In A Class Of Their Own

Following 17 years of contest success, this year the Mini-Storage Messenger proudly passed the Manager of the Year competition to its sister magazine, Self-Storage Now! After careful scrutiny of what resulted in one of the largest entry...  Read More...

This article is provided courtesy of Self Storage Works with the permission of Mini-Storage Messenger magazine. © MiniCo, Inc. All Rights Reserved. It is not intended for further reproduction/distribution without the exclusive permission of MiniCo, Inc.

The Value of Rent Increases
Why owners, manager and customers benefit
by Greg Call

Self-storage managers and management teams generally hate rent increases. This is for several reasons: 1) They don’t have a plan to handle the increase; 2) They don’t want to deal with the unpleasantness of displeased customers; and 3) they don’t believe they benefit. But the lifeblood of a storage business is its revenue stream. Expenses evolve year after year. If an operator fails to outpace operating costs with income, his facility falls behind financially. Read More...

Serving Up Ancillaries
Making the Most of Competition
by Greg Call

In a day and age when unit options, retail products and truck rentals are the norm for self-storage operations, facilities tend to all look the same to consumers. It’s differentiation that sets a site above the competition, and amenities are the key. In an aggressive business landscape, you need to build your ancillary products and services and make the market aware of your offerings. This article discusses some items that can take your company to the next level. Ancillaries.. Read More...

High-Performance Leading and Your Staff
Hiring, training and motivating a winning team
by Greg Call

These days, self-storage competes on a very aggressive playing field, and a winning lineup of storage specialists is the most critical aspect of the game. Mom-and-pop squads, once the dynamic duos of the industry, have been replaced by teams of high-performance players. Coming on the field are new recruits who brandish business and marketing degrees to devastate competitors. These draftees often come from Fortune 500 companies and are driven by...

The State of Hiring & Recruitment
Increase Your Candidate Success Rate
by Greg Call

Do you feel comfortable with your self-storage applicants, their strengths and weaknesses, reliability and purpose? Do they seem genuinely interested in the position you offer? Do you ask relevant questions during the interview process? Do your candidates? Do they seem qualified at their current or past jobs? Do you check their references and backgrounds and talk to previous supervisors? Do you verify dates of employment, salary, eligibility and their reasons for... Read More...

RV & Boat Boom!
Are You Ready?

There’s no doubt about it: The upsurge in RV and boat ownership is adding a new dimension to today’s self-storage industry. The original predecessor to today’s RV was built in 1958 in Brown City, Mich., when Ray Frank, owner of a small trailer... Read More...

Construction Winner
Magellan Storage, Torrance, California

The first time was the charm for The Magellan Group. With the help of Self Storage Works, the Los Angeles-based self-storage company is the Mini-Storage Messenger 2004 Facility of the Year Winner in the construction category...  Read More...

New Facility Winner
Sierra Del Oro Storage Centers, Corona, California

David Golkar contracted with Self Storage Works to build a state-of-the-art facility in Corona Calif., utilizing cutting edge technology to create something that hasn’t been done before...  Read More...