of their individual holiday traditions. Creating a festive environment during this season will not only brighten people's spirits, but will generate warm sentiments about your business within the local community. Aside from the added visibility they create for your facility, decorations may even create unique marketing opportunities, particularly if paired with an event, such as a toy drive, or other publicity stunt, such as dressing your manager as Santa for a day.

Running a business is never easy, and finding time for those special touches can be daunting during an already harried holiday season. After all, you have families to shop for, gifts to wrap and food to prepare, just like your customers do. But taking some time to dress up your facility's office and exterior with some coloful lights, ornaments, wreaths, a menorah, ribbons and bows is plain good business. It generates publicity, and communicates to the people who work with you--employees and tenants alike--that you are about more than storage.

Things You'll Need

Before you begin, make sure you have everything you'll need to hang, fasten and secure your decorations. Some smart items to have include:

Plastic cup hooks--available in packages at any hardware or home-retail store
Thick wire--sturdy but flexible, this can be used to hang a number of items
Sticky tabs
Twist ties or pipe cleaners
A large roll of velvet ribbon
Heavy-duty extension cords, long and short--those approved for outdoor use are preferable
Plenty of replacement bulbs in different voltages
A sturdy ladder
Plenty of patience

Don't Get Tangled...

Holiday lights, as dazzling as they can be once hung properly, can be a real nightmare. The cords get tangled, the bulbs will or won't blink on command, one string works, one won't--they can try your patience. But a facility outlined with these colorful beauties draws attention, and what business doesn't want that? Following are some decorating ideas for the exterior of your buildings.

Start with a plan. A diagram of your facility, including height and width dimensions, walkways and railings, will help you determine how many strings of lights you will need. Note also where your exterior electrical outlets are located. You can start with something simple and elaborate a bit more each year.

When purchasing lights, consider miniature lights intended for exterior use. They are energy-efficient and have cool-burning bulbs that pose less of a fire hazard. Read the packaging to determine how many strings can be linked together without overloading your circuits. The package will also indicate how many feet of lighting you have to run along roof edges, windows, etc. According to the Bialek family, hosts of the Merry Christmas Page (www.mts.net/~tyndall/cmas/xmas.htm), full-size C-7 and C-9 light sets have the longest life and most durable construction. They can be purchased in strings of 25 and connected in up to six string lengths. If you choose to go with miniatures, the maximum recommended amount of lights you can string together is 350 to 400.

To determine how many feet of lights you will need for a bush or tree, simply multiply its height by its average width in feet and then multiply by six. If you are using full-size rather than miniature lights, divide the final number by two. Miniatures are the best choice for deciduous trees. You can wrap each branch starting from the trunk and working to the end of the branches. For coniferous trees, use C-9 bulbs, beginning at the top and working your way down in a zig-zag pattern, or starting at the bottom and working up the tree in circles.

In general, strings of lights should be used to highlight architectural structures and shrubbery, while a floodlight can be placed to focus on a special feature, such as a wreath, plastic snowman or decorated tree. Be sure to purchase flood- or spotlight bases rated for outdoor use with plastic, double-insulated bases, and invest in heavy-duty outdoor extension cords. Be sure to keep cords out of walkways or door openings.

Plastic hooks or clips, which can be purchased at any major home-retail or hardware store, should be used to secure lights to your building. The hooks secure to the structure and the lights simply slide into place. Never attempt to staple light strings to any surface, as you may penetrate the circuits. For gable roofs with metal facia, special shingle tabs can be used that slide under shingles without causing any damage. Special sticky tabs can also be affixed to smooth surfaces that allow you to insert a nylon cable tie to hold the lights in place.

Inevitably, there will be light strings that don't want to cooperate. If any part of a string will not light, first try firmly pushing each bulb into its base to secure it into the socket. If that doesn't solve the problem, remove each bulb and base from its socket. Straighten the wires that extend from the base, bend them back around the base and re-insert the bulb into the socket. If the string has a fuse in the male end of the plug--and some do--then try replacing the fuse. Note: Burned-out bulbs should be replaced as soon as possible, so as not to cause the other bulbs to overheat.

Some final suggstions regarding lights: It's a good idea to store light strings separately so they don't tangle. There are special caddies made for this purpose, but looping strings and securing them with tape is also effective. This will not only help you avoid frustration when unpacking them, but will make it easier to test the lights. There are testers available that make locating problem bulbs a snap.

