Start the business of storage rooms and mini-warehouses
Storage business is one of the most profitable businesses in Europe, especially in the Spanish territory are the storage rooms and mini-warehouses for rent, which have achieved a solid position despite the movements of the economy in the area, making it one of the best fields to undertake.
See how to make money with service related businesses
Therefore, in this article we tell you how you can open your own storage and warehouse business with everything you need to know.
What does this type of business consist of?
It is a place with facilities that users can easily access, offering a series of spaces and containers with a variety of sizes where individuals, companies and/or businesses can store a wide variety of items and products, thus meeting a need for space for them.
The client will be able to access during any day and time he needs, so it is necessary to install security devices, magnetic or fingerprint cards and other security elements that will allow the entrance to the person who has rented the space directly.
Requirements and steps to open a storage business
These are the procedures we must follow to start, let’s see:
Study the market
Before choosing a place to set up and so on, it is a good idea to carry out a study on the market we are about to enter. In this sense, we must:
-Identify the location of competing businesses
-To know the prices that are being handled in the market
-Recognize the location of the target audience
-And in general, learn about the operation of the business if we don’t have experience or knowledge in it.
Find a place to set up
Depending on the level of investment, we can choose between a place with large dimensions within which we have several options, such as: premises with several floors, storage rooms that have been put up for sale, storage rooms of very large proportions, small containers, among others.
Based on the location of your potential clients (aspect evaluated with the market study), you can look for spaces in the surroundings where you can settle down. You must take into account the costs of conditioning. You can choose a place near the main roads and highways, without neglecting urban areas to get closer to other customers.
Equip the place
In order to offer a greater variety to your customers, you can, in addition to small rooms or spaces, offer slightly smaller containers for customers who have few items to store and thus do not occupy much larger spaces with areas they will not use. In addition, the place must have:
-A reception area to serve customers (optional)
-An office for organization, registration and administration of the business
-Customers’ chairs
-Security and access control devices, these can be based on identification for the entry of customers to your items.
The design of the place is an important aspect, so it will be necessary to advise us to have a structure that takes advantage of all the spaces and that is attractive for the client.
Hiring of personnel
Depending on the size of the storage room, you will need more or less staff. Among the areas you need to cover in terms of tasks and spaces are: care of the storage rooms, office area, cleaning of the place, reception and customer service. Make sure you have quality staff to provide good service on the premises.
Promote your service
It’s time to make your business known, how do you do it? Let’s look at some options:
Internet or digital: A good way to start is by creating a website with our service and adding a presence in social networks, this will allow you to get closer to your potential customers through a much closer communication by knowing their main needs. Do not forget to put ads on the Internet in sites for this, where your customers may be looking for your service.
Traditional: You can print flyers, advertisements and business cards that are delivered to customers personally, especially to people close to the sector. However, it is not convenient to limit yourself to these spaces, but we must start with a strategy of distributing advertising to potential customers even if they are not in the same area.
Advantages of having this business
More and more people accumulate things that they usually don’t use and end up accumulating so having some of these spaces for rent can be a very profitable business alternative.
Another advantage of this business is that it can bring you extra monthly income with the rent, but if it also brings you added value the profit can be higher. For example, if you also rent to companies that need store only documentation, bicycle storage, storage for online store stocks, among others.
Success stories
One successful company that is already international is self storage, which emerged in the United States in the early 1950s to respond to an expanding mobility market.
Its offer is the result of economic and social evolution, such as the need for space (private and professional), the need to store belongings due to moving, divorce, studies, professional evolution, among others. The company also offers rental for e-commerce storage, spare parts, events, among others, being a company of constant growth.
Inconveniences that may arise: The spaces for the clients cannot be limited and not very varied options. A storage business that offers only one model of space must look for customers such as companies with high stock or businesses that will actually use this type of space.
Final recommendation: With regard to the above, it is recommended that to start, we offer at least two models of storage that can be used both companies and businesses, as well as ordinary people who no longer have space at home to store their belongings, so we can expand even more with our target audience and seek more variety of customers who require the service of storage and mini-warehouse.
Keeping a record of your customers and the services you provide in each space will allow you to have an orderly business, as you will know which spaces you still have to offer to other customers and know how you are operating. It is important that you train and acquire knowledge about the management of your business if you do not have it and keep all your senses awake to learn and grow with your project.