mini storage business plan example

Self Storage Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Self Storage Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 9,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their self-storage facilties. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a self storage business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.  

What Is a Business Plan?

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A business plan provides a snapshot of your self-storage business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.  

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a self-storage or storage unit business, or grow your existing self-storage business, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your self-storage business in order to improve your chances of success. Your self storage business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.  

Sources of Funding for Self Storage Facilities

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a self-storage business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your self storage business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for a self storage facility is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding or, like a bank, they will give you a loan. Venture capitalists will not fund a self-storage business. They might consider funding a self-storage business with a national presence, but never an individual location. This is because most venture capitalists are looking for millions of dollars in return when they make an investment, and an individual location could never achieve such results.

How to Write a Business Plan For a Self Storage Business

If you want to start a self storage facility or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Below we detail what should be included in each section of your business plan for a storage facility.  

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your self storage business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of self-storage business you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a self-storage business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of self-storage facilities.

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the self-storage industry. Discuss the type of self-storage business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target market. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of storage business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of storage businesses:

• Portable container : this type of storage business allows customers to easily transport self storage units. 
• Climate controlled storage : this type of storage business protects and preserves property against harmful temperature and humidity levels.
• Vehicle storage : this type of storage business allows customers to safely store various types of vehicles. 

In addition to explaining the type of storage business you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your storage unit business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of occupied self storage units, contract renewals, number of referrals, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the self storage facility.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the self storage industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating. 

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your storage business plan:

• How big is the storage industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your self storage facility? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your storage unit business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: students, business owners, families, and people who are relocating. 

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of self-storage business you operate. Clearly, students would want different service options and would respond to different marketing promotions than families who are relocating, for example.

Try to break out your target market in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most self-storage facilities primarily serve customers living in the same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other self storage facilities. 

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes businesses with their own storage space and people who store extra items in their attics or basements. You need to mention such competition to show you understand that not everyone who needs storage will utilize a self-storage company.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other self-storage facilities with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be self-storage facilities located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What types of storage services do they offer?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of the competitive analysis section of your business plan is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide superior services?
• Will you provide services that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you make it easier or faster for customers to use your services?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your business plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a storage business, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of storage business that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to self storage, will you provide 24-hour security, electronic gate access, or on-site staff?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your self storage business. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your self storage business located near a main highway, near public transportation, etc. Discuss how your location might provide a steady stream of customers. 

Promotions : The final part of your self storage marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local websites 
• Social media marketing
• Local radio advertising

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your self storage business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your storage business, including security management, facility maintenance, and customer service.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to lease 100 self storage units, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your facility or launch in a new location.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your self storage business’ ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company. 

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing self storage facilities. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing self storage companies or successfully running small businesses.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you average 75% occupancy or 95%? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $100,000 on building out your self storage business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $100,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. For example, let’s say a local office building approached you with a $50,000 contract to provide self storage services for their building occupants. Let’s further assume the contract would cost you $50,000 to fulfill in terms of increased staffing costs. Well, in most cases, you would have to pay that $50,000 now for employee salaries, utilities, etc. But let’s say the company didn’t pay you for 180 days. During that 180-day period, you could run out of money.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting a self storage business and growing it:

• Location build-out including design fees, construction, etc.
• Cost of equipment like surveillance technology, dollies, and climate control systems
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your location lease or a blueprint of your facility.  

Putting together a business plan for your own self storage business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the self storage industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful self storage business.

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Self Storage Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my self storage business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template  allows you to quickly and easily complete your Self Storage Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of self storage business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a self storage business that you would like to grow, or are you operating multiple self storage businesses.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Self Storage Business Plan Template

Self storage business plan.

You’ve come to the right place to create your Self Storage business plan.

We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Self Storage companies.

Below is a template to help you create each section of a storage unit business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Secure Self Storage is a startup self storage company located in Nashville, Tennessee. The company is founded by Bill Williams, an experienced self storage manager who has been working in the self storage industry for over a decade. Bill has recently earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Now that Bill has obtained the education and experience that will allow him to successfully navigate the process of starting a business, Bill is ready to open his own company, Secure Self Storage. Bill plans on recruiting a team of highly qualified professionals to help manage the day to day responsibilities of running a successful self storage facility – marketing, security, maintenance, accounting, and rent collection.

Secure Self Storage will provide a convenient, safe, and secure self storage solution for anyone in the Nashville area who needs to store their belongings. Secure will ensure that every storage need of the customer is being met. Secure Self Storage will be the ultimate choice in Nashville for self storage solutions while being the best-priced company in the area.

Product Offering

The following are the self storage solutions that Secure Self Storage will provide:

• Small Storage Units (5×5)
• Medium Storage Units (10×10)
• Large Storage Units (10×25)
• Vehicle Storage Units
• Temperature Controlled Units
• Extra Security Units
• Pickup & Delivery Services
• Disposal Services

Customer Focus

Secure Self Storage will target adults 18 years old and over in Nashville who need a storage unit for any reason such as moving, decluttering, doing home renovations, or those who need storage for business, college, or to store an automobile. No matter the customer, Secure Self Storage will deliver the best communication, service, and security.

Management Team

Secure Self Storage will be owned and operated by Bill Williams. Bill has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has been working as a self storage manager for another local storage facility for over a decade. Now that Bill has obtained the education and experience that will allow him to successfully navigate the process of starting a business, Bill is ready to venture out and open his own self storage company. Bill will be the owner and manager of Secure Self Storage.

Bill has recruited his peer, Ken Smith, a financial professional with a Masters degree and fifteen years of experience doing financial work for various construction companies, to be the financial manager. Ken will help manage all of the finances for the company from finding a cost-effective location to set up shop to reporting and budgeting to make sure the facility is profitable.

Success Factors

Secure Self Storage will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Self storage units are easily accessible 24 hours a day, temperature controlled, and have the latest security technology to keep customers’ belongings safe and secure.
• On-site security guards are deployed 24 hours a day to ensure belongings, customers, and employees are safe at all times.
• On-site staff to answer questions, help customers, and keep the facility clean.

Financial Highlights

Secure Self Storage is seeking $250,000 in debt financing to launch its self storage business. The funding will be dedicated towards securing the facility space and purchasing equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Self storage facility build-out: $50,000
• Equipment, supplies, and materials: $20,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $15,000
• Working capital: $15,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Secure Self Storage.

Company Overview

Who is secure self storage.

Secure Self Storage is a newly established high security self storage company in Nashville, Tennessee. Secure Self Storage will be the most convenient, secure, and customer-focused choice for storage unit renters in Nashville. Secure will provide a variety of self storage solutions for anyone looking for a secure storage option. The company’s customer-centric approach will include 24/7 on-site security and customer service staff, the latest security technology, and temperature controlled units.

Secure Self Storage will give customers peace of mind that their belongings are secure. The management team is composed of experienced professionals including business managers, security officers, and maintenance technicians. Secure Self Storage removes all headaches of the self storage unit renter and ensures all issues are taken care off expeditiously while delivering the best customer service.

Secure Self Storage History

Secure Self Storage is owned and operated by Bill Williams, an experienced self storage manager who has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee. Bill has worked for a local self storage company in Nashville for over a decade. Bill’s tenure with the self storage company combined with his education has given him the skills and knowledge required to venture out on his own and start his own company.

Since incorporation, Secure Self Storage has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered Secure Self Storage, LLC to transact business in the state of Tennessee.
• Has scouted a few location options and reached out to the owners for more information.
• Reached out to numerous contacts to include former customers to let them know about the upcoming facility.
• Began recruiting a staff of accountants, maintenance workers, security, and other facility personnel to work at Secure Self Storage.

Secure Self Storage Services

Industry analysis.

The United States self storage industry generates an estimated $39.5B in annual revenue with over 49,000 storage facilities throughout the country. The total rentable self storage space is approximately 1.9B square feet. An estimated 10.6% of U.S. households are currently renting a self storage unit. The average self storage space used per person is 5.9 square feet. The average monthly cost to rent a self storage unit is $90.

Self storage construction spending has nearly doubled in the past five years. According to the Self Storage Almanac, the market is highly fragmented with 31% of space being owned by six large public companies, 16% being owned by the next top 94 companies, and 53% being owned by small businesses. Self storage industry operators have the potential to achieve highly lucrative businesses if they manage them smartly. The average self storage company’s profit margin is around 11 percent, which is much higher than many other small businesses in other industries that are often closer to 3-5 percent.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Secure Self Storage will target adults 18 years of age and older requiring self storage services in Nashville, Tennessee. The company will target people in need of storage space for a variety of reasons including moving, renovating, college, business, or to store a vehicle.

The precise demographics for Nashville, Tennessee are:

Customer Segmentation

Secure will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• People who are in the process of moving
• People who need storage space for a vehicle
• People who need storage for business
• People who need storage for college
• People who are renovating their homes

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Secure Self Storage will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.  

Nashville Self Storage

Nashville Self Storage is a temperature controlled self storage facility operating in Nashville, Tennessee. The facility has 400 units of varying sizes from 2×5 up to 30×30. Nashville Self Storage uses state of the art security systems with cameras throughout the facility to keep its patrons and their belongings safe and secure. The company currently has one facility with plans to open a second location in the next few months. The owners of Nashville Self Storage have been working in the storage industry for over 20 years and pride themselves on providing exceptional customer service.  

ALottaStuff Self Storage

ALottaStuff Self Storage is a Nashville-based self storage facility that provides outstanding service and storage solutions for its customers. ALottaStuff Self Storage takes the risk out of leaving your valuables in an unsecure storage facility by providing 24/7 secure monitoring of all of its units. They have temperature controlled units available in addition to non-temperature controlled units. Customers can depend on ALottaStuff Self Storage to handle their belongings with the best of care. The company provides pickup and delivery services for an extra fee.  

In-Boxes Self Storage

In-Boxes Self Storage is a trusted Nashville self storage company that provides superior service to customers in Nashville and the surrounding areas. They are able to provide a convenient storage solution for a wide range of customers with multiple locations throughout the city. In-Boxes Self Storage offers low prices for do-it-yourself storage facilities. Drive-up units are available for a flat monthly fee and indoor temperature controlled units are available for an additional charge. In-Boxes Self Storage maintains a clean, secure atmosphere with friendly staff available during office hours to assist with customers’ storage needs.

Competitive Advantage

Secure Self Storage will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

• On-site staff are available to answer questions, help customers, and keep the facility clean at all times.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Secure Self Storage will offer the unique value proposition to its customers:

• Experienced team of security professionals, customer service associates, and maintenance staff on-site 24/7 to help customers and keep the facilities clean, safe, and secure.
• Unbeatable pricing to its clients – Secure Self Storage offers competitive pricing with promotions and discounts for new and returning customers.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Secure Self Storage is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Bill Williams has built rapport with an extensive list of customers over the years by providing exceptional service during his tenure as a self storage manager. Many have communicated to Bill that they referred their friends to the storage facility because they were happy with the service he was providing. Once Bill advised them he was leaving to open his own self storage business, many contacts have committed to help spread the word of Secure Self Storage.

Professional Associations

Secure Self Storage will become a member of professional associations such as the Self Storage Association, the Nashville Self Storage Association, and Inside Self Storage. Bill will attend industry expos and events to promote the company.

Print Advertising

Secure Self Storage will have print ads and flyers made for newspapers, magazines, direct mailers, and to post around the city and hand out at industry events.

Website & Content Marketing

Secure Self Storage will create and maintain an easy to navigate, well organized, informative, website that will list all of the available storage options and pricing. The website will also contain an informative blog with storage related posts.

SEO Marketing

The company will use SEO marketing tactics so that any time someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “Nashville self storage” or “self storage near me”, Secure Self Storage will be listed at the top of the search results.

Social Media Marketing

Secure Self Storage will create and maintain an active presence across social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube.

The pricing of Secure Self Storage will be competitive so customers feel they receive value when purchasing their services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Secure Self Storage.

Operation Functions:

• Bill Williams will be the Owner and Manager of the company. He will oversee all staff and operations. Bill has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
• Ken Smith – Financial Manager who will provide all accounting, budgeting, tax payments, and monthly financial reporting.
• Shannon Bowman – Marketing Manager who will provide all sales and marketing initiatives for Secure Self Storage including management of the company website and social media accounts.
• Benjamin Stephens – Maintenance Manager who will oversee all maintenance of the facility.
• Micheal Brown – Head of Security who will provide all security for the facility and oversee a small team of on-site security guards.

Milestones:

Secure Self Storage will have the following milestones complete in the next six months.

8/1/2022 – Finalize contract to lease facility space.