Photographing Your Light Display

Holiday decorating is a great way to draw attention to--and even market--your facility. An impressive holiday display should be documented, not only because of all the time and effort involved, but so its benefits can be reaped year-round. You may want to include a photo of your decorated facility in a brochure or on your website. Sending a photo card of your decorated facility to your tenants--don't forget potential tenants--during the holiday season lends a nice touch.

If you are not a professional photographer, it will be a challenge to take clear, impressive photos of your display. You can capture the "magic" of your lights, however, by following some simple tips provided by the New York Institute of Photography (NIP), the world's largest photography school.

First, turn off your flash. That's right--even at night. Your flash will overwhelm the miniature tree lights, and their color will be imperceptible. What this means, though, is that you won't have enough light for a normal, split-second exposure. If you have an automatic camera, it will compensate by holding its shutter open for a longer period of time (its meter will gauge how long). This creates a risk of blurring if either you or anything in the camera's view moves. NYI suggests the following: 1) Use a high-speed film, such as ISO 800, to cut down on the duration of the exposure; 2) use a tripod to steady the camera, or use a solid surface such as a table top. For more information, visit www.nyip.com/tips/topic_holidaylights1298.html.

Other Decorating Ideas

Lights are a perfect holiday addition to the dècor of a facility's exterior, but you should also consider decorating inside your rental office to further the festive spirit. The obvious embellishments include a Christmas tree or menorah, colorful pin-ups, glass bulbs or other decorations, tinsel, garland, wreaths, candy canes, etc. Here are some more specialized concepts:

Make a wreath out of branches from your Christmas tree and deck them with traditional items, like bells and bows, or personalize it with items indigenous to your region. For example, Christmasmoon.com suggests that if you live in a warm climate, you could attach plastic sunglasses, flamingos or toy lizards.
Use your holiday cards as decoration by hanging them on a string along the top of a room, or affix them to a wall or door in the shape of a tree, wreath or candy cane.
Cut some boughs from your Christmas tree or out in the wild. Bunch them together in small groups with wreath wire and tie them with a ribbon. Add wired pine cones for a festive touch. Hang them in doorways, over windows or on walls.
Many facilities sell boxes to their tenants. Try wrapping a few empty boxes in holiday paper to look like gifts and pile them on your counter.
Play some holiday music in your office. If you have music piped into your facility, you can play it there as well.
Fill a glass bowl or vase with shiny ornaments. Hang decorations from your houseplants and indoor trees.
Set up a miniature holiday village somewhere in your office.
Put a bowl of holiday candy, a gingerbread house, fresh fruit or cookies on your counter.

Spreading Cheer

Whatever you do to commemorate the season, consider spreading the cheer--to your employees, your tenants and the local community. Team up with your local chamber of commerce, Boy or Girl Scouts, or other organization in a Toys for Tots drive. You probably have several tenants with old toys, clothing or other items they might like to donate to charity this time of year. Ask them to go through their units and leave you with any such items.

Consider organizing a caroling outing or participating in a Sub-for-Santa program. And don't forget to contact the local media well in advance if you're going to feature an unusual or elaborate light display or participate in a holiday fund-raiser. Decorating your facility will put you in the spotlight--now is the time to do something worth noticing.

Holiday Safety Tips

With the end-of-the-year holidays come lights, Christmas trees and other potential fire and electrical hazards. Following some simple guidelines will keep you, your family and tenants free from harm.

Tree Safety

Place Christmas trees away from fireplaces, heating vents and other heat-producing appliances.
Cut Christmas trees can be extremely flammable, particularly if they are dry. Trees should be kept well-watered. A dry tree will lose green needles when tapped on the ground.
Saw at least an inch off the bottom of a cut tree and place it firmly in a stand that holds at least one gallon of water, with the water level above the cut. A 6-foot tree will use a gallon of water every one to two days.
All natural decorations used indoors--including trees and wreaths--should be treated with fire retardant.
To fire-retard a tree, allow the sawed-off trunk to soak overnight in a bucket of the following mixture: 2 gallons of hot water, 2 cups of corn syrup, 1/4 cup of liquid bleach, 2 pinches of epsom salts and 1/2 teaspoon of Boraxo.
The use of candles as decorations is strongly discouraged. If you must use them, place them in sturdy holders away from flammable objects. Remember that melted candle wax can cause burns, especially for children.
Never attempt to burn any portion of the Christmas tree in the fireplace. Dispose of the tree properly.

