Hubbard, Ore., Self-Storage Facilities Sponsor Annual Hop Fest

Jul 21, 2010

Advantage Self Storage and Hubbard Self Storage of Hubbard, Ore., were sponsors of the 37th annual Hubbard Hop Festival, a fundraiser for the Hubbard Volunteer Fire Association and an extremely popular community event.

The volunteer fire fighters use the money for various charities, scholarships and community programs. Taking place annually on the third Saturday in July, the festival includes a parade, beer garden, games for young and old, musical entertainment, food, craft booths, and more.

This year’s event took place July 17 at Rivenes Park. The grand marshal was Bonnie Hostetler, whose family has been involved in every Hop Festival since 1973. Activities included potato-sack races, face painting, magic shows, clowns, bouncy houses and a horseshoe-throwing competition.

Additional sponsors of this year’s event were The Hubbard Fire District, Burger Hut, Hubbard Shell, Engelman Electric, Nursery Connection, Hubbard Inn, Ming’s Restaurant, Fjord’s Inc., Bonnets & Curls, and Morgenthaler and Gram.

Advantage Self Storage on Pacific Highway offers climate control, Budget truck rentals, a retail store for moving supplies, vehicle storage and more.

Hubbard Self Storage on J Street has been in business for more than 17 years. The facility also offers a range of amenities.

Source: Woodburn Independent, Hubbard Celebrates 37th Annual Hop Fest

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Second Self-Storage Arsonist in Virginia Beach Sentenced to Four Years

Jul 20, 2010

A man convicted of setting fire to a self-storage facility in Virginia Beach, Va., was sentenced to 24 years in prison, but only has to serve four years.

Joshua Hutchins was arrested and charged in connection with a fire at AAAA Self Storage on Sept. 24. Surveillance video caught Hutchins, 22, and another man, 22-year-old Dustin Hess, setting fire to several storage units.

The men cut the locks on several units at the storage facility and stole stored property, then set two units on fire. One of the units was attached to the facility manager’s apartment. The manager and her two small children escaped unharmed. Twelve units were damaged by the blaze.

Security video and pawn-shop records tied Hess to the stolen property. Hess pleaded guilty in January to four counts of burglary, three counts of grand larceny, one count of conspiracy, and one count of arson in connection with the burglary and fire.

In addition to his 10-year prison term, Hess was sentenced to indefinite supervised probation and ordered to have no contact with the victims. Hutchins will serve a total of four years and will be on supervised probation for 20 years.

Source: Wavy 10, Man Convicted of Arson Sentenced to Serve Four Years in Prison

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Chester Heights in PA Opens After Months of Delay

Jul 20, 2010

After months of delays, Chester Heights Self-Storage opened last month in Chester Heights, Pa.

Originally scheduled to open a year ago, the self-storage development has experienced several delays caused by adverse weather conditions, construction issues and opposition from neighbors.

In June, the Chester Heights Borough Council authorized the issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO). The council approved the 60-day TCO despite inspectors identifying several construction items that have yet to be completed. Two self-storage buildings have been erected on the 5-acre site, with two more planned for the future.

Development and construction of Chester Heights Self-Storage took about three years. Several neighbors living behind the storage development previously expressed concern about a privacy buffer. Trees will be planted and an ornamental wrought iron fence was installed along the rear border to enhance the buffer.

Source: Delaware County New Network,Chester Heights Storage Facility Finally Opens

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Morningstar Mini-Storage Manager Receives Scholarship

Jul 20, 2010

Krista Bridgwood, manager of Morningstar Mini-Storage in Hickory, N.C., is the recipient of a Self Storage Association Foundation Scholarship.

She’ll receive a $2,500 grant based on her performance within school and the workplace. Bridgwood is currently pursuing a master of science in human resources at Western Carolina University.

“We are pleased Krista has been recognized for the contribution she makes to her business and her personal development through her continued education, said Craig Robertson, director of storage operations for Morningstar Properties. “She plays a key part in the success of her store, and we are happy she’s a part of the Morningstar team,”

The Self Storage Association awarded seven applicants. Awardees must work within the self-storage industry while seeking an education at an accredited postsecondary education institution.