8/15/2022 – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the management team.

9/1/2022 – Begin build out of the facility.

9/15/2022 – Begin networking and marketing campaign.

9/22/2022 – Begin moving into the Secure Self Storage facility.

10/1/2022 – Secure Self Storage opens its facility for business.

Bill has recruited the help of his peer, Ken Smith, a financial professional with a Masters degree and fifteen years of experience doing financial work for various construction companies. Ken will help manage the finances for the company from finding a cost-effective location to set up shop to reporting and budgeting to make sure the facility is profitable.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Secure Self Storage are the self storage fees that will be charged to the customers for their services. The company will charge a monthly fee for unit rentals. The fee will vary depending on the size of the unit.

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff a self storage facility. The expenses will be the payroll cost, utilities, maintenance costs, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Secure Self Storage is seeking $250,000 in debt financing to launch its self storage business. The funding will be dedicated towards securing the facility space and purchasing equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and association memberships. The breakout of the funding is below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Average number of occupied units per month: 200 out of the total 500 units (40%)
• Average fees per month: $30,000 (average $150.00 per medium sized unit)
• Annual Lease on Facility: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, self storage business plan faqs, what is a self storage business plan.

A self storage business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your self storage business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your self storage business plan using our Self Storage Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Self Storage Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of self storage business , some examples include: Portable container, Climate controlled storage, and Vehicle storage.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Self Storage Business Plan?

Self storage businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Self Storage Business?

Starting a self storage business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Self Storage Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a storage facility business plan pdf or doc that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your self storage business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your self storage business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Self Storage Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your self storage business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your self storage business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Self Storage Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your self storage business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your self storage business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

Learn more about how to start a successful self storage business:

• How to Start a Self Storage Business

Self Storage Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Starting a self-storage business can be a great way to create a profitable venture. But it's important to have the right roadmap in place to ensure your success. The #1 Self Storage Business Plan Template & Guidebook provides an easy-to-follow template and guidebook designed to help you create an effective plan and get your business up and running with clarity, confidence, and success.

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• How to Start a Profitable Self Storage Business [11+ Steps]
• 10+ Best & Profitable Self Storage Business Ideas [2023]

How to Write a Self Storage Business Plan in 7 Steps:

1. describe the purpose of your self storage business..

The first step to writing your business plan is to describe the purpose of your self storage business. This includes describing why you are starting this type of business, and what problems it will solve for customers. This is a quick way to get your mind thinking about the customers’ problems. It also helps you identify what makes your business different from others in its industry.

It also helps to include a vision statement so that readers can understand what type of company you want to build.

Here is an example of a purpose mission statement for a self storage business:

Our mission is to provide our customers with top-of-the-line self storage facilities and innovative storage solutions, while preserving a safe and secure environment for their items. We are committed to delivering an exceptional service experience that is tailored to meet the unique needs of each customer, while ensuring an outstanding value.

2. Products & Services Offered by Your Self Storage Business.

The next step is to outline your products and services for your self storage business. 

When you think about the products and services that you offer, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my business?
• What are the products and/or services that I offer?
• Why am I offering these particular products and/or services?
• How do I differentiate myself from competitors with similar offerings?
• How will I market my products and services?

You may want to do a comparison of your business plan against those of other competitors in the area, or even with online reviews. This way, you can find out what people like about them and what they don’t like, so that you can either improve upon their offerings or avoid doing so altogether.

3. Build a Creative Marketing Stratgey.

If you don't have a marketing plan for your self storage business, it's time to write one. Your marketing plan should be part of your business plan and be a roadmap to your goals. 

A good marketing plan for your self storage business includes the following elements:

Target market

• Who is your target market?
• What do these customers have in common?
• How many of them are there?
• How can you best reach them with your message or product?

Customer base 

• Who are your current customers? 
• Where did they come from (i.e., referrals)?
• How can their experience with your self storage business help make them repeat customers, consumers, visitors, subscribers, or advocates for other people in their network or industry who might also benefit from using this service, product, or brand?

Product or service description

• How does it work, what features does it have, and what are its benefits?
• Can anyone use this product or service regardless of age or gender?
• Can anyone visually see themselves using this product or service?
• How will they feel when they do so? If so, how long will the feeling last after purchasing (or trying) the product/service for the first time?

Competitive analysis

• Which companies are competing with yours today (and why)? 
• Which ones may enter into competition with yours tomorrow if they find out about it now through word-of-mouth advertising; social media networks; friends' recommendations; etc.)
• What specific advantages does each competitor offer over yours currently?

Marketing channels

• Which marketing channel do you intend to leverage to attract new customers?
• What is your estimated marketing budget needed?
• What is the projected cost to acquire a new customer?
• How many of your customers do you instead will return?

Form an LLC in your state!

4. Write Your Operational Plan.

Next, you'll need to build your operational plan. This section describes the type of business you'll be running, and includes the steps involved in your operations. 

In it, you should list:

• The equipment and facilities needed
• Who will be involved in the business (employees, contractors)
• Financial requirements for each step
• Milestones & KPIs
• Location of your business
• Zoning & permits required for the business

What equipment, supplies, or permits are needed to run a self storage business?

To run a Self Storage business, you will need the following equipment, supplies, and permits:

• Security System (alarm, video surveillance, etc.)
• Locks and Keys
• Uniforms and Identification for Employees
• Receipts/Invoices for Customers
• Online Payment Portal
• Insurance Coverage
• Business License and Self Storage Permit

5. Management & Organization of Your Self Storage Business.

The second part of your self storage business plan is to develop a management and organization section.

This section will cover all of the following:

• How many employees you need in order to run your self storage business. This should include the roles they will play (for example, one person may be responsible for managing administrative duties while another might be in charge of customer service).
• The structure of your management team. The higher-ups like yourself should be able to delegate tasks through lower-level managers who are directly responsible for their given department (inventory and sales, etc.).
• How you’re going to make sure that everyone on board is doing their job well. You’ll want check-ins with employees regularly so they have time to ask questions or voice concerns if needed; this also gives you time to offer support where necessary while staying informed on how things are going within individual departments too!

6. Self Storage Business Startup Expenses & Captial Needed.

This section should be broken down by month and year. If you are still in the planning stage of your business, it may be helpful to estimate how much money will be needed each month until you reach profitability.

Typically, expenses for your business can be broken into a few basic categories:

Startup Costs

Startup costs are typically the first expenses you will incur when beginning an enterprise. These include legal fees, accounting expenses, and other costs associated with getting your business off the ground. The amount of money needed to start a self storage business varies based on many different variables, but below are a few different types of startup costs for a self storage business.

Running & Operating Costs

Running costs refer to ongoing expenses related directly with operating your business over time like electricity bills or salaries paid out each month. These types of expenses will vary greatly depending on multiple variables such as location, team size, utility costs, etc.

Marketing & Sales Expenses

You should include any costs associated with marketing and sales, such as advertising and promotions, website design or maintenance. Also, consider any additional expenses that may be incurred if you decide to launch a new product or service line. For example, if your self storage business has an existing website that needs an upgrade in order to sell more products or services, then this should be listed here.

7. Financial Plan & Projections

A financial plan is an important part of any business plan, as it outlines how the business will generate revenue and profit, and how it will use that profit to grow and sustain itself. To devise a financial plan for your self storage business, you will need to consider a number of factors, including your start-up costs, operating costs, projected revenue, and expenses. 

Here are some steps you can follow to devise a financial plan for your self storage business plan:

• Determine your start-up costs: This will include the cost of purchasing or leasing the space where you will operate your business, as well as the cost of buying or leasing any equipment or supplies that you need to start the business.
• Estimate your operating costs: Operating costs will include utilities, such as electricity, gas, and water, as well as labor costs for employees, if any, and the cost of purchasing any materials or supplies that you will need to run your business.
• Project your revenue: To project your revenue, you will need to consider the number of customers you expect to have and the average amount they will spend on each visit. You can use this information to estimate how much money you will make from selling your products or services.
• Estimate your expenses: In addition to your operating costs, you will need to consider other expenses, such as insurance, marketing, and maintenance. You will also need to set aside money for taxes and other fees.
• Create a budget: Once you have estimated your start-up costs, operating costs, revenue, and expenses, you can use this information to create a budget for your business. This will help you to see how much money you will need to start the business, and how much profit you can expect to make.
• Develop a plan for using your profit: Finally, you will need to decide how you will use your profit to grow and sustain your business. This might include investing in new equipment, expanding the business, or saving for a rainy day.

Frequently Asked Questions About Self Storage Business Plans:

Why do you need a business plan for a self storage business.

A business plan for a self storage business is important for identifying goals, strategies, and the resources needed to open and operate a successful facility. It also helps clarify key issues such as customer needs, target market, competitive advantage, and financial projections. It can provide structure for the business and guide decision-making. Additionally, potential lenders and investors will likely review the business plan before deciding whether or not to offer funding.

Who should you ask for help with your self storage business plan?

To successfully create a self-storage business plan, it is advisable to work with an experienced business advisor or consultant who is knowledgeable in self-storage and the local market. An accountant, banker, lawyer, and other professionals may also be helpful in providing insight and advice. Additionally, researching existing self-storage businesses and understanding their success can also help inform a plan.

Can you write a self storage business plan yourself?

Yes, it is possible to write a self storage business plan yourself. To do so, you'll need to research the industry, find potential locations, and analyze the competition. You'll also need to develop a marketing plan, financial projections, and legal considerations for your particular business. Additionally, you'll need to write out your operational plan, detailing how you plan to manage and maintain your facility. Lastly, be sure to thoroughly review your plan with legal and financial advisors before launching your business.

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I'm Nick, co-founder of newfoundr.com, dedicated to helping aspiring entrepreneurs succeed. As a small business owner with over five years of experience, I have garnered valuable knowledge and insights across a diverse range of industries. My passion for entrepreneurship drives me to share my expertise with aspiring entrepreneurs, empowering them to turn their business dreams into reality.

Through meticulous research and firsthand experience, I uncover the essential steps, software, tools, and costs associated with launching and maintaining a successful business. By demystifying the complexities of entrepreneurship, I provide the guidance and support needed for others to embark on their journey with confidence.

From assessing market viability and formulating business plans to selecting the right technology and navigating the financial landscape, I am dedicated to helping fellow entrepreneurs overcome challenges and unlock their full potential. As a steadfast advocate for small business success, my mission is to pave the way for a new generation of innovative and driven entrepreneurs who are ready to make their mark on the world.

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Self Storage Business Plan

Minimalism has become the way of life these days, people are going small with the space they use, moving into mobile homes to travel around, and so on.

But at the same time, it is also true that they can’t simply get rid of all the stuff they have. So, they decide to store it.

Here’s where self-storage comes into the picture. They store people’s stuff and keep it safe by charging some amount of rent for it.

If you are planning to start a new self-storage or warehouse business, the first thing you will need is a business plan. Use our sample self storage business plan  to start writing your business plan in no time.

Before you start writing your business plan for your new self-storage business, spend as much time as you can reading through some examples of  real estate or warehouse-related business plans.

Industry Overview

The global self-storage market stood at an astonishing value of 48.02 billion dollars in 2020 and continues to grow at a rapid pace.

The major reason behind the growth of this market is the increasing number of people opting for work from home and putting their office furniture in storage to avoid rent.

People also put their RVs, important stuff if they are moving into smaller spaces, and so on in storage to manage space and keep their things safe.

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Things to Consider Before Writing a Self-Storage Business Plan

Your work doesn’t end at acquiring customers but begins there. You must give constant evidence of reliability and quality service to retain and get customers.

Hence, having a maintenance routine chalked up before you begin is essential.

Have security and safety checks often to ensure protect your customer’s property.

Chalking Out Your Business Plan

Owning storage does not require a lot of skills and is profitable at the same time.

But the only thing that differentiates a successful storage business from an unsuccessful one is a storage business plan.

Reading sample business plans will give you a good idea of what you’re aiming for. Also, it will show you the different sections that different entrepreneurs include and the language they use to write about themselves and their business plans.

We have created this sample self-storage business plan for you to get a good idea about what a business plan should look like and what details you will need to include in your stunning business plan.

Self Storage Business Plan Outline

This is the standard self-storage business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Keys to Success
• Mission Statement
• Vision Statement
• 3 Year profit forecast
• Business Structure
• Startup cost
• Products and Services
• Market Trends
• Target Market
• Marketing Segmentation
• SWOT Analysis
• Sales Strategy
• Advertising Strategy
• Pricing Strategy
• Important Assumptions
• Brake-even Analysis
• Profit Yearly
• Gross Margin Yearly
• Projected Cash Flow
• Projected Balance Sheet
• Business Ratios

After starting with Upmetrics , you can copy this sample business plan into your business plan, modify the required information, and download your self-storage business plan pdf or doc file.