Lighting Safety

Use tree lights that bear the Underwriters' Laboratory (U.L.) label, and check the strings for signs of wear and tear. Do not use lights that are frayed or that have missing or broken bulbs.
Always unplug a light string before replacing a bulb.
Extreme caution should be observed when rigging holiday lighting. Metallic decorations--including artificial trees, some types of icicles and tinsel--should not be strung with lights, as they conduct electricity and may become energized by faults in the electrical wiring.
Avoid overloading wall outlets or extension cords. Use no more than three sets of lights per extension cord, and do not run cords under rugs or in other paths of travel. If the cord ever feels hot, that means it's carrying too much electricity.
Use miniature lights that have cool-burning bulbs.
Use only outdoor lights on the exterior of a building. Point the light sockets down to avoid the collection of moisture. Keep outdoor electrical connectors above ground and out of puddles of snow.
When connecting light strands outdoors, wrap a plastic bag around the connections and tie the ends with teflon tape.
Never staple lights to fasten them to walls or other surfaces. Use plastic or metal hooks for hanging.
Remember to turn off all lights and other electrical decorations before leaving the premises for extended periods of time or going to sleep.

Equipment

Do not obstruct exit doors, corridors, fire alarms, sprinkler heads or any other emergency-response equipment with decorations of any kind.
Check fire alarms and smoke detectors regularly. Be sure to keep them stocked with fresh batteries.
Always keep a fire extinguisher in an easily accessible place.

Inside Self-Storage wishes you a happy and safe holiday.

Holiday safety tips were provided by the Environmental Health and Safety Department of the University of Maryland (www.ehs.umaryland.edu); the Summit Area Jaycees of New Jersey (www.angelfire.com/nj/summitjc); Swift Office Solutions of Tempe, Ariz. (www.sosnet.com); KWTV of Oklahoma City, Okla. (www.kwtv.com); and Christmas2000.com.

Why You Should Consider Higher Limits of Liability

Dec 01, 2000

Why You Should Consider Higher Limits of Liability

By David Wilhite

A recent survey conducted by a major insurance company revealed that many, if not most, business owners purchase liability limits that will not fully indemnify them against the awards typically being handed down by today's juries.

Business-liability insurance provides essential protection for every self-storage facility owner. Business liability protects you against bodily-injury lawsuits--for example, a lawsuit claiming that someone slipped and fell due to wet or icy conditions on your premises. It also protects against property-damage lawsuits, such as one claiming that a security gate crashed down on a car while on your premises. Business liability also provides important protection against lawsuits involving libel, slander, physical eviction or the false arrest of a third party; and advertising injury lawsuits involving plagiarism, copyright infringement and false advertising. (Note that while libel, plagiarism, etc., may not seem like bodily or property damages, that's how the courts have interpreted them.)

The important point for you to remember about business liability is that if you are found liable in a lawsuit, business-liability insurance will cover those sums that you become legally obligated to pay up to the limits of your policy. In short, it protects your business, your assets and your peace of mind. Therefore, since business-liability insurance is one of the basic costs of doing business--and since you, as a smart consumer, want to invest your insurance dollars where they will do the most good--this month's column will provide a brief overview of liability-limit options, and why you should consider higher limits of protection.

It should come as no surprise that today's juries are routinely awarding tremendous sums of money in bodily-injury and property-damage lawsuits. More than 10 million civil cases are filed each year, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in jury awards. What is surprising is that a recent survey conducted by a major insurance company revealed that many, if not most, business owners purchase liability limits that will not fully indemnify them against the awards typically being handed down by today's juries. Obviously, this can be a very dangerous practice, especially in today's litigious climate.

If you think your current limits of liability are adequate, consider these three cases: Five years ago, a jury awarded a $1.95 million judgment to a delivery man who slipped and fell on cracked pavement while making his rounds to a business. Four years ago, a jury awarded $3.5 million award to a man who sustained serious personal injury after falling in a hotel shower. And just three years ago, a jury awarded $22 million to a woman who went into a coma after being struck on the head by a heavy toolbox that she pulled off a shelf in a hardware store.