Founded in Matthews, N.C., in 1981, Morningstar is a developer, builder and operator of specialty real estate types across the Southeast. The company owns or operates 46 self-storage projects totaling nearly 3 million square feet. The company continues to grow through development and acquisition.

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Free Webinar: Legal Issues for Self-Storage Facility Owners and Managers

Jul 20, 2010

On Aug. 18, veteran self-storage professional Tom Litton, owner of Litton Property Management Inc., will present a free webinar titled “Unique Legal Topics for Self-Storage Owners and Managers.” The online seminar will focus on several legal topics that are important to successful self-storage operations, including:

The importance of a redaction policy
Changing and enforcing the rental agreement’s limit-of-value clause
Legally postponing an auction
Posting the rental agreement online
The legal definition of “sold to the highest bidder”
Advertising lien sales in the right newspapers
Applying the statute of frauds to self-storage
Legally entering a rented self-storage space

The event will take place at 2 p.m. ET. To register, visit Ministoragemessenger.com.

Litton began his self-storage career during the industry’s infancy and has managed more than 150 self-storage facilities in 11 states. He currently fee manages and consults throughout Australia, Canada, England, France and the United States.

Litton will present live at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in New Orleans, Sept. 29-Oct. 1. For details about his “Marketing and Sales Boot Camp” and other educational seminars, visit www.insideselfstorageworldexpo.com.

The ISS Expo will take place at the New Orleans Marriott at 555 Canal St. It will comprise three comprehensive tracks of educational seminars, several networking opportunities, product and service exhibits, and add-on intensive workshops.

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Tips for Marketing a Mobile-Storage Business: Owners Should Focus on Lead Tracking and Brand Recognition

Jul 20, 2010

Many owners of mobile-storage businesses place their emphasis on great service and all the tasks involved in providing it, such as having clean, well-maintained containers, trucks to keep deliveries arriving on time, and friendly staff to provide service with a smile. But without customers, the rest of the effort is for nothing. Every business needs prospects, and marketing is a critical activity for attracting them.

However, for many small businesses, a dedicated marketing person just isn’t an option. Marketing is often one of many hats added to a busy owner’s or manager’s task list. So how do you cope? Here are some tips for the mobile-storage owner who needs to get maximum bang for his buck.

Track Leads

When someone calls or stops in your office, ask how he found you and record this information consistently. Ideally, you’ll use this info to identify sales levels generated by different sources, such as the Internet, Yellow Pages ads, word-of-mouth, and so on. With this data in hand, you can make better decisions on how to spend your marketing dollars.

Keep in mind that sometimes there’s a combination of sources at work. For instance, someone might receive your postcard in the mail, but contact you through your website. Categorizing your customers by type or activity (i.e., business user, student, person moving, person remodeling) will also help you better understand who’s buying from you. If possible, build this tracking into your company’s operations software.

Have a Quality Logo

Have a quality, recognizable logo from day one, designed by a professional. Marketing firms and agencies are obvious places to find good graphic artists, but you may also find talented people by contacting professors from your local technical college. Figure out who teaches graphic design and see if he does side work, or if he can refer you to a gifted student who wants to build his portfolio.

Ask your designer to provide digital copies of the logo formatted for use on the Web and in print, as well as a copy saved in Adobe Illustrator format. This way you’ll have a version for any use, no matter what size you need to reproduce it. Ask for black and white versions as well.

Have the same person design your letterhead and envelopes right away, too. It’s the little details in your communications that make a small company look big, such as consistent fonts, taglines, colors and artwork. Just make sure your graphic artist always gives you all the digital files for every job in case circumstances ever change.

Brand Your Mobile Containers

Your mobile containers are like traveling billboards. Be tasteful but memorable. Your containers should feature your company name, logo, phone number and website at a minimum. On that note, you want people to remember you offer a service, not that your product is an eyesore. Good-looking containers placed in unobtrusive areas and for only limited amounts of time will reduce the chance that community leaders will enact restrictions that limit your ability to do business.