It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

Download a sample self-storage business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go;  download our free self-storage business plan pdf  to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your self-storage business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

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About the Author

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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Everything You Need to Know About How to Start 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 . These facilities are the foundation of the U.S. self-storage industry , which was projected to generate $37 billion in revenue in 2019.

At each of these self-storage facilities, people pay rent — usually by the month — to store their stuff in units of various sizes. They could be stashing furniture, art, appliances, TVs, documents, holiday decorations, wine, vehicles, boats or RVs. Many small businesses rely on self-storage units to keep business equipment, inventory and supplies. Some customers even have converted self-storage units into high-end “man caves” and “she sheds.”

Each of those self-storage properties is not only a warehouse for our wares — every facility also is a small business. And it can be a lucrative business, at that. By one estimate, the typical profit margin of a self-storage business in the U.S. is 11%. That’s well above the profit margins for many other types of small businesses; for example, the typical profit margin of a restaurant ranges from 3% to 5%.

Given those numbers, starting a self-storage business sounds pretty appealing, doesn’t it? It sure does. However, anybody looking at starting a self-storage company must look beyond the profits and weigh the practical considerations:

• How much will it cost to start a self-storage business?
• What kind of research and planning do you need to do before starting a self-storage business?
• Should you buy an existing self-storage facility?
• Should you build a self-storage facility from the ground up?
• How will you manage and market your self-storage facility?

Those are big questions, of course, but then starting a self-storage business is a big undertaking. Follow along as we guide you through what it takes to start a self-storage business.

How Much Will it Cost to Start a Self-Storage Business?

Before scouting locations for a self-storage facility — no matter whether you’re looking at buying an existing facility or building a new one — you’ll need to crunch some numbers.

At the outset, you’ll need a good sense of how much it’ll cost to get into the self-storage business. The numbers will vary widely based on a variety of factors, such as location, acquisition costs, land costs and facility construction costs . (We’ll get into the details later.)

Not only must you think about the costs to purchase or develop a facility, but you also must examine where the money will come from:

• Do you have enough liquid assets to buy or develop a self-storage facility on your own? Can you afford to earmark those assets for a self-storage facility?
• Do you need to take out and acquisition or construction loan?
• Do you need to recruit self-storage investors to help finance an acquisition or development deal?

After you’ve come up with answers to those questions, you’ll need to figure out how much it’ll cost to operate the facility once it’s yours. Are you and your family going to run it on your own? Will you have to hire staff to operate it? Would it be best to leave the operations side to a third-party management company? Do you need to install self-storage management software such as SiteLink ? In the end, how much time do you want to spend running a self-storage facility?

Remember, a self-storage facility is more than a structure. It’s a business.

To get into the storage business, you’ll almost assuredly need to carve out millions of dollars to purchase or construct a facility, and to cover various operating expenses, particularly payroll and taxes. A report released in early 2018 by commercial real estate company CBRE shows real estate taxes accounted for 28 percent of all self-storage operating expenses, with on-site and off-site management costs eating up another 38 percent of operating expenses.

What Kind of Research and Planning Do You Need to do Before Starting a Self-Storage Business?

Once you’ve done some high-level thinking about starting a self-storage business, it’s time to do some research. All of that research will go into a feasibility study that will, as its name suggests, tell you whether the business idea is feasible. You might be able to do this study on your own, but you’d be better off hiring a self-storage consultant to perform it.

Whichever route you go, you need to answer a critical question:

If I build it or buy it, will they come?

In other words: if you invest money in a self-storage facility, will you generate enough revenue to cover debt service and operating expenses, and still make a profit?

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. A three- to five-mile area is the typical size of a market for a self-storage 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 (anywhere from about 20,000 people in a rural setting to 100,000 or more in an urban setting, as a general guideline).
• Projected population growth (more people means more prospective tenants).
• Daily vehicle traffic (the majority of self-storage facilities depend heavily on drive-by traffic to attract customers).
• Competitive landscape. Which self-storage facilities already are operating in the area? What is their occupancy rate? Are there any facilities that are under construction or are planned within the trade area?

Other components of the feasibility study normally will include an overview of the self-storage industry; long-range projections for rental rates, income, expenses and property value; and details about the storage project’s zoning.

Writing a Business Plan

Every business should have a business plan. Simply put, a business plan can help propel a business toward success, letting you realize your goals and manage issues that might arise. Most lenders will want to see a business plan before extending a loan.

Lots of online templates are available for writing a business plan, so you certainly can try tackling it on your own. You also can seek assistance from a nonprofit like SCORE, which offers free business mentoring, or you can hire a writer who specializes in business plans.

Keep in mind that a business plan for an existing self-storage facility will look quite different from a business plan for a proposed facility.

Each business plan should be tailored to your own needs, but a business plan for a self-storage facility usually will feature information such as:

• Mission statement.
• Vision statement.
• Ownership structure.
• Business structure (such as an LLC, or limited liability corporation).
• Staff roles and responsibilities.
• SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats).
• Market analysis.
• Competitive analysis.
• Marketing and sales strategies.
• Pricing strategy. Roughly speaking, monthly rents for a self-storage facility in a high-population area can be anywhere from 50 cents to $4 per square foot.
• Menu of product and service offerings, including a rundown of the unit sizes, like 5×5, 10×10 and 10×20.
• Sources of capital.
• Revenue streams.
• Revenue and expense projections covering several years. Financial modeling will enable estimates of revenue and expenses on a per-square-foot basis.

One factor in making sure revenue projections are met is marketing. While drive-by traffic delivers lots of customers, marketing — particularly online self-storage marketing — can’t be ignored. Self-storage consumers increasingly are turning to the internet as their first stop when shopping for a storage unit.

Any smart internet strategy should ensure your facility can be found on search engines like Google as well as through online self-storage marketplaces like SpareFoot. In addition, your facility’s website should be up to date. Companies like storeEDGE specialize in developing, revamping and maintaining mobile-ready websites for self-storage operators .

How to Create a Self-Storage Business Plan

Should You Buy an Existing Self-Storage Facility?

In terms of buying an existing facility , prices are all over the map, just as the self-storage facilities themselves are. As you might expect, an existing self-storage facility in New York City, NY, likely will go for tens of millions of dollars, whereas an existing facility in rural Iowa likely can be purchased for less than $1 million.

A spot analysis of storage facilities for sale in March 2019 found that asking prices generally ranged from $1 million to $10 million per facility. Some facilities on the market also were bundled for sale as a single portfolio.

Unless you’re a licensed real estate professional, it’s wise to hire an experienced self-storage broker to help you find and eventually buy a facility. A seasoned broker knows the market and knows how to negotiate the price.

If you’re going to be running the facility, you, of course, will want to buy a facility in the region where you live. But if you’ll be handing over operations to a third-party management company, then it doesn’t necessarily matter where the facility is. Just be sure you and your broker have a good grasp of the local market.

Should You Build a Self-Storage Facility from the Ground Up?

This should come as no surprise, but location also plays a big part in the cost of building a new facility . You might be able to put up a single-story, 40,000-square-foot self-storage development in a small town for $1 million or less, whereas a two-story, 80,000-square-foot facility in a more urban setting could set you back $6 million. Keep in mind that these are rough estimates.

As a rule of thumb, you can expect to spend anywhere from $25 to $75 per square foot on new construction. However, that’s merely an approximate range. Again, the location of the facility — including the cost of the land — will dictate the price tag for construction.

Here are some statistics to keep in mind if you’re developing a self-storage facility:

• Facilities range from 10,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet or more.
• The average self-storage facility encompasses 46,000 net rentable square feet (the amount of money-generating space that can be rented by tenants).
• A facility typically covers 2.5 to 5 acres.

What follows are six things to take into account when you’re building storage units:

• What will the mix of units be?  If the facility is in a trade area that’s populated predominantly by apartment renters, then you might want to include more small units, such as 5x5 or 5x10. But if the residents of the trade area are mostly homeowners, more 10x10 and 10x20 units might be in order.
• Should the facility consistent only of drive-up units or only indoor-access units?  Or should there be a blend of drive-up and indoor-access units. The answers depend on the demographics of the trade area.
• Should there be only climate-controlled units or only non-climate-controlled units?  Or should there be a combination of the two? The local climate will come into play regarding this decision, as will your construction budget.
• Should you limit the facility to one building?  Or will you have enough room — and does it make sense — to spread the units across several buildings? How much land is available, along with how much demand is projected, will influence the configuration of the facility.
• Should space be set aside for storage of boats, RVs and other vehicles?  The answer hinges, in part, on market research indicating how many boat, RV and vehicle owners live in the trade area.
• Should you look at converting an existing structure, such as a shuttered retail store, into a self-storage facility?  A number of self-storage developers have successfully transformed unused and often overlooked spaces into tax-revenue-generating, job-creating storage facilities.

Aside from what the facility will look like, another key factor is zoning and entitlement.

A huge issue will be how the property is zoned. If the property is already zoned for self-storage, then that removes a huge hurdle. But if the property needs to be rezoned, then you could devote months or even years to seeking approval for a zoning change.

In some places, government officials and local residents vigorously oppose self-storage facilities, based on the ill-informed notion that these facilities are magnets for crime and traffic, and that they’re eyesores. The reverse is actually true. Self-storage facilities don’t cause a rise crime or traffic, and many modern facilities are being designed to fit into and even accentuate neighborhoods.

Additionally, there’s the issue of entitlement. This involves obtaining approval from government entities for your development plans. As with rezoning, an entitlement case could drag on for months upon months.

All of that being said, keep two things in mind:

• Development of a self-storage facility takes time and patience (and, of course, money).  Aside from the zoning and entitlement, construction can be delayed by bad weather, shortages of labor and limited supplies of construction materials.
• Development of a self-storage facility requires expertise.  A development team should include seasoned legal, real estate, financial, construction and design professionals. Few people who are new to the self-storage industry can go it alone when developing a new facility.

Financing a Self-Storage Facility

Just as there is with any business, there are some hard truths about self-storage, no matter whether you’re talking about a newly constructed or newly acquired facility.

For one thing, you’ll need money to launch the business and keep it running.

As we mentioned before, the amount of money you put into a facility varies greatly, based on location and myriad other factors. But before you spend a dime, you’ll have to decide how you’ll go about financing an acquisition or a new development.

For instance, will you need to take out a loan? A number of options are available, such as acquisition loans, construction loans and SBA loans. Many of these loans cover terms of 10 to 25 years. Work with a lending professional who’s well-versed in the self-storage industry to point you in the right direction.

To qualify for a self-storage loan, here are four things you’ll likely need:

• A credit score of at least 680.
• A credit history clear of recent bankruptcies, foreclosures and tax liens.
• A cash down payment of 10 percent or more.
• A business track record of at least three years.

Perhaps you don’t need to take out a loan and, instead, have enough liquid capital to buy or build a facility. However, do you have enough money to operate the facility? You don’t want to drain your retirement fund to purchase or develop a self-storage facility.

Or you might consider teaming up with other investors to buy or build a facility. This can be done through:

• A debt partnership, which is a lending relationship that does not assign an ownership stake to the person or entity you are borrowing the money from.
• An equity partnership, with each partner chipping in a certain amount of cash and owning a share of the business.
• A joint venture with, say, a self-storage developer. Each partner owns a certain percentage of the business.
• A syndicate of accredited investors assembled for the sole purpose of buying or developing a facility.
• A tenant-in-common arrangement, which allows at least two people to own a property and enables the relatively seamless transfer of an ownership stake to another party.

Financing Options for Self-Storage Businesses

How Will you Manage and Market Your Self-Storage Facility?

While storage facilities traditionally generate healthy, stable cash flow, anyone entering the self-storage business must realize that this won’t be a get-rich-quick operation.

Generally speaking, the occupancy rates of self-storage facilities range from 70% to 95%. With a facility that’s newly constructed or that’s being repositioned, a new owner often will face a lease-up period of 18 to 36 months before a facility reaches occupancy stabilization. Positive cash flow also could be years down the road.

However, the good news is that the breakeven occupancy rate for a self-storage facility falls well below other asset classes. By one measure, the breakeven point is 40% to 45% occupancy in self-storage , versus 60% or more in the multifamily sector. Furthermore, self-storage facilities boast some of the best shorter-term and longer-term returns in commercial real estate.

When it comes to buying a self-storage facility, one investment number that’s essential to note is the capitalization rate (cap rate for short). “Capitalization rates are always the over-arching consideration for both buyers and sellers in the self-storage industry,” according to self-storage brokerage firm SkyView Advisors.

