Storage Chat

Their Very Own Gated Community - Resident Managers Are Still a Good Fit for Self Storage


By John Dunlap – Editor SSA Globe


Marvin Johnson likes to joke with customers at his Poplar Point Self Storage facility in Concord, North Carolina, that he lives in a gated community.


“A gated community of one,” Johnson chuckles. “And you have to have a password to come see me.”


But while Johnson is having fun with the notion of being a resident manager (as well as resident co-owner, along with Gene Collins) he nonetheless is continuing a tradition in self storage that has great value. In our modern age of easy mobility and ...

Boosting Your Bottom Line with Ancillary Products
Thinking Inside (and Outside) The Box


By Mark Wright


Selling storage space presents two common challenges. When all your units are full, what else can you do to generate revenue? And, when you have space to spare but traffic is passing you by, how can you get people in the door?


They are really two sides of the same question: How can you maximize your facility’s income? The answer found by some operators—sell ancillary products ...

Spring Has Sprung and That Means It Is Time for Some Serious Spring Cleaning and Marketing


By Mark Wright


It is, by all accounts, part of what gives us hope. It represents a sort of renewal, both mentally and physically. “It’s of course, is spring, and other than the joy we derive from feeling the first warm breeze on our faces and enjoying the first tones of green in the trees, it also is a reminder that we have some cleanup work to do. That certainly holds true in the world of self storage.


From Priscilla Romero’s vantage point at UFO Space Storage in ...

Tenants and Self Storage Operators Alike Need To Protect Themselves


By Tom Comi


Let’s say you arrive at your local self storage unit the day after a storm to make sure your prized possessions are intact. Upon arriving, you find out that lightning has hit the facility, and the subsequent fire caused many of your items to be damaged. Making matters worse, you slip and fall in the facility due to a wet floor caused by the rain. Who is ...

Surprising Tenants with Great Customer Care
By Mark Wright


What do homemade chocolate chip cookies, fresh eggs, electronic kiosk technology, mystery shoppers and professional call centers have in common? They’re all in use by storage facilities that are striving to build customer affection and loyalty.


Customer service has evolved—at least for savvy businesses—into the holistic concept of “customer care.” It means more than simply answering the phone politely, or handling questions and complaints promptly, although such basics remain vital.


Customer care means managing the customer’s ...

Conversions and Expansions are Two Great Ways to Grow

By Danny Carrao, Vice President–OB Construction Service, Inc.

As both a developer and a contractor we have pursued all of the traditional ways of growth you might expect. We’ve purchased ...

By Mark Wright

Do your facility’s paint colors inspire business-boosting confidence — or nostalgia for the year 1975? Does the barbed wire atop your security fence project all the warmth and welcome of a county jail? Does your lighting have the candle power of...well...a candle? Then you might be due for some upgrades. If your heart ...

You’re sitting in your facility on a slow day, feeling a little like the Maytag repairman, and you start to wonder: “What can I do to light a fire under this place to bring in more customers?” (Real fire not recommended.). You wander ...

The costs associated with licensing may be a deterrent to offering pay-with-rent insurance for some self-storage operators?

By Scott Lancaster, Deans & Homer

New laws that require self-storage owners or operators to obtain a license to offer pay-with-rent insurance to their customers in several states have caused some self-storage ...

Gain investment and ownership decision-making tools for potential acquisitions:

Step up your business with this fast-paced graduate level course for self storage real estate investment and management! ...