It's not often you see self-storage all rolled up in a neat little package with religion, but a post in today's East Texas Review Gospel News makes an interesting little connection: We don't need to store things on earth because if you're a "good Christian," you're "laying up treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:19-21). Here's the relevant excerpt from Dr. David Dykes:

 

Over the last 40 years, a new industry has exploded in Americathe self-storage business. As recent as 1995, there were about 6,000 self-storage outlets in America; and today there are more than 45,000. What does that say about our culture? We have so much stuff that we cant even store it all! Our greed has created a $15 billion annual business just to store our stuff. If you are a Christian, you have something stored up in heaven, and it isnt in a metal building with a garage door. It is the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

 

Well, praise the Lord. Does heaven storage come in different sizes with climate control, too? I'd like to think so, because hope tends to increase and diminish at stuttering velocity. And it can spoil pretty quickly.

 

BTW, Dr. Dykes, it isn't a garage door, it's a roll-up door. But I have to tell you: When it comes to storing intangibles, I imagine any old container will do.

Back on March 30th, I blogged about a storage operator who had concerns about the fact that her income was closely tied to weekly store revenue and the effects increased competition was having on her business. I went on to discuss some unusual, "high-powered" marketing tactics, including mention of one facility using NASCAR sponsorships to enhance its visibility to the public.

 

Looks like the concept is catching on. Today I see K&M Storage of Dodge City, Kan., won the honor of being named the "Official Small Business of NASCAR, courtesy of Office Depot" for the remainder of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup race season. What a fantastic opportunity! To kick off the celebration, K&M owner Duane Nietling joined NASCAR star Carl Edwards, Roush Racing owner Jack Roush, and Office Depot's senior vice president of marketing, Tony Ueber, to unveil the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion. Bedecked with the K&M logo, the car made its debut on Saturday during the track during the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

 

The Office Depot No. 99 Ford Fusion.

 

Office Depot driver Carl Edwards.

 

How did this all happen? K&M entered the Office Depot sweepstakes, which was open to small businesses of no more than 99 employees from February 12 through April 9. Participants could submit an entry at any Office Depot store or at www.officedepotracing.com. It turned out to be a dream come true for this fledgling venture, which opened only 18 months ago and hasn't had a lot to invest in marketing.

 

Thanks to its total score, the business will receive a year's supply of new business cards, letterhead and envelopes (Nietling worked with Logoworks, part of the Office Depot Copy, Print and Ship service, to create K&M's first-ever company logo). It's also getting a $10,000 small-business makeover from Office Depot, as well as the advice of a small-business expert to help the storage facility take full advantage of its new marketing assets.

 

Talk about being propelled into a promising future! Congrats to K&M!

 

Originally called "Decoration Day," Memorial day is a remembrance of individuals who have died serving our country. This weekend, as you plan your BBQs, picnics, parties and other festivities, take just a moment to consider the meaning behind the long-awaited three-day weekend. (If you'd like to know about the origins and history of this holiday, jump on over to USMemorialDay.org.)

 

Memorial Day is one of those celebrations that holds real valueparticularly considering the political climate of modern-day Americaunlike other pointless holidays such as Columbus Day and Washington's Birthday. All right, I'm sure some of you will get all up and arms about that. But seriously ... Do we need to recognize one president's birthday? What about all the other leaders who have made key contributions to the nation? And don't get me started on Columbus. I'm an Italian-American, but I still don't feel the need to celebrate a guy whose achievements are questionable and who very likely encouraged foul treatment of indigenous people.

 

On to storage. Last week, I wrote in this blog about the fact that StorageMart had dubbed the Tuesday after Memorial Day as "Crazy Tuesday." According to President Chris Burnam, it's one of the busiest days of the year for self-storage operators. I'm still not entirely certain why that is, but I don't doubt its validity for StorageMart facilities at the least. Do others of you find this to be true?

 

So relax and enjoy the upcoming holiday. Wear lots of sunscreen and bug spray. Remember the rule about liquor and beer. Drink lots of water. Smoke 'em if you got 'em. Sleep in at least once. Call a loved one you haven't spoken to in a while. Maybe clean your oven. Then brace yourself for your first day back in the management office!

 

Most self-storage operators aren't trained in marketing; and yet it's become essential to the health of any storage business, particularly in ultra-competitive areas. Sure, you can hop online or go to Amazon.com for some relevant reading material, but the selection is vast and your time limited. So where you do you go for industry-specific information?

 

Inside Self-Storage magazine frequently runs articles on a wide array of marketing-related topics, as do other industry publications. But if you're looking for an alternative online resource, I recently discovered one: Derek Naylor, president of Storage Marketing Solutions, has started a blog on Ezinearticles.com that focuses specifically on marketing for self-storage facilities.

 

I don't know much about SMS or the company's reputatation. But the blog content seems decent, and the website provides a handful of free resources, such as an e-mail newsletter, a "Storage Market Dominance Report," and a free secret-shopper call. If you're a facility manager, you might want to check these out and see whether they can assist you in boosting occupancy. You have nothing to lose.

 

 

If you like dinner, and you like dancing, and you like being on a cruise ship, and picturesque sky lines and all that jazz, then just wait until you learn about the options to enjoy all of the above in a single package in Reno/Tahoe, Nev., during the ISS Expo, July 19-22.

Is sunset your favorite time of day? Then check out these delightful dusk events:

Emerald Bay Sightseeing Dinner Cruise

Sunset Dinner & Dance Cruise

Sunset Dinner & Dance Buffet

Tahoe Queen Sunset Dinner Dance Cruise

Or are you more of a morning person? Never fear, there are some fantastic options for you, too:

Historic Glenbrook Breakfast Cruise

Champagne Brunch Cruise

Emerald Bay Sightseeing Cruise

And if you want to hear the legends of Lake Tahoe, don't miss the famous Tales of Tahoe cruise, with nationally acclaimed impressionist McAvoy Lane as the Ghost of Mark Twain. He offers both adult and childrens' versions of his stories, in case you're traveling with family.

Speaking of family, some of you may remember my post from several weeks ago in which I mentioned my husband and I had added two new kittens to ours. At the time, they were freshly born and not ready to leave the nest. But last weekend, they came home to stay: the kittens, their umpteen toys, their itty-bitty claws and teeth, their messy litter-box habits, their chaotic dances of predator/prey, their sweet little purrs, and their big ol' eyes that shine at you out of the dark.

Yes, it's the whole kittencaboodle. And since some of you have inquired about their status, I thought I'd share some pics, just like any proud mother...

First, a flashback: Kittens on the day they were born...

 

Fast forward to present day... Ladies and gentleman, meet Portia and Oberon... My little angels (yeah, RIGHT) ...

 

Our biggest discovery of the week? Baby gates are about as significant to fledgling cats as Manolo Blahniks are to heterosexual males. I don't know about anybody else's, but our kittens can fly.