As explained by SkyView Advisors, the cap rate is the ratio of a property’s NOI (net operating income) to the value of the property. For example, if a property sells for $1.5 million and its NOI is $120,000, then the cap rate is 8% ($120,000 is 8% of $1.5 million).

“In the simplest terms, the cap rate reveals to an income property investor what percentage [he/she] can expect to earn if he buys the property with all cash,” SkyView Advisors said.

For example, if an investor thinks a property is worth a cap rate of 8%, then he or she expects a cash return of 8%.

In the third quarter of 2018, cap rates for self-storage facilities ranged from 4.5% among Class A facilities to 8.5% for Class C facilities, according to CBRE.

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. Evidence of that growth abounds:

• In 2018, self-storage occupancy rates and rental rates in a number of U.S. markets reached record highs.
• Demand for self-storage keeps going up thanks to an array of trends, including the overall downsizing of baby boomers’ households, the general preference among millennials for renting apartments versus owning homes and the sustained mobility of American workers.
• Over time, self-storage has demonstrated that it’s a recession-resistant sector.

In short, self-storage furnishes a wealth of reasons why acquiring an existing facility or building a new facility can open the roll-up door to attractive investment gains.

“Storage facilities need little capital outlay or upkeep, their property taxes are modest, and net acquisitions in that sector have surged,” Forbes.com contributor Brad Thomas observed in November 2017. “And so, in good times and in bad, kind of like marriage, good old storage units are like a trusty … spouse.”

Related Resources:

How to Buy a Self-Storage Facility

Thinking about buying a self-storage facility? Here is what you need to know before starting your search. Keep Reading

How to Sell a Self-Storage Facility

It's time to sell your self-storage facility and cash out. Here's what you need to know to prepare your units for sale. Keep Reading

Do You Need a Self-Storage Feasibility Study?

Before you invest in building, find out why you should first invest in a self-storage feasibility study. Keep Reading

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Self-Storage Business Plan Template

Getting your own self-storage business off the ground requires a business plan. here is a self-storage business plan template that includes the important elements you need to include in your business plan., fill the form to download business plan templates.

To ensure your self storage business success in this highly competitive market, you need a properly structured business plan for your self storage business. With over 12 years of experience, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs create business plans to start and grow their self storage businesses.If this is your first time writing a business plan , we’ll walk you through these sections and give you some key things to consider.

Things to Know Before Writing a Self Storage Business Plan

Do you ever feel like you have too much stuff in your house? There are a lot of people with this problem, which is why the self-storage industry is worth $23 billion.

The industry is mainly engaged in the rental of self-storage space. The establishments provide secure spaces where customers can store and retrieve their belongings at any time. Storage units in the industry include include, compartments, lockers, containers, and outdoor spaces.

It is one of the fastest-growing sectors in commercial real estate since self-storage facilities were first introduced in the 1960s.

Operators in the industry have low overhead costs, few staff, few utilities, and little maintenance, which result in substantial profitability (measured as earnings before interest and taxes) of 46.8% in 2021.

As the economy recovers following the Coronavirus pandemic, the industry is likely to see a rebound in the next five years. Overall, according to IBIS-WORLD , revenue for the industry is expected to rise at an annualized rate of 0.6% to $24.0 billion by 2026.

Key Success Factors for Selfstorage Business

Despite industry challenges, these 6 factors will help you boost profitability, efficiency, and ultimately success.

• Scale economies: Storage operators that can provide more storage services at lower costs can develop economies of scale and increase profits in this industry.
• Access to key markets: Ideally, mini-warehouses and self-storage facilities should be located near or within population centers. Customers prefer to access their storage items within a short distance.
• Economies of scope: Companies that provide a variety of storage sizes and solutions are able to reach a wider market.
• Maintaining a good reputation: Self-storage companies that are known for their accessibility, security, and pricing are more likely to attract patrons. Friendly staff can also be a major point of differentiation in such a crowded industry.
• Specialized equipment and facilities: The best self-storage companies offer high security, on-site help, temperature control, specialized storage sizes, and dust-free environments.
• Excellent financial and debt management: Operators with a high level of success in this industry are able to control expenses and manage debt.

What is a Self-Storage Business Plan?

A business plan for self-storage facility is a written document that sets your company’s financial goals and discusses how you’ll reach them.

A solid, comprehensive strategy will serve as a road map for the next three to five years of the self-storage business. Any bank or investor you approach will require a business plan for self-storage facility, so putting one together will be critical to securing funding.

In short, writing a business plan can help you succeed if you’re thinking of starting a self-storage business or pitching to investors or venture capitalists.

Free: Business Plan Examples

Do you need help creating a business plan? Check out these six free, proven business plan examples from different industries to help you write your own.

Why You Need a Self-Storage Business Plan

If you want to start a self-storage business or expand an existing one, the first thing you need to do is to write a business plan. A business plan is also necessary for attracting investors who want to know if your self-storage is on the right track and worth investing in.

A solid, detailed plan gives you a clear path to follow, forces you to examine the viability of a self storage business idea, and may help you better understand your company’s finances and competition.

Self-storage owners who have a business plan grow 35% faster than those who don’t, and 71% of fast-growing businesses have one.

A self-storage business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Funding Sources for Self-Storage Businesses

Asking family and friends to invest in your self-storage business is a great way to start. Once you’ve set a budget and identified what you’ll need to start the business, take the services of your friends and family to help you get it off the ground. You might need to present the willing ones a solid business plan to reassure them that their chances of making a profit are good.

Bank loans and angel investors are the two most common sources of funding for a self-storage business. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to look over your self-storage business plan to make sure you’ll be able to pay it back with interest.

The loan officer will not simply want to ensure that your financials are reasonable in order to gain this confidence. They will, however, expect to see a professional plan. They will be more confident in your ability to run a business successfully and professionally if you have a plan like this.

The following are nine options for financing a self-storage business:

• SBA 504 loans
• SBA 7(A) loans 
• Construction loans
• Conventional loans
• Credit lines
• Bridge loans
• Hard money loans
• Mezzanine loans
• Working capital loans

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How to Write a Self-Storage Business Plan

To write a self-storage business plan, you don’t need to be an expert. Our step-by-step guide will show you how to write a business plan for self-storage facility business, or you can just download our proven  sample business plans  to get a better idea.

Self-Storage Business Plan PDF and Word

Download our self-storage business plan template in PDF and Word here.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is the most important part of the document since it outlines the whole business plan. Despite the fact that it appears first in the plan, write the executive summary last so you may condense key concepts from the other nine parts.

It’s a part that catches the investor’s eye and provides key information about your company’s overview and upcoming short- and long-term goals.

Tell them what kind of self-storage business you have and what stage you’re in; for example, are you a startup, do you have a self-storage that you want to expand, or do you have a lot of self-storage business?

Finally, an executive summary should provide investors with a preview of what they may expect from the rest of your document.

• Provide a high-level overview of the self-storage industry
• The name, location, and mission of your self-storage business
• A description of your self-storage business, including management, advisors, and a brief history
• Discuss the type of self-storage business you are operating, Give an overview of your target customers., and how your product differs from competitors in the industry
• Create a marketing plan that describes your company’s marketing strategies, sales, and partnership plans.
• And give an overview of your financial plan

Check out these executive summary examples to help you write a perfect one for your business plan.

Free: Executive Summary Examples

An executive summary is the most important part of your business plan, and it need not be challenging to write. This is why we have put together some awesome free Executive Summary examples for you.

Company Analysis

• Company summary: Your company analysis will describe the type of self-storage business you are operating and its future goals.  The type of self-storage you might be focused on are: (Warehouse storage, Containers, Lock-ups, Depositories for furniture, etc.)
• Company history: When and why did you start your self-storage business?
• Management team: Who runs the company, and other key positions.
• What milestones have you achieved so far? Your milestones could include sales goals achieved, new store openings, etc.
• Legal structure and ownership: Your reader will want to know what business entity your company is: a sole proprietorship , LLC , partnership, or corporation .
• Locations and facilities: Information about your workspaces or plans to acquire them.
• Mission statement: An overview of your company’s guiding principles. Learn how to write a perfect mission statement .

Industry Analysis

You need to include an overview of the self-storage business in the industry analysis you performed before sitting down to write your self-storage business plan.

While this research may appear to be unnecessary, it helps you to build strategies that maximize business opportunities while lowering or avoiding the identified risk.

You may learn a lot about the self-storage industry by doing research. It helps you in understanding the market wherein you operate.

The third purpose for conducting market research is to demonstrate to readers that you are an industry expert.

Industry analysis can be presented as a 8-step process when written as part of a company’s business plan.

• Give a quick overview of the self-storage industry. Define the self-storage business in terms of size (in dollars), historical background, service region, and products.
• Examine previous trends and growth patterns in the self-storage industry.
• Identify the market’s major competitors.
• Age, gender, and general lifestyle of the targeted market
• Who are the market’s main suppliers?
• Determine the factors that have an impact on the self-storage industry. These might include government regulatory rules and other businesses’ competitive activities.
• Using research data, the industry forecast expected growth. Predictions should be made for both the long and short term.
• Describe how your self-storage business intends to position itself in the industry. Concentrate on how your self-storage business can benefit from opportunities highlighted in the industry.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section is an important part of any self-storage business plan since it evaluates the consumer segments that your company serves. It identifies target customers, determines what those customers want, and then explains how the product will meet those requirements.

Here are some examples of customer segments:  People who are relocating, Business owners, Families, Retailers etc.

Customer analysis may be divided into two parts: Psycho-social profiles (why your self-storage services suit a customer’s lifestyle) and Demographic profiles (descriptions of a customer’s demographic qualities).

In terms of demographics, you should include information on the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the consumers you want to serve. Because most self-storage serves consumers who live in the same city or town, such demographic data is easily accessible on government websites.

The psychological profiles of your target clients reveal their wants and needs. The better you understand and identify these demands, the better your chances of attracting and retaining customers will be.

Competitor Analysis

It is necessary to do a competitor analysis. Not least because you may use their data to define your goals, marketing plans, tactics, new product lines, pricing, and more. Use competitor analysis to:

• Identify the strength and weaknesses of your self-storage competitors.
• Search for opportunities to distinguish your self-storage from competitors.
• Set your product’s price.

The first step is to determine who your direct and indirect rivals are.

The direct competitors consist of other self-storage businesses that offer essentially the same services to the same people as you do. 

Customers have other options for purchases that aren’t direct competitors, such as indirect competitors. This applies to both businesses that have their own storage space and individuals who keep extra items in their attics or basements.

Once you’ve identified the competitors, concentrate on the direct, head-to-head competitors, since they are the most threatening to your self-storage business — but keep an eye on the indirect competitors as well, just in case.

Provide an overview of each direct competitor’s business and detail their strengths and weaknesses.

You will be able to position yourself competitively in the market if you perform proper competitors research. Perform a SWOT Analysis to learn your competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, and competitive advantages in the following areas:

• Prices – Are they cheaper or more costly than you and other self-storage companies, what value do buyers get for that price, and does shipping significantly raise the price?
• Quality – The quality services they provide, the perceived worth in the eyes of the customers
• Customer service – How they respond to their consumers, whether they treat them poorly or well, and the degrees of satisfaction customers show
• Reputation — The sum of everything mentioned above: their credibility, how loved the brand is, and the loyalty of their customers

The final section of your competitive analysis should include a list of your areas of competitive advantage. for example: Are you going to offer premium self storage services? Will you offer unique services that your competitors don’t offer? Will you offer better pricing or will you offer greater customer support?

Consider how you will outperform your competitors and include them in this portion of your self-storage business plan.

Free: SWOT Analysis Examples

Take advantage of our free SWOT analysis examples. Make your business future-proof by identifying your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats using this free SWOT Analysis Template.

Marketing Plan

Creating a marketing plan for a self-storage business involves identifying the target demographic and finding products that suit their preferences. Self-storage owners need to constantly seek out self-storage businesses that their competitors do not carry.

As part of your marketing plan for a self-storage, you should include:

Pricing and Product Strategy

Your self-storage business must offer services that are unique, need in public, and different from those of your competitors. Research what your competitors carry and how they price their products. A unique self-storage collection identifies your store as the place to go for unique self-storage business and differentiates it from others.

Placing and Promotions

The location of your self-storage business is referred to as place. Make a note of where you’re going and how it’ll affect your success. Is your self-storage facility, for example, near a major highway or public transportation? Discuss how you can ensure a steady flow of customers at your location.

