Over the past few months, I’ve come across several news items about people in completely different businesses adding self-storage. These bits of news are small but worth noting. Each of the newcomers to the industry probably had other investment opportunities. They could have put their money in stocks in Exxon Mobile or British Petroleum (score!), gold bullion, or snapped up distressed real estate at rock-bottom prices. But either because it was a logical addition to an existing business or because they saw the excellent potential in self-storage, they chose this industry.

From the National Farmer's Union newsletter in England we received an article about several farmers who are getting together to convert unused outbuildings into modern self-storage facilities. The idea started with dairy farmer Martin Bazeley in 2003. It has now expanded to include other farmers. They are even offering to franchise.

This article in the Isle of Wight County Press tells about  former pig farmers, Chris and Jan Clarke who saw a need for self-storage in Chillerton on the Isle of Wight off the southeast coast of England. They took an unused barn and turned it into self-storage complete with 24-hour access, the latest CCTV equipment and security systems.

ISS ran this item about Paul Clark, founder of Clarks Direct in Stratton Strawless, Norwich, England, who is adding self-storage to save his 10-year-old delivery and storage operation. The haulier recently invested £250,000 in a 7,500-square-meter addition to its paper-storage warehouse, and two 10,000-square-meter warehouses will be added in the future. 

Val Evans, Malcolm Everard and Mark Wilson made the news when they formed a partnership to open Ewestore Self Storage, an 8,000-square-foot self-storage facility serving the Harrogate and Ripon, England, district. The trio also runs A&G Removals that has been operating since 1998. The founders believe they are serving a niche not provided by any other company in this area

Travel across the Irish Sea to Dublin where the Sunday Business Post ran an article about the O’Meara family, owners of O’Meara Camping Ireland Ltd., has invested more than $14.7 million in Elephant Self-Storage. The facility offers 800 units ranging from 10 square feet to 1,000 square feet.

I’m not talking about the mega-storage corporations here, or even large, well-known companies. I’m talking about individuals. The exciting thing about these newcomers to our industry is that each is in a country other than the United States. Proof the industry not only is thriving overseas but attracting the attention of unexpected entrepreneurs.

Know of any other success stories like these? Leave a comment below.
 

In Goose Creek, S.C., a Boy Scout has taken it upon himself to collect school supplies for those in need. Word of his cause was published in the local newspaper, which advises those who are interested in donating notebooks, pens, pencils, markers and the likes to stop by one of several drop-off sites, including Ladson Self Storage. What a great idea, for both the Boy Scout seeking a merit badge as well as the self-storage facility looking for free marketing opportunities in the name of good will.

Earlier this summer, my own sons participated in a campaign to collect cans and bottles for recycling, which their own Boy Scout troop turned into cash. The funds raised were then sent to a troop in Iowa, which was mourning the loss of four of its own, who were killed when a tornado ripped through their camp on June 13. Our troop earned over $800 in one weekend, but now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder how much they could have raised if they had worked cooperatively with the local retailers and self-storage facilities to further the cause.

Which brings me to you: How about seeking out some charitable causes of your own, thereby which helping out those in need and getting some press at the same time? Surely you can call the local Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Rotaries, Legions, etc., and inform them that your facility can be used for food donations, clothing drives, bottle and can collection, whatever, should they plan an event and need the resource. Then, when the time comes, call your local newspaper and let them know all the particulars. Maybe encourage a reporter/photographer to stop by your facility, where you can stage a "drop-off" photo to be published in the next edition. Free PR!

It doesn't always cost anything to support a cause, but such a cause can earn you respect, and more business, in the future.  

Even if you don’t have kids still at home, it’s impossible not to recognize back to school season. The stores are crowded with pencils, papers, pens and notebooks. Clothing stores are displaying new trends and hocking dorm essentials. School buses and droves are kids are once again roaming the streets.

It may not seem like a golden opportunity for a self-storage facility, but back to school season can be. Take Stow Away Self-Storage in Harrisonburg, Va. The facility rents parking spaces to James Madison University freshman, who are banned from parking on campus due to space restrictions. According to an article in The Daily-News Record the facility will have 105 spots available to students for $55 a month, or $250 a semester, and even give each student a $50 gas card.

Fortunately, the facility happens to be located along the bus route to the University. “We know that the JMU population is growing,” says Ken Wandless, Stow Away operations manager. “We figure this is going to be something that is needed for the community.”

Even if you’re not located along a university bus route, there are other opportunities to attract student renters. Students tend to move—often. Dorm residents typically shuffle every year, sometimes at the end of every semester depending on the school. Students usually have way more stuff than they have room for in those compact dorm rooms—hence the need for storage. And moms and dads may opt to store Junior’s stuff for a semester or two. Plus, if you offer other services—mailboxes, rental trucks, post office boxes or packing and shipping services—you’ll easily attract students.

Is your facility near a college or university? Do you offer any student discounts? What about end-of-semester specials? Click on the Leave Comment below to share.

We humans tend to take a lot of things for granted, even the simplicity of a daily routine. It's easy to wish away our time, to want to speed through the tedious, mundane tasks that consume much of our existence ... until the unexpected happens.

On Friday, a Kearney Mesa, Calif., self-storage facility suffered a surprise when a vehicle sideswiped a truck on Interstate 15, sending the truck hurling through the facility's chainlink fence to land upturned in one of its driveways. A bystander was injured by a shatter of debris, San Diego News 10 reported. The truck driver and passenger were also injured.

For most news readers, the details of the damage and fallout at the facility is merely an afterthought to this story—but not to us. The hearts of fellow storage professionals immediately go out to the site's staff and owner. Did they have insurance? Were any of the units affected? Was the injured bystander a tenant?

These startling moments are the reason it's critical that every storage business be amply covered with the appropriate insurance and be armed with an emergency plan. The insurance coverage is easy enough to address in most states. The plan takes considerably more thought. How do you respond when something goes awry on site, such as an injury, robbery, natural disaster or other unforeseen twist? And how do you deal with the onslaught of authoritative, legal or media attention that may immediately follow?

Rational thought can elude us during times of high stress, so make sure you have a plan, in writing, easily accessible to all employees at all times. It could literally mean the difference between life and death. Here are a few articles from the ISS archive that might help:

• Do You Have a Disaster Plan?
• A Storage Pro in Action
• Dealing With Disaster

And here's a link to a previous blog with a checklist of tips:

• When the Sky Falls

This topic is particularly germane for me today, having received grim news this morning. Two good friends of mine lost their father to a motorcycle accident over the weekend. There's no way to prepare for a shock like that. While I grieve for their loss, I feel the unwelcome but familiar sting of a lesson we all learn: Our lives, so seemingly assured, are but fragile and unknowable. Everything can change in a hair's breadth of a second.

I try to remember this, as I mechanically clock the seconds of an hour or day I feel eager to discard. The moment around the corner never has a face, no matter how we strain to recognize it. All we can do is try to be prepared, in business and in our personal lives. Here's hoping your next unexpected moment is a happy one.