Get the Best Price on Printed Materials

Shop around when you have any literature printed. Prices vary widely, so when printing anything in bulk, get two or three quotes. Give the small, unknown printers a try, as they likely have less overhead.

Have your graphic artist design your brochures for you as well. Not only will they look better than what the printing company’s in-house staff will do, but you’ll get a much more competitive quote on printing when the printer knows he has to earn your business. If the printer designs the brochure, he knows he has the print job, too, and the quote may not be as competitive as it could be.

Harness the Power of the Internet

Your Internet strategy should be more than simple a website. Discuss with your Web designer what word you think your customers might use to search for a business like yours. Then optimize the website to feature those words prominently and rank well on search engines.

Your website should include some way to collect leads as people request quotes. Even if you don’t set up a system for potential customers to reserve online, your goal is for them to leave contact information so you can follow up quickly and close the deal.

To drive traffic to the site, use pay-per-click programs from Google, or try Bing or Yahoo if you want to see how the underdogs perform. These ads can be targeted to display only in your geographic area, keeping costs down.

Another Google feature you should look at is “Places.” Visit Google.com/places and add your business to the directory and maps.

Set up pages on social-networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and update them regularly. Ask local organizations to include your link on their websites, especially if they have somewhat related content on the site. This helps to improve your Web ranking.

You can also search the Web to see how other operators are marketing their services. Or sign up at Self-Storage Talk (www.selfstoragetalk.com), the official online community of Inside Self-Storage, and ask members what other mobile-storage businesses are doing.

Networking and Target Marketing

Join the chamber of commerce and other local business associations. Make sure local realtors know who you are, and thank them when they refer customers to you. One way to track referrals is to give discount cards that have a small notation of their source on them.

Another avenue is target marketing. Identify what kind of customers you attract and learn where to find more of them. For example, building-permit records tell you who’s remodeling, or you might scan real estate listings to see who’s moving. Send these targeted groups a brochure or postcard.

Use Traditional Advertising Cautiously

Newspaper, radio and TV all offer great exposure, but can be cost-prohibitive for a small business. Do send press releases regarding events such as grand openings and major charitable donations to all the major news outlets in your community. Also send press releases when you hire or promote staff. You never know when your press release will be picked up by a news medium.

As for the Yellow Pages, younger customers are more likely to search the Internet rather than the phone book. But for now, having at least a small YP ad is probably still wise. Just consider that every dollar spent there will be unavailable for something else.

The next time you’re looking for new ways to market your mobile-storage business, consider the suggestions above. Your goal should be to regularly reach new customers while keeping marketing costs in check. Remember to track your leads so you know which marketing strategies are working for your business.

Steve Hajewski, marketing manager at Trachte Building Systems, previously served as Trachte’s product-development manager and helped develop Trachte’s portable-storage product line. He can be reached at 800.356.5824; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.trachte.com.

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Sentry Self Storage Promotes Three to Regional Manager

Jul 19, 2010

Sentry Self Storage promoted three employees to the position of regional manager.

Rob Nelson joined Sentry in June 2006 after working with Storage USA and Extra Space Storage for six years. He accelerated quickly through the ranks of property manager, company trainer and district manager.

Lainie Miller joined Sentry Self Storage in May 2007. Her prior experience includes working with Extra Space Storage and Storage USA as a recruiter, property manager and a division coordinator. Along with her extensive experience in the self-storage industry, Miller encompasses an excellent ability to promote teamwork while encouraging a healthy competitive spirit.

Dave Cooper has spent the past 20 years working in various capacities in the self-storage industry, beginning his career as a property manager with Storage USA. His motivation and determination in his workmanship quickly advanced him into the realms of district manager, information technology and project management. Cooper possesses a wide range of knowledge in many facets of this industry.

“I have had the pleasure of working with this team for many years and they are an integral part of the growth and success of our organization,” said Rick Yonis, president of Sentry Self Storage.

Based in Coral Spring, Fla., Sentry Self Storage LLC provides management and consulting services to the self-storage industry. The company has more than 40 properties under management in several states.