Promoting your self-storage is the final part of your marketing plan. In this step, you document how you will drive customers to purchase your self-storage. A few marketing methods you could consider are:

• Marketing in local newspapers and magazines
• Approaching bloggers and websites
• Billboards and Flyers
• Marketing on social media
• Marketing through websites
• Pay Per Click marketing
• Online Rentals
• Email Marketing
• Ongoing Customer Communications
• Keeping in Touch With Previous Clients

Operations Plan

While the previous sections of your self-storage business plan described your goals, your operations plan discusses how you will achieve them.

An operations plan is helpful for investors, but it’s also helpful for you and employees because it pushes you to think about tactics and deadlines.

Your operations plan should be divided into two individual parts, as seen below.

All the daily tasks involved in running your self-storage business, such as serving customers, cleaning self-storage place, etc., are short-term processes.

Long-term goals  are milestones that you aim to reach. These may include the dates when finalizing the lease agreement for the self-storage space or Reach break-evens. It might also be when you plan to launch a new self-storage business or to serve 1000th customer.

Management Team

When writing a self-storage business plan, the management section’ outlines your management team, staff, resources, and how your business ownership is structured.

A strong management team is necessary to demonstrate your self-storage’s ability to succeed as a business. Highlight the backgrounds of your key players, emphasizing the skills and experiences that demonstrate their ability to grow a business.

You and/or your team members should ideally have prior experience working in a self-storage company. If so, emphasize your knowledge and experience. However, you should emphasize any experience that you believe will help your self-storage business succeed.

Consider forming an advisory board if your team is lacking. An advisory board would consist of 2 to 8 people who would act as mentors to your company. They would assist in answering questions and providing strategic direction. If necessary, seek out advisory board members with experience running self-storage and small businesses. 

Financial Plan

As part of your financial plan, you should present a 5-year financial statement broken down monthly or quarterly for the first year, and then annually. Business financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.

Income Statement

A profit and loss statement is more commonly called an income statement. It shows your revenue and subtracts your expenses to determine whether you were profitable or not.

As you develop your income statement, you need to develop assumptions. For example, will you serve 20 clients per day or 50? Will sales increase by 3% or 15% per year? As you can imagine, your assumptions have a significant impact on your financial forecast. Do your best to verify your assumptions by conducting research.

Free: Income Statement Template

Create a financial statement for your business by downloading our free income statement templates.

Balance Sheet

While balance sheets include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities.

The balance sheet shows your self-storage’s net value at a specific point in time. It categorizes all of your company’s financial data into three categories:

• Assets: Tangible goods with the monetary worth that the company owns.
• Liabilities: Debt owing to a company’s creditor.
• Equity: The net difference when the total liabilities are subtracted from the total assets.

The equation that expresses the relationship between these financial data elements is Assets = Liabilities + Equity.

Create a pro forma balance sheet for your self-storage business plan that highlights the information in the income statement and cash flow projections. A balance sheet is normally prepared once a year by a company.

Balance sheets indicate your assets and liabilities, and while they contain a lot of information, they are simplified to highlight the most important things you need to know.

For example, spending $150,000 to build out your self-storage business will not result in instant revenues. Rather, it is an asset that should help you earn money for many years to come.

Similarly, if a bank sends you a check for $700,000, you do not have to pay it back right now. Rather, that is a liability that you will repay over time.

Free: Balance Sheet Template

Create a financial statement for your business by downloading our free balance sheet templates.

List any additional material you cannot include elsewhere, such as resumes from key employees, licenses, equipment leases, permits, patents, receipts, bank statements, contracts, and personal and business credit histories.

Attach your full financial projections along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling in the appendix. You may, for instance, include some of your apparel designs.

Bonus Tip: Learn what to include in a business plan appendix for your self-storage business.

Summary of the Self-Storage Business Plan

A self-storage business plan is a worthwhile investment. As long as you follow the template above, you will become an expert in no time. By following the template, you will understand the self-storage business, your competitors, and your customers. The plan will help you understand the steps necessary to launch and grow your self-storage business.

Do you want to Finish Your Self-Storage Business Plan in less the one day?

Wouldn’t it be nice if your business plan could be completed faster and easier?

With wise business plans Business Plan Template , you can finish your plan in just 6 hours or less with a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee!

You can also download our 300+ free business plan templates covering a wide range of industries.

OR, we can develop your self-storage business plan for you

Since 2010, Wise business plans’ MBA professional business plan writers has developed business plans for thousands of companies that have experienced tremendous success.

Download Our Self-Storage Business Plan Template

We will show you some real-world business plan examples so you may know how to write your own, especially if you are seeking a bank loan or an outside investment and need to use SBA-approved formatting.

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Self Storage Business Plan Template

Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting your journey in the self-storage industry, this comprehensive and easy-to-use template is designed to guide you through the process of creating a successful business plan. From conducting market analysis to projecting revenue and implementing a strategic marketing strategy, our template covers all the essential components you need to kickstart your self-storage venture. Download it now and unlock the potential for storage business success!

Download the template today!

The self-storage industry presents a lucrative business opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on the growing demand for storage solutions. However, establishing and running a successful self-storage facility requires careful planning and execution. That's why we're thrilled to offer our free Self Storage Business Plan Template, specifically tailored to streamline and enhance your business planning process.

Features of the Self Storage Business Plan Template

Our self-storage business plan template incorporates key features to help you build a robust plan:

• Market Analysis - Conduct in-depth market research to identify profitable locations, analyze customer segments, and understand industry trends. Our template provides a structured approach to conducting a comprehensive market analysis specific to the self-storage industry.
• Competitive Analysis - Evaluate your competition to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning. Our template guides you in analyzing the competitive landscape, enabling you to differentiate your facility and create a unique value proposition.
• Revenue Projections - Forecast your revenue streams based on factors such as unit occupancy rates, rental prices, and customer retention. Our comprehensive financial projections section helps you estimate income potential and make informed decisions to maximize profitability.
• Marketing Strategy - Develop a targeted marketing plan to attract customers and establish a strong brand presence. Our template assists you in crafting an effective marketing strategy that encompasses online marketing, local advertising, referral programs, and partnerships within your community.

Benefits of Using Our Template

Utilizing our Self Storage Business Plan Template offers several advantages:

• Time and Effort Saving - Save valuable time and effort by leveraging a ready-to-use template that streamlines the planning process. Focus your energy on refining your business strategy rather than starting from scratch.
• Comprehensive Guidance - Our template provides a clear roadmap, ensuring you address all critical aspects of your self-storage business plan. From market analysis to financial projections and marketing strategy, it covers all essential components needed for success.
• Increased Success Potential - A well-structured and comprehensive business plan increases your chances of success in the competitive self-storage industry. Our template equips you with the necessary tools to build a solid foundation for your business and make informed decisions along the way.

Self Storage Business Plan Frequently Asked Questions

Q: why do i need a self-storage business plan.

A: A self-storage business plan is essential as it helps you analyze the market, define your business goals, and develop a strategic approach to succeed in the industry. It ensures you have a clear roadmap for your facility, facilitates decision-making, and attracts potential investors or lenders.

Q: What role does a Self Storage Business Plan play in securing funding?

A: By crafting a well-structured business plan, you demonstrate your understanding of the self-storage industry, your target market, and your competitive advantage. The plan outlines your strategies for acquiring and managing self-storage facilities, marketing your services, and generating revenue. It also includes financial projections that showcase the potential return on investment. Making use of a Self Storage financial projection template can further facilitate the process by providing accurate financial forecasts and projections, making your business plan more convincing and increasing your chances of securing the necessary funding.

Q: What are the key components of a self-storage business plan?

A: A self-storage business plan should include a market analysis, competitive analysis, revenue projections, marketing strategy, operational procedures, financial forecasts, and an exit strategy. These components enable you to understand your target market, assess profitability, plan your operations and finances, and create effective strategies for promoting and growing your facility.

Q: How can a self-storage business plan help attract customers?

A: A well-crafted self-storage business plan demonstrates your understanding of the market, competitive advantages, and value proposition. It allows you to outline your marketing strategies, including online marketing, local advertising, and partnerships, which can attract customers to your facility.

We Know a Good Business Plan When we See One

Collectively, our team has reviewed thousands of business plans and has nearly 20 years of experience making SBA loans. We've also helped more than 50,000 businesses create financial projections across many industries and geographies.

Adam served as Executive Director for a SBA microlender in Indiana for over 10 years helping businesses and reviewing thousands of business plans.

Grace has built hundreds of custom financial models for businesses as well as our projection templates which are used by thousands of businesses every year.

Kyle served as an SBA loan officer for 7 years working directly with startups and business owners to review their business plans, projections, and prepare their loan package.

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Self Storage Business Plan Sample

JUN.05, 2018

Do you want to start self storage business?

Do you want to start a self storage business? A self storage company provides storage space (such as lockers, containers, rooms, outdoor space) to individuals and businesses. People use the services of self storage companies whenever they run out of space, move to a new place or simply do renovations in their homes. Businesses and companies operating in small facilities use the services of self storing companies for storing their business inventory or archives since they are unable to store these things due to limited space. And considering the economic situation of today, where people are forced to live in small homes and business are forced to operate in small offices, self storage businesses have become a need for everyone. So if you want to start this business, chances of making profits are really high. In case, you don’t know how to start your own self storage business , the first thing you must do is to prepare a comprehensive business plan which will establish the basis of your company’s future operations and decisions. To help you make your self-storage business plan, we are here providing you the business plan for a self storage business startup named ‘Houston Self Storage’

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

Houston Self Storage is licensed and insured self storage company located in Downtown Houston. The company will provide short- and long-term self storage services by offering storage units in various sizes to accommodate all sorts of storage needs of the customers. Our storage units business model is specifically designed to fulfill the requirements of all sorts of customers.

2.2 Management

Houston Self Storage will be a joint venture owned by Jack Elisken and Mike Harvin, both of which are experienced industry professionals. Jack has been associated with storage industry while Mike has been associated with the moving industry, so both of them have the right resources and knowledge needed for starting a self storage business . This venture will be equally funded by both parties and both will have equal ownership in it.

2.3 Customers

Our target market is the residential community, institutions and organizations as well as the corporate sector based in Houston. Considering our target customers, we are based in the best possible location for opening a self storage business .

2.4 Target of the Company

We aim to become the best self storage business of Houston within next five years of our startup. Our main business targets to be achieved as milestones over the course of next three years are as follows:

• To achieve the net profit margin of $10k per month by the end of the first year, $15k per month by the end of the second year, and $25k per month by the end of the third year
• To balance the initial cost of the startup with earned profits by the end of the first year
• To start another storage center in Texas city after six years of startup

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

Houston Self Storage will be a joint venture owned by Jack Elisken and Mike Harvin. Jack is a highly experienced industry professional and has been serving as the General Manager of New State Warehouse for the last 7 years. Mike owns a moving company, Realtime Movers. The venture will be equally funded by both parties and both will have equal ownership in it.

3.2 Why the Business is being started

Jack and Mike have decided to start self storage business for the purpose of making profits in this industry. Considering the increasing population of Houston and relatively less self storage facilities in the city, their venture has fair chances of succeeding.

3.3 How the Business will be started

Starting a self storage business is not easy since you have to considered a lot of things. In case you don’t know how to start a self storage business , you can take help from this sample self-storage business plan. Houston Self Storage will be located in Downton Houston, a place where it is needed the most. The facility covers an area of about 55,000 square feet and is divided into various segments of 10-by-30-foot storages, 10-by-25-foot storages, 10-by-20-foot storages, 10-by-15-foot storages, 10-by-10-foot storages, 5-by-10-foot storages, and 5-by-5-foot storages. The financial experts have forecasted following costs for expenses, assets, investment, and bank loans for the startup .

The detailed startup requirements, startup funding, startup expenses, total assets, total funding required, total liabilities, total planned investment, total capital and liabilities are given in the table below.

Services for customers

A self storage business can be immensely profitable provided that you plan it effectively and choose the right place for its startup. A self storage business profit margin depends on what services will you provide to your customers so make sure to plan your services before you think about how to start a storage unit business . Planning your services before opening a storage facility is also important because it helps you with the planning of other subsequent components.

Houston Self Storage will provide short- and long-term self storage services to its customers. We will offer storage units in various sizes to accommodate all sorts of storage needs of our customers. All storage units will be completely secure from theft and other sorts of damage. We will be open 24/7 for providing you the services you deserve. Our facilities will always be clean, well-lit and we will provide moving carts to facilitate our customers with loading and unloading of stuff. Our main services can be divided into following categories.