These cases illustrate three important points: First, juries routinely award enormous sums of money in personal-injury cases; second, the liability limits you choose can spell the difference between solvency and bankruptcy; and third, liability limits of $1 million or more--which, just a few years ago, was considered adequate for many business owners--must no longer be considered unusual or excessive.

Fortunately, business-liability insurance coverage is readily available for self-storage owners at reasonable rates. Increased liability limits can be purchased in $1 million, $2 million and $3 million limits for just hundreds of dollars per million extra per year.

Assuming you've reviewed your business coverage and decided to increase your liability limit, how do you go about estimating the amount of coverage you'll actually need? Some experts recommend that you base your limits on multiples of your annual revenues. Another method for determining adequate coverage limits is to ask your agent what kinds of claims have been filed against storage facilities in the past and what the results were. You may also want to consult with a legal professional to find out what kinds of awards (in dollar amounts) have been made in your state in the past few years for similar businesses, and under what circumstances. Base your limits accordingly. If you are on an extremely tight budget, evaluate how much you can afford to lose if a judgment is made against you, and make sure your coverage protects you to at least that point.

Remember, no matter how large or small your self-storage facility may be, securing adequate coverage is essential for protecting your business and your peace of mind.

In addition to loss-of-income and extra-expense coverages, Universal Insurance Facilities Ltd. offers a complete package of coverages specifically designed to meet the needs of the self-storage industry. For more information, or to get a quick, no-obligation quote, write P.O. Box 40079, Phoenix, AZ 85067-0079; phone (800) 844-2101; fax (480) 970-6240; e-mail [email protected]; www.vpico.com/universal.

Grape Expectations

Dec 01, 2000

Grape Expectations

According to Proverbs (21:17), "He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man; he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich." But I prefer the sentiments of Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Give me wine to wash me clean from the weather-stains of care."

Operators of this industry have recently uncovered a new niche business: wine storage. Though not appropriate for every market, it has earned popularity in areas offering no viable alternative for storing such collections. At the Inside Self-Storage Expo in Nashville this year, industry gurus Jim Chiswell and Joe Niemczyk joined George McCord of Southeast Storage and Development in a presentation on this ancillary's potential. George's facility, Plantation Self Storage, Bluffton, S.C., features 88 wine-storage lockers with a total capacity for 2,032 cases of wine. He shares information on construction costs, rental averages, facility layout, presentation and more. Though wine-storage revenues can be attractive, what's more important is how it can differentiate your project from others in your area.

This time of year is generally one of celebration for family, customers and employees. Regardless of your individual holiday traditions, creating a festive environment this season will not only brighten people's spirits, but generate warm sentiments about your business within the local community. Refer to page 60 for ideas on decorating for the holidays. And however you choose to celebrate, keep in mind that gatherings involving alcohol can cause liabilities for you as an employer and business owner. Fred Steingold warns against some common legal risks.

Also in this issue, Jeff Kinder emphasizes the importance of regularly evaluating and pricing your self-storage product. Regardless of what climate of competition you may face, it is crucial not to undervalue your facility. R.K. Kliebenstein takes a close look at employment issues, addressing questions such as: When is the time for a staffing change? What will a change cost my business? and How can I better solve my business challenges?

At the turn of the century in England, it was a custom for the host of a fashionable dinner party to choose both the giver and subject of a toast. During one such gathering, Nobel Prize-winning writer George Bernard Shaw was asked to tip his glass and toast to the then taboo topic of sex. In a marvelous comeback that observed propriety, Shaw graciously quipped, "It gives me great pleasure." I hope this issue, too, delights you.

Happy Holidays,

Teri L. Lanza
Editor
[email protected]

Holiday Decorating

Dec 01, 2000

Holiday Decorating

By Teri L. Lanza

Festive panache goes a long way in creating holiday cheer for employees and customers ...and creates great marketing opportunities, too.

A special thanks goes out to the Bialek family of Manitoba, Canada, for allowing us to draw on its "Merry Christmas Page," www.mts.net/ ~tyndall/cmas/xmas.htm. The family claims to be setting a record this year for the largest rural Christmas display in "The Heart of Eastern Manitoba," with upward of 15,000 lights.