The self-storage industry continues to boom throughout the world. What once was an investment niche has now turned into a lucrative business, especially during the pandemic. Both residential and commercial customers are looking for additional space and exploring rates of Dubai storage companies to meet their needs. After all, real estate decisions can be expensive!
Wondering what’s the driving force behind the boom? Well, people are looking forward to moving to areas with less challenging tax policies, better job markets, and lower costs of living. Since relocation is involved, people need temporary and permanent storage solutions. Additionally, small businesses need storage units to store inventory, business equipment, and other supplies.
Given the boom in the industry, starting a self-storage business sounds appealing. Anyone who’s in the business or is looking to get started must look beyond profits. Here’s a bit of advice to run your business successfully:
1: Decide Your Niche Wisely
Be clear about your target audience i.e., whom do you want to rent or lease the storage unit to business or individuals with personal belongings.
Remember that a storage unit falls under the category of a real estate business. Just like any other real estate business, location, easy access, and security are paramount to the success and growth of the business. To stay competitive and stand out, it’s best to specialize in a niche.
Some popular niches in self-storage units include:
- Office space storage
- RV and boat storage
- Personal storage
- Furniture storage
2: Know Your Competitors
Competition in the storage unit industry is high. Some companies have been serving as independent operators for a long time now. Their marketing strategy, length of time in the industry, location of units, security measures, and other characteristics have made them stand out.
You have to be better than them to beat them. Therefore, it’s important to study their strategy to outperform. You have got to give your customers a reason to choose your services over others.
3: Set Up a Website
It would be a mistake not to create a website. Everyone is online these days and so should your business. no need to invest in building a fancy website. Just a simple web design that explains your business would do the trick.
4: Keep Offering Discounts from Time to Time
The best strategy to attract customers to your business during the first month of launch is to offer them discounts. Let them try and test out your services. Keep on offering discounts throughout the year as well to attract clients.
5: Work on Your Insurance Policy
Insurance policies are meant to protect your business from lawsuits that may arise because of an employee/business or customer fault. The right insurance policy will help you run a storage unit without stress.
You might want to spend time engaging with a broker or an insurance agent to get advice on choosing the most appropriate insurance policy for business. The types of insurance you can consider purchasing include general insurance, liability insurance, property insurance, worker’s compensation insurance, and more.
6: Invest in On-Site Training
Getting people into your storage facility is hard work. let’s assume you have passed that test successfully. However, you won’t be able to make them stay if your employees aren’t professional.
Make sure you have well-trained managers on-site. Not only should they be well-versed in the storage facility but they should also know how to sell and offer customer support.
7: Keep the Facility Tidy
It’s extremely important to work on the appearance of the facility. Luckily, it’s easy to upgrade your facility without incurring a significant expense. A simple way to start is to keep the office clean and tidy. Maintain the landscape by adding flowers and make sure the lights in working.
The entire purpose of ensuring a presentable ambiance is to make your clients feel safe. By just looking at your facility, they should get a sense of satisfaction that their belongings will be protected.
8: Practice Good Business Acumen
Finally, while running your own self-storage business, make sure you apply to follow the good old- business acumen. This includes maintaining financial records and refusing to ignore the most important aspect of a business.
Lastly, don’t try to do everything at once. If you think you need expert assistance in a particular area, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You can’t do everything on your own.
Summing Up
The self-storage business is on the rise no doubt. The storage sector is looking profitable as the pandemic continues to affect migration patterns. Since the market has potential, starting your storage business sounds like a great plan. Keep these tips in your head as you run your business.
