By Jim Breunig
Have you been looking for alternative ways to invest your money? If so, you might want to consider starting a self-storage business. From Alaska to Alabama, roughly 50,000 self-storage facilities are scattered around the country. That’s about the same number of McDonald’s, Starbucks and Subway locations across the U.S. combined.
Here’s an overview of why a self-storage business is an excellent choice for investing your money, and what you need to know to get started.
Running your own business allows you to experience more freedom than you may have experienced working for other people.
Compared to service-based or brick-and-mortar companies, operating costs are low.
Self-storage has proven to be recession-resistant and is projected to have a CAGR of 134.79% between 2020 and 2025.
Demand is steady, with 9.4% of households currently renting self-storage units.
After an initial investment, self-storage units can bring in long-term passive income.
Allows for an early retirement to enjoy your true passions.
Tips For Success
Do you have enough liquid assets to buy or develop a self-storage facility on your own?
Performing market research is crucial. This exercise will help you pinpoint the demographics of the customer base within a one- to five-mile radius of the facility.
You’ll want to nail down the median income in the market area (self-storage renters tend to be in the middle-income and upper-middle-income brackets), along with the median age (self-storage tenants are normally in their early 20s to mid-50s).
In addition, you’ll want to review the following aspects of your proposed market area: Current population, Projected population growth, Daily vehicle traffic, Competitive landscape. Which self-storage facilities already are operating in the area?
Determine your Niche - What percentage will be climate controlled vs. traditional drive up units? What's in demand for the area you are looking at?
Marketing your business. Your businesses’ failure or success will also depend on how well you market your self-storage location. If you know how to target and persuade your customers you’ll never have empty storage units waiting for items, and you may even have a waiting list.
Bottom Line
At the end of the day, buying or building a self-storage facility will most certainly consume time, energy and money. However, the payoff can be substantial in a continually growing industry.
Turn Your Self-Storage Business Ideas Into Action
Now that we've discussed the basics let us help you start a self-storage business. Why go it alone when we have over 100 years of combined experience waiting to help you. We encourage you to check out our website to read more about this exciting opportunity. Self Storage Franchise | Storage Authority Franchise | United States
Jim Breunig is a franchise director at Storage Authority. His passion and focus is helping new and existing franchisees in the area's of operations, sales, and marketing. Jim has over 15 years of experience in the self storage industry working with some of the largest REIT's and Privately held organizations in the business. Jim is excited to share his knowledge and is available at Jim@StorageAuthority.com, or by phone, 941-312-1964 to answer any questions you may have, or to share the Storage Authority Franchise opportunity and advantages with you.