• Standard Self Storage Units: We will provide standard self storage units in various sizes to accommodate all your goods. Our storage units are specially designed while keeping user requirements in mind.
• Temperature-Controlled Self Storage Units: In addition to standard storage units, we will also provide climate-controlled self storage units in which constant temperature will be maintained throughout the year. These storage units are perfect for storing delicate items such as important documents, electronics, wood and furniture.
•  Packing and Storage Supplies: We will also provide a variety of packing and storage material for the convenience of our customers such as packing boxes, tapes and other important supplies.
•  Moving Services: We will also provide moving services to our customers within our storage facility by loading and unloading the goods of our customers.

Marketing Analysis of self storage business

The most important component of an effective self storage business plan is its accurate marketing analysis that’s why the company owners acquired the services of marketing experts to help them through this phase.

It is only after this stage that a good storage unit business model could have been developed. After identifying the availability of current self storage facilities and the current demand in Houston, the marketing experts and analysts also helped them to select the best site for starting a storage facility business . The success or failure of a self storage business totally depends upon its marketing strategy which can only be developed on the basis of accurate marketing analysis. Marketing analysis is a must-do thing before you even think about how to run a storage unit business . If you are starting on a smaller scale, you can do marketing analysis yourself by taking help from this self storage business plan template or other storage facility business plan samples available online. But if you are opening a storage business on a larger scale, it is always best to seek the counsel of marketing experts for developing a good storage unit business plan .

5.1 Market & Industry Trends

The first component of the marketing analysis of your storage units business plan is the feasibility analysis of the current self storage industry. Feasibility analysis dictates whether the industry has become saturated or not and helps figure out whether a startup in this industry will succeed or not. That’s why it must be catered before you start storage unit business .

The self storage industry started in 1960’s due to the increasing need for commercial and residential storage. Since its start, the industry has doubled in size each decade and the ROI have been greater as compared to other forms real estate investment. As of now, the self storage industry generates $38 billion annual revenue in just United States. The industry comprises of around 58,000 businesses and is responsible for employing more than 141,000 people across the country.

As per the growth statistics, the industry has seen a 7% growth rate from 2012 to 2017 and is also projected to increase in future. The reason behind this increase is the increasing tendency of people to live in rental house business and the increase in accumulation of leisure articles such as exercise equipment, wind-surfers, and skis etc. In short, considering the ever-increasing population, we can say that self storage industry is feasible for startups. Hence, you can open a storage unit business and can make it immensely profitable provided that you plan it successfully.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

For developing an effective marketing strategy, it is crucial to analyze the market segmentation of the future customers of our self storage business. A successful and efficient marketing strategy can only be developed after a business completely knows its potential customers that’s why it is important to consider before starting a storage facility . Our target market is the residential community, institutions and organizations as well as the corporate sector based in Houston. Considering our target customers, we are based in the best possible location to open a storage unit business . Our experts have identified the following type of target audience which can become the future consumers of our services.

The detailed marketing segmentation of our target audience is as follows:

5.2.1 Residential Community:

Our first target group is the residential community based in Houston. The residential community comprised of people from all races and all sorts of background, most of which are financially stable. Due to economic decline, which has affected every single person in the United States, people are living in smaller houses which usually are unable to fit everything. Most people have accumulated leisure articles like exercise equipment, wind-surfers, and skis which they occasionally use, so most of the time people store such articles in self storages so as to avoid stuffing their homes. Another important aspect is about 44% of Houston population live on rent and whenever they have to move from one place to another, they use self storage services for temporarily storing their goods.

5.2.2 Local Businesses:

Our second target group is the local businesses and startups based in Houston. Many businesses in the city, such as retail outlets, often use self storage units for storing their stock on a temporary basis. Another important aspect is many startups and even some of the established businesses operate within limited space such as small offices so they need to stock their inventory and products in self storage units.

5.2.3 Institutions & Organizations:

Many institutions and organizations operating in limited space also need the services of self storage businesses to stock their inventory and products. The detailed market analysis of our potential customers is given in the following table:

5.3 Business Target

We aim to become the best self storage business of Houston within next five years of our startup. The company owners aim to start another storage center in Texas city after six years of startup. Our main business targets to be achieved as milestones over the course of next three years are as follows:

• To provide unparalleled services in the industry and set a benchmark of quality

5.4 Service Pricing

Service pricing is one of the most important factors in deciding the marketing strategy. Selecting the prices of services is difficult because startups have to attract customers while yield profit at the same time. These two things cannot be achieved at the same time and the only way out is to select a compromised trade-off between the two. After considering our competition and the market demands, we have priced our services in the similar ranges as of our competitors. The reason behind our pricing policy is to achieve MARR (minimum attractive rate of return) which would not be possible in case of offering our services in lower prices.

After identifying the market trends, the market demand, and the potential customers of the startup, the next step is to develop an ingenious sales strategy. Like marketing analysis, sales strategy is also an important component of a self storage business model and must be considered before you think about how to run a self storage business .

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6.1 Competitive Analysis

Self storage industry is a competitive one considering the fact that there are currently around 58,000 self storage businesses in the United States. However, we hope to excel our competitors due to several competitive aspects. Our first and the most important competitive advantage is our strategic location which is ideal to start a self storage business plan . We are located in Downtown which is the central hub for all local businesses and is very near to the residential zone of the city. In addition to our location, our quality services will also be one of our biggest competitive advantages. We will ensure that our storage units are clean and well-lit as well as safe and secure from theft or other sorts of damages. We will also provide moving carts to facilitate our customers with loading and unloading of stuff. Lastly, we will open round the clock, seven days of week, ensuring your access to your stuff at any time of the day.

6.2 Sales Strategy

After carrying out a detailed. our experts came up with the following brilliant ideas to advertise and sell ourselves.

• We will carry out a large-scale social media campaign for our advertisement.
• We will launch our website by which customers can know whether a storage unit with their desired requirements is vacant or not. Customers will also be allowed to make reservations through our webpage.
• We will offer customer referral awards to promote our services.

6.3 Sales Monthly

Our experts have forecasted following sales on a monthly basis which are summarized in the column charts below.

6.4 Sales Yearly

Our experts have forecasted following sales on a yearly basis which are summarized in the column charts below.

6.5 Sales Forecast

Considering the quality of our services, our sales pattern is expected to increase with years. By analyzing our market segmentation strategy, our experts have forecasted the following sales on a yearly basis which are summarized in the following column charts.

The detailed information about sales forecast, total unit sales, total sales is given in the following table.

Personnel plan

A business can succeed only if it is properly planned during its initial stages. Just like the planning of other components, you must also develop a personnel plan before you think about how to start a self storage facility . The personnel plan not only establishes what staff is required for the startup but it also gives an estimate of the costs incurred on their salaries. However, it is never easy to estimate the number and type of staff needed for a company before it is even launched therefore seek the help of HR experts before you open a self storage business .

7.1 Company Staff

Jack will act as the General Manager of the company while Mike will serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. Following staff has been estimated by HR experts for starting a self storage unit business .

• 2 Administrators / Accountants for maintaining financial records
• 4 Sales Executives responsible for marketing and discovering new ventures
• 20 Field Employees for operating and maintaining the storage
• 8 Movers for helping customers load and unload their stuff
• 8 Cleaners for keeping store clean at all times
• 2 Technical Assistants for managing website and social media pages
• 1 Front Desk Officer for acting as a receptionist
• 6 Security Officers

To ensure the best quality service, all employees will be selected through strict testing procedures and will be trained for a month prior to onboarding.

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

The following table shows the forecasted data about employees and their salaries for next three years.

Financial Plan

After deciding the strategy and personnel plan of the company, the next step is to develop a detailed map of the financial projections of the company. Just like the planning of other aspects, you must also prepare a financial plan before you start thinking about how to build a self storage business . The financial plan should craft a detailed map about the cost of startup, inventory, payroll, equipment, rent, utilities and how these costs will be covered with the profits. So, if you are thinking, is the self storage business a profitable business you’ll get your answer after you make a financial plan. To make an accurate financial plan, make sure to consult financial experts before you start your own storage unit business . The financial plan of Houston Self Storage is as follows.

8.1 Important Assumptions

The financial projections of the company are forecasted on the basis of following assumptions. These assumptions are conservative and can show deviation but to a limited level such that the major financial strategy of the company will not be affected.

8.2 Brake-even Analysis

 8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

8.3.1 profit monthly.

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

8.6 business ratios.

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Self-Storage Business Plan

Start your own self-storage business plan

Westbury Storage, Inc.

Westbury Storage will provide short- and long-term self-storage services in the North Shore community. The company owners have extensive experience in the storage business as well as the good connections in the moving business. The later will help utilize the storage space at the maximum capacity. Westbury Storage will provide about 45,000 square feet of well maintained self-storage units that will be offered for both residential and small business renters.

Competitive Comparison

All self-storage facilities that could be found in Westbury or the area bordering Westbury were surveyed with the following results:

Prices average at $1.20 per sq. ft. per month. Mean price is closer to $1.40.

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3+ Self Storage Business Plan Templates

This means that you’re going to need something that will tell you just what it is that you need to in order for your business to become a success. Which is why this article is going to teach you all that you need to know about how you can create a self-storage business plan that should be albe to do just that.

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Self Storage Business Plan Template

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What Is a Self-Storage Business?

How to make a self-storage business plan, 1. write down both your mission and vision statement for your business, 2. know who your target audience should be, 3. state how your storage spaces should be used, 4. point how much you’re going to need to start and run your business, 5. come up with the marketing plan for your self-storage business, 6. write down your executive summary, more in plan templates.

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How to Start a Mini Storage Business

• 8,503 views

Establishing a mini storage business can be an ideal business to manage. It is proven to be profitable especially if you will manage it well.

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However, the challenge that you need to go through in managing it is tough so you need to be prepared in every situation that you might encounter.

Managing Mini Storage Business from Scratch

Starting a mini storage business would require a lot of your time especially if you are going to manage it from scratch because there are a lot of factors that needs to be considered. The budget that you’ll need should be sufficient in order to achieve the goal that you are planning. Do not start the business if you know that you don’t have enough money to make it happen. It will only be waste of time and of course money once you fail to cope up with the expenses.

You need to be prepared in every circumstance that you’ll encounter, whether it is good or bad for the business you need to plan everything first so that you are prepared once you encounter it. Seek for an advice from an expert or someone who knows how to handle a business particularly mini storage business.

Things you need to do in Starting Mini Storage Business

It is inevitable that you do some research to understand how to storage business works. Through this manner you will have an idea on what are the things that you need to do.

Choosing the Ideal Place to Establish the Business

One of the important factors that you need to check on is the location where you are going to build the mini storage business. It should be accessible to all especially to offices or companies. It should have wide space for parking and the storage area must be has wide space for various items.

Evaluate the place before Building the Warehouse

Evaluating the whole place before building the warehouse should be done in order to check if there are things to be fixed. The building should be well-built to avoid construction when natural disaster occurs. If you’ve a place wherein it often experience flood, you need to elevate it to protect the things that you are going to store on the building.

Use of High-quality Facilities and Security System

The facilities that you are going to purchase should be made from high-quality materials so that it won’t get easily break as time pass. To ensure the safety of the materials inside the warehouse, you need to equip it with innovative security system such as alarm and CCTV camera. The presence of security personnel will also make your business ideal since most of the clients would choose a warehouse that has good security system.

• Himanshu Nilay Kujur   said on November 14, 2012 Hi I am himanshu nilay kujur and I want to start storage or(small dealership) business in Ranchi ,Jharkhand, India, please suggest.
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FREE 6+ Self Storage Business Plan Samples in MS Word | Pages | Google Docs | PDF

Do you want to start your own self-storage business? A well-presented facility in a good location should turn your potential business into success. But, what do you need to work on so you can go beyond the usual business?  So, you need to create an effective business plan to guide you in your goals and aspirations. Also, you need to focus on the sales and marketing aspect of your business.  Read this article as we share relevant steps that can assist you establish your self-storage business. Plus, we have some templates that you can download freely. 

Self Storage Business Plan

Free 6+ self storage business plan samples, 1. self storage business plan template, 2. self storage marketing plan template, 3. business plan guidelines template, 4. blank business plan template, 5. sample self-storage business plan, 6. self-storage business plan, 7. self storage marketing plan sample, what is a self storage business plan, how to create a self storage business plan  , 1. create the first draft, 2. conduct a research, 3. include a company summary , 4. edit and revise, is a self storage business profitable, how do i start my own self storage business, is owning a storage facility a good investment, can i run a business out of a storage unit.

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The book “ How to Invest in Self-Storage ” explains that the customer base for self-storage facilities is remarkably diverse, being one of the reasons that the self-storage industry has continued to thrive in growth and profitability. It entices a similarly diverse audience of people interested in investment opportunities for development, operations and self-storage ownership.

