With its low operational demand, high profitability, and consistent market, self-storage is a great starter business industry for new entrepreneurs. Many self-storage entrepreneurs often expand by acquiring an existing business or building an additional one from the ground up.
If you’re developing a new facility, be sure to avoid these common development mistakes.
1. Inadequate Drainage and Floor Protection
If your self-storage facility floods or sustains serious water damage, not only can it damage your customers belongings, but it can harm the structural integrity of your new development. It’s quintessential that your drainage system diverts water away from the building with adequate drainage ditches, gutters, sloped driveways, and French drains.
2. Ignoring Market Competition
An obvious mistake to avoid is building your new self-storage facility across the street from an existing facility. In an area that is full of new developments like new neighborhoods and businesses, it may seem like a good idea to set up shop anywhere, but it’s important to conduct some research with your local planning department to better understand if there are any other self-storage projects in planning or under construction.
3. Lack of Variety in Unit Sizes
Storage units aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution for customers. Based on their needs, customers will inquire about different sizes that best suit them. In the early planning of your self-storage development, remember to prioritize bunits in different sizes. This also gives your customers the opportunity to upgrade units within the same facility when they’ve outgrown their spaces.
4. Inadequate Driveway Sizes
When planning the layout of a self-storage facility, many developers don’t leave enough space in the driveways for large trucks and delivery vans to fit comfortably. Larger cars need a turning radius of 45 feet to clear any buildings. Having driveways that make it hard for customers to load and unload their items harms your business because it risks damage to the property and customer vehicles. It can also cause traffic jams during high traffic periods.
Self-storage buildings are great for scalability and can be highly profitable when executed correctly. Adequately developing your self-storage business from the very beginning will help your business’s ability to grow in the long run.
Author: Jennifer Brubaker