A business plan serves as your guide as it provides the essential steps that specifically align with your goals and objectives in an orderly manner. Using this tool can help you accomplish your priorities in building a self-storage business. 

Most people think developing a business plan is a very complicated and time-consuming task. But if you’re aware about the fundamentals of opening a successful business, a plan is necessary so that you are aware about the things you need to work on. 

In this section, we suggest that you follow the steps below:

Austin Kleon said: “It doesn’t matter if it’s good right now, it just needs to exist.” His statement truly proves that you need to come up with an idea, or something even though it’s not that great in the first place. The important thing is that you initiate your first draft. Writing your first draft enables you to brainstorm and think carefully about your business. 

Making a thorough research on your environment, target market, potential clients, sales and marketing, and other factors that involve in your self-storage business is very important. In this way, you can examine the needs and preferences of the people around you and determine the steps you need to do to attract them to use your services. 

After performing an in-depth research, you need to include a brief summary of your company . Write your business goals, objectives, mission and vision statements, purpose, products or services, and many more.

As you finalize your business plan , carefully review your whole plan and  check if you need to edit some parts or sections in your document. Then, you can make some necessary revisions if you notice some errors.

Yes. A self-storage facility generates a profit at 60% to 70% of full occupancy. According to Statista, the industry average occupancy stands near 90% these days.

You need to have the investor support to be able to finance the land purchase and the construction expenses.

Yes. A self-storage is a compelling asset class because it has large income potential with low overhead, lesser construction costs than other commercial real estate sectors, and almost low management .

Yes. An article explained that extra space storage provides some ways for businesses to operate from their locations. Storage units are often used to store inventory or parts, equipment, and materials.

Therefore, a compelling business plan for your self-storage business can help you to attract potential investors and assist you in fostering the growth of your company. Keep these words in mind by Theodore Roosevelt: “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”  So, you should always work your 100% in your business. Continue to be inspired and keep looking forward. Download our business plan template in this article so that you can start your business now!

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Why were so many metro stations in Moscow renamed?

Okhotny Ryad station in Soviet times and today.

The Moscow metro system has 275 stations, and 28 of them have been renamed at some point or other—and several times in some cases. Most of these are the oldest stations, which opened in 1935.

The politics of place names

The first station to change its name was Ulitsa Kominterna (Comintern Street). The Comintern was an international communist organization that ceased to exist in 1943, and after the war Moscow authorities decided to call the street named after it something else. In 1946, the station was renamed Kalininskaya. Then for several days in 1990, the station was called Vozdvizhenka, before eventually settling on Aleksandrovsky Sad, which is what it is called today.

The banner on the entraince reads: "Kalininskaya station." Now it's Alexandrovsky Sad.

Until 1957, Kropotkinskaya station was called Dvorets Sovetov ( Palace of Soviets ). There were plans to build a monumental Stalinist high-rise on the site of the nearby Cathedral of Christ the Saviour , which had been demolished. However, the project never got off the ground, and after Stalin's death the station was named after Kropotkinskaya Street, which passes above it.

Dvorets Sovetov station, 1935. Letters on the entrance: "Metro after Kaganovich."

Of course, politics was the main reason for changing station names. Initially, the Moscow Metro itself was named after Lazar Kaganovich, Joseph Stalin’s right-hand man. Kaganovich supervised the construction of the first metro line and was in charge of drawing up a master plan for reconstructing Moscow as the "capital of the proletariat."

In 1955, under Nikita Khrushchev's rule and during the denunciation of Stalin's personality cult, the Moscow Metro was named in honor of Vladimir Lenin.

Kropotkinskaya station, our days. Letters on the entrance: "Metropolitan after Lenin."

New Metro stations that have been opened since the collapse of the Soviet Union simply say "Moscow Metro," although the metro's affiliation with Vladimir Lenin has never officially been dropped.

Zyablikovo station. On the entrance, there are no more signs that the metro is named after Lenin.

Stations that bore the names of Stalin's associates were also renamed under Khrushchev. Additionally, some stations were named after a neighborhood or street and if these underwent name changes, the stations themselves had to be renamed as well.

Until 1961 the Moscow Metro had a Stalinskaya station that was adorned by a five-meter statue of the supreme leader. It is now called Semyonovskaya station.

Left: Stalinskaya station. Right: Now it's Semyonovskaya.

The biggest wholesale renaming of stations took place in 1990, when Moscow’s government decided to get rid of Soviet names. Overnight, 11 metro stations named after revolutionaries were given new names. Shcherbakovskaya became Alekseyevskaya, Gorkovskaya became Tverskaya, Ploshchad Nogina became Kitay-Gorod and Kirovskaya turned into Chistye Prudy. This seriously confused passengers, to put it mildly, and some older Muscovites still call Lubyanka station Dzerzhinskaya for old times' sake.

At the same time, certain stations have held onto their Soviet names. Marksistskaya and Kropotkinskaya, for instance, although there were plans to rename them too at one point.

"I still sometimes mix up Teatralnaya and Tverskaya stations,” one Moscow resident recalls .

 “Both have been renamed and both start with a ‘T.’ Vykhino still grates on the ear and, when in 1991 on the last day of my final year at school, we went to Kitay-Gorod to go on the river cruise boats, my classmates couldn’t believe that a station with that name existed."

The city government submitted a station name change for public discussion for the first time in 2015. The station in question was Voykovskaya, whose name derives from the revolutionary figure Pyotr Voykov. In the end, city residents voted against the name change, evidently not out of any affection for Voykov personally, but mainly because that was the name they were used to.

What stations changed their name most frequently?

Some stations have changed names three times. Apart from the above-mentioned Aleksandrovsky Sad (Ulitsa Kominterna->Kalininskaya->Vozdvizhenka->Aleksandrovsky Sad), a similar fate befell Partizanskaya station in the east of Moscow. Opened in 1944, it initially bore the ridiculously long name Izmaylovsky PKiO im. Stalina (Izmaylovsky Park of Culture and Rest Named After Stalin). In 1947, the station was renamed and simplified for convenience to Izmaylovskaya. Then in 1963 it was renamed yet again—this time to Izmaylovsky Park, having "donated" its previous name to the next station on the line. And in 2005 it was rechristened Partizanskaya to mark the 60th anniversary of victory in World War II. 

Partizanskaya metro station, nowadays.

Another interesting story involves Alekseyevskaya metro station. This name was originally proposed for the station, which opened in 1958, since a village with this name had been located here. It was then decided to call the station Shcherbakovskaya in honor of Aleksandr Shcherbakov, a politician who had been an associate of Stalin. Nikita Khrushchev had strained relations with Shcherbakov, however, and when he got word of it literally a few days before the station opening the builders had to hastily change all the signs. It ended up with the concise and politically correct name of Mir (Peace).

The name Shcherbakovskaya was restored in 1966 after Khrushchev's fall from power. It then became Alekseyevskaya in 1990.

Alekseyevskaya metro station.

But the station that holds the record for the most name changes is Okhotny Ryad, which opened in 1935 on the site of a cluster of market shops. When the metro system was renamed in honor of Lenin in 1955, this station was renamed after Kaganovich by way of compensation. The name lasted just two years though because in 1957 Kaganovich fell out of favor with Khrushchev, and the previous name was returned. But in 1961 it was rechristened yet again, this time in honor of Prospekt Marksa, which had just been built nearby.

Okhotny Ryad station in 1954 and Prospekt Marksa in 1986.

In 1990, two historical street names—Teatralny Proyezd and Mokhovaya Street—were revived to replace Prospekt Marksa, and the station once again became Okhotny Ryad.

Okhotny Ryad in 2020.

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Luggage Storage at Vnukovo - Moscow Forum

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Luggage Storage at Vnukovo

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Does anyone know how much does it cost to store your baggage at Vnukovo Airport and how secure the storage is?

I could only find the information about luggage storage at Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo, it is 500 rubles a day, but there was no information about Vnukovo.

Thanks in advance!

Should be about the same...

Their website says R500 per day per bag, midnight to midnight...

Does anyone know where to weight the baggage at Vnukovo Airport before boarding just to know if he is carrying as per allowance?

> where to weight the baggage at Vnukovo Airport before boarding just to know if he is carrying as per allowance?

Right at check-in. If you don't like what you see on the weight display, you can step aside and make necessary adjustments, drink excess vodka, eat excess caviar, throw away excess gold etc.

Indeed, i had the very same thought...I usually just ask hotel for a scale...but I suppose one could get one of those cool travel vests and put your gold ingot bars in the 10-12 pockets...

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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Self Storage Unit Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business ideas » Real Estate Industry » Storage Unit

Are you about starting a self storage unit business? If YES, here is a complete sample self storage unit business plan template & feasibility study you can use for FREE .

If you live In the united states and are interested in owning a business portfolio in the real estate industry and you have not made up your mind on what kind of business to engage in, then you should consider starting your own self storage unit business .

Although, you can also start a self – storage business in London or some couple of cities in Canada and Europe, but the United States of America still remains the only country where this type of business is indeed a big industry. First and Foremost, what you need to do before venturing in into self – storage business is to carry out your survey.

A Sample Self Storage Unit Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

Self – storage units are mini storage spaces created for people to store their belongings for a short period of time, i.e. on a monthly basis and it is subject to renewal. The storage space could be lockers, rooms, boxes, containers or even an empty space in a secured environment. It is important to state that self – storage unit isn’t open for people to rent and live in it.

It is strictly for storing of personal belongings and goods. For instance’ if you rent a storage space, in a facility, you will be the only one with the key to the storage unit / space and as such the goods you choose to store in your space won’t be covered by the facility insurance.

In the united states, the Self – Storage and Warehouse Facility Leasing industry experienced a solid rebound over the last five years.

It is important to state that with increase in demand from households and businesses the revenue generated in the industry is expected to continue to experience appreciable growth and indeed there is a bright future for players in the industry.

Other factors that will boost revenue growth for the industry are steady population growth, increases in the residential rental market, rising per capita disposable income and the number of relocations by families and individuals.

The entry barriers for new operators in this industry can vary significantly by state and city. Overall, barriers are moderate, but are increasing across the United States. Costs to purchase or lease land or facilities vary across regions and are a major barrier to entry.

These expenses can be more manageable, though, in well-established, highly populated cities, whereas land costs can be significantly lower in smaller cities and suburban regions. There are several regulatory requirements that must be met by companies in the storage and mini warehouse business. The most difficult of these generally relates to zoning and land development conditions

The Self – Storage and Warehouse Leasing Facility industry is indeed a large industry and pretty much thriving in developed countries such as United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and Italy et al.

Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 32,437 licensed and registered self – storage and warehouse leasing facilities responsible for employing about 131,990 employees and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $33bn annually with an annual growth rate projected at 6.1 percent. Public storage Inc. is the market leader in this industry.

Right from when self – storage unit became a business enterprise in 1958 in Fort Lauderdale – Florida, loads of investors have made money from the industry and loads of investors are still making huge profits from this line of business and the industry is still very much open for new investors. It is indeed a capital intensive business and at the same time, highly profitable especially if you are strategically located.

Over and above, starting a self – storage and warehouse leasing business in the United States of America can be started by anybody as long as you have the start – up capital to acquire a property and then design the property to fit into the purpose you want to use it for.

2. Executive Summary

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is a licensed, standard and secured self – storage and warehouse facility that will be located in a growing community in Asheville – North Carolina. Our basic aim of setting up the business is to make available self – storage and warehouse facility for our clients who are resided in Asheville and neighboring cities.

We have been able to secure a standard facility in a central and easy to locate location in Asheville. Our self – storage facility has a Five-by-5-foot storage spaces, Five-by-10-foot storage spaces, 10-by-10-foot storage spaces, 10-by-15-foot storage spaces, 10-by-20-foot storage spaces, 10-by-25-foot storage spaces, and 10-by-30-foot storage spaces available for rental or short – term leasing. We are well equipped to services the whole of the community as well as visitors and travelers.

We conducted a thorough research and feasibility studies and we were able to come to the conclusion that Asheville community is the right place to start our sport and recreation facility. We will ensure that we offer our facilities at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pocket of our clients.

At Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC, our client’s best interest would always come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics.

We will offer trusted self – storage and warehouse facility services to all to our individual clients, and corporate clients and also ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass our clients’ expectations whenever they rent or lease our self – storage facilities.

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our clients.

Our plan is to position the business to become one of the leading brands in self – storage and warehouse line of business in the whole of Ashville, and also to be amongst the top 20 self – storage and warehouse companies in the United States of America within the first 10 years of operations.

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is owned by Pearce Gordon and Henry Michael his business partners for many years.

The business will be managed by both of them since they have adequate working experience to manage such business. Pearce Gordon has well over 10 years of experience working at various capacities in the real estate industry in the United States of America.

3. Our Products and Services

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is in the self – storage and warehouse facility business to provide safe short – term storage facilities for residence of Asheville – North Carolina which is why we have been able to put up a facility that can help us achieve the goal.

We are optimistic that everyone who make rent or lease our self – storage and warehouse facility will definitely derive huge value for their money. These are the amenities and services that will be made available to our clients;

• 5-by-5-foot storage spaces
• 5-by-10-foot storage spaces
• 10-by-10-foot storage spaces
• 10-by-15-foot storage spaces
• 10-by-20-foot storage spaces
• 10-by-25-foot storage spaces
• 10-by-30-foot storage spaces
• Leasing or rental of mini warehouses and self-storage units
• Rental of self-storage warehousing
• Rental of coin operated lockers
• U-lock storage
• Other facility operation

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our Vision of starting Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is to build a hedge brand that will become one of the top choices for residents and businesses in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina.
• Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
• Our mission for establishing Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is to build a standard and well – secured self – storage and warehouse facility that can favorably compete in the industry in the United States of America and in the world.

Our Business Structure

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is in business to become the leading self – storage and warehouse facility in the whole of Asheville – North Carolina and we are fully aware that it will take the right facility, management and organization – structure to achieve our goal.

We will ensure that we recruit only the best hands that can help us achieve all that we are set to achieve. Our business will not be built only for the purpose of giving our members / customers value for their money, but also we will ensure that we make our work environment highly conducive for all our employees.

We will provide them with facilities that will help them stay motivated and deliver on their various tasks and goals et al. In view of that, we have made provisions for the following positions to be occupied by highly qualified and experienced staff;

• Chief Executive Officer

Facility Manager

Admin and HR Manager

Marketing and Sales Executive

• Customer Care Executive / Front Desk Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Office:

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Responsible for handling leasing or rental of mini warehouses and self-storage units
• Responsible for handling rental of self-storage warehousing
• Responsible for handling rental of coin operated lockers
• Responsible for handling U-lock storage rentals
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Handle other facility operations such as repairs and renovations et al
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Design job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for clients
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of HR Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities.
• Identify, prioritize, and reach out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of relevant projects.
• Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with company policy
• Responsible for handling business research, marker surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develop, execute and evaluate new plans for expanding increase sales
• Document all customer contact and information
• Represent the company in strategic meetings
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the company
• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• create reports from the information concerning the financial transactions recorded by the bookkeeper
• Prepare the income statement and balance sheet using the trial balance and ledgers prepared by the bookkeeper.
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the company
• Serves as internal auditor for the company

Client Service Executive / Front Desk Officer

• Welcomes guests and clients by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the company’s products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients
• Receives parcels / documents for the company
• Distributes mails in the organization
• Handles any other duties as assigned my the line manager

Security Officers

• Ensures that the facility is secured at all time
• Control traffic and organize parking
• Gives security tips to staff members from time to time
• Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis
• Submit security reports on a weekly basis
• Any other duty as assigned by the facility manager.

6. SWOT Analysis

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist the firm in building a well – structured self – storage and warehouse rental business that can favorably compete in the highly competitive self- storage and warehouse services industry.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC. We hired the services of Dr. Garry Larson, a HR and Business consultant with bias in business structuring to help us conduct SWOT analysis for our company and he did a pretty good job for us.

We know that if we get things right before starting our self – storage and warehouse rental business, we will not have to struggle before attract loyal clients and building the business to a level where we can easily breakeven in record time.

Here is a of the result we got from the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC, Asheville – North Carolina;

One of the obvious strength that will definitely stand as a plus for Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is the fact that our facility is centrally located in a densely populated – residential area in Asheville – North Carolina; our location and high level of security is in fact our major strength.

We equally have a team that can go all the way to give our clients value for their money; a team that are trained and equipped to pay attention to details and to deliver excellent services. Lastly our rental package is one of the best that anybody living in Asheville – North Carolina can get; it is cheap and affordable.

We critically looked into our Business model and we were able to identify two major weakness. One is the fact that we are a new business and the second is the fact that we may not have the financial resources required to match up with existing and well established self – storage and warehouse facility rental companies when it comes to acquiring large facilities in choice areas.

• Opportunities:

We are centrally located in one of the busiest area and densely populated area in Ashville – North Carolina and we are open to all the available opportunities that the city has to offer. We will be open 24 hours in a day during weekends (Fridays to Sundays) and from 6:00 am to 12 midnight from Mondays to Thursdays giving us the advantage to leverage on any available opportunity.

Some of the threats that are likely going to confront Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC are unfavorable government policies, demographic / social factors, downturn in the economy which is likely going to affect consumers spending and lastly, the emergence of new competitors within the same location where our self – storage and warehouse facility is located.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The trend in the self – storage and warehouse rental industry is such that if a self – storage and warehouse facility is well positioned in a residential area or a place where people can easily access without much stress, there is the likelihood that the facility will enjoy high patronage.

Just like in other business ventures, the owner of self – storage and warehouse facilities are always looking for ways to increase their market share; they go as far as signing deals with merchants, importers and also business men and women   et al to make use of their facility.

It is a common trend that as self – storage and warehouse facility grow (fully occupied throughout the year), it becomes necessary for them to develop new service offerings or install new facilities that will help them attract more people. In order words, it is very important for self – storage and warehouse facilities to continue to improvise if they want to grow their business and generate their target revenues.

8. Our Target Market

We are aware of the fact that for any business to thrive so well in profit, it has to first and foremost define its market. The target market for self – storage and warehouse facilities cuts across people of different walks of life. The fact that people would need a secured place to keep their properties for a short period of time makes the self – storage and warehouse rental business a thriving and growing business.

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC will work towards providing services, facilities and environment that will help us reach out to our target market. These are the category of people that we intend marketing our self – storage and warehouse facility to;

• Working Class Adults / Corporate Executives
• Sport Clubs (soccer team, athletics team and choreographers et al)
• College Students / Schools
• Community an Corporate organization
• Business People / Entrepreneurs
• Government Officials
• Religious centers (Crusade Teams)
• Merchants, Importers and manufacturers
• Sports Men and Women
• Construction companies

Our Competitive Advantage

We also know that competition is one of the best things that could happen to a business because it makes any business tap more from within and be at their best at all times. No doubt, the Self – Storage and Warehouse Rental industry is indeed a profitable and highly competitive industry.

Clients will only rent your self – storage and warehouse facility if they know that your facility is highly secured and spacious enough to contain whatever property they want to store in your facility.

Our competitive advantage is that Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is centrally located in a densely populated – residential area in Asheville – North Carolina; our location and high level of security is in fact our major strength.

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (self – storage and warehouse facility rental businesses in the United States) in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the Self – Storage and Warehouse Facility Rental industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract both individual clients and corporate clients on a regular basis and to ensure that our facilities are fully occupied at any given time.

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC will generate income by offering the following amenities and services;

10. Sales Forecast

From the very beginning it pays to have a sales forecast because this helps to go the extra mile in working so hard to meet the sales goals. It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field.

It would be hard to create a sales forecast with a newly opened business like self – storage and warehouse facility rental business. This is simply because the statistics that will be provided will be on a short term basis.

Experts said that usually a business should be in operation for at least one year before they can generate the statistics that will be need to help in accurate forecasting; statistics should be at least one year old in order to show the trends and pattern in consumer spending.

We expect to attain 65 percent occupancy of our self – storage and warehouse facility within our first year of operations and then in subsequent year we will grow to full occupancy (between 80 and 100 percent occupancy). Below are the sales projection for Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC, it is based on the location of our facility and the services and amenities that we will be offering to our clients;

• First Year-: $200,000
• Second Year-: $450,000
• Third Year-: $750,000

N.B: This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major competitor offering same additional services as we do within 4.5 miles radius from our self – storage and warehouse facility.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Our marketing strategies will be directed towards achieving specific objectives that support the strategic goals of the organization.

The truth is that all we do will be geared towards creating new market channels, increasing sales and increase our market share. We will leverage on improving on our services and facility to ensure that we win new clients and retain old clients.

At Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC, our marketing strategies will be consistent throughout the marketing mix and we will take into consideration facility improvement, promotion, and price. As part of our sales and marketing strategies, we will pay attention to the promotion of our self – storage and warehouse facility so as to attract people to rent or lease our facilities.

Our unique selling proposition is that we are well positioned and people can easily access our facility, our prices are affordable and we have a complete package for families, schools and sport clubs. Part of the marketing and sales strategies that we will adopt are;

• Open our self – storage and warehouse facility with a big party.
• Advertise our self – storage and warehouse facility on community based newspapers, local TV stations and local radio station
• Promote our self – storage and warehouse facility online via our official website and all available social media platforms
• Introduce our self – storage and warehouse facility by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to businesses, sports clubs, schools, corporate organizations, households and key stake holders in Asheville – North Carolina
• Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in offices, libraries, public facilities and train stations et al.
• Delivering consistent customer experiences to all our members; making our first impression count positively to those renting or leasing our self – storage and warehouse facility for the first time
• Make use of attractive hand bills to create awareness and also to give direction to our self – storage and warehouse facility
• Adopt direct mailing coupon marketing approach
• Position our signage / flexi banners at strategic places in and around Ashville – North Carolina
• Create a loyalty plan that will enable us reward our loyal clients especially those that refers their family members and friends to us
• Engage on road shows within our neighborhood to create awareness for our self – storage and warehouse facility.

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our branding and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to become the number one choice for both corporate clients and individual clients in the whole of Asheville – North Carolina which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our self – storage and warehouse facility.

Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Asheville – North Carolina.
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighborhoods
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in Asheville
• Contact corporate organizations, sport clubs, households and schools by calling them up and informing them of Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC and the services and amenities we offer
• List Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC on local directories / yellow pages
• Advertise our self – storage and warehouse facility in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
• Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our corporate logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Our pricing system is going to be based on what is obtainable in the industry, we don’t intend to charge more (except for premium and customized services) and we don’t intend to charge less than what our competitors are charging their members in Asheville – North Carolina.

Be that as it may, we have put plans in place to offer discount services once in a while and also to reward our loyal customers especially when they refer clients to us or when they rent or lease of facility for a longer period. The prices of our services will be same as what is obtainable in the United States’ open market.

• Payment Options

At Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC, our payment policy will be all inclusive because we are quite aware that different clients would prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that we will make available to our clients;

• Payment by via bank transfer
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via POS machine
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment with cash

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans with little or no itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

In setting up any business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by renting a place, then you would need a good amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are well taken care of, and that your facility is conducive enough for workers to be creative and productive.

This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. The tools and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.

As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a self – storage and warehouse facility rental business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. However, this is what it would cost us to set up Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC in the United of America;

This is the key areas where we will spend our start – up capital on;

• The Total Fee for Registering the Business in North Carolina – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits – $1,500.
• Marketing promotion expenses (8,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $10,000.
• Cost for hiring Business Consultant – $5,000.
• Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $30,800.
• Cost of accounting software, CRM software and Payroll Software – $3,000
• Cost for leasing facility for the self – storage and warehouse facility – $500,000.
• Cost for facility remodeling – $250,000.
• Other start-up expenses including stationery – $1000
• Phone and utility deposits – $3,500
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $40,000
• The cost for Start-up inventory – $15,000
• Cost for acquiring security locks, CCTV and other security wares – $200,000
• The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000.
• The cost of Launching a Website – $600
• The cost for our grand opening party – $15,000
• Miscellaneous – $15,000

We would need an estimate of $1.5 million to successfully launch a standard and well – equipped self – storage and warehouse facilities in Asheville – North Carolina. It is important to state that the testing and evaluating expenses would be high because of the large amount of needed to secure a large facility in a good location.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is a business that will be owned and managed by Pearce Gordon and his friend and business partner Henry Michael. They are the sole financial of the business which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital for the business to just three major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
• Generate part of the start – up capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $500,000 (Personal savings $350,000 and soft loan from family members $150,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of One Million USD from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to rent or lease of our self – storage and warehouse facility is to ensure that our facility is not just strategically locate, but also highly secured and affordable.

Safe Lock® Self – Storage and Warehouse, LLC will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of ten years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
• Business Registration: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
• Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Acquiring facility and remodeling the facility to fit into our self – storage facility and warehouse: In Progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from family members: Completed
• Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed office appliances and security gadgets and software: In Progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: Completed
• Creating Awareness for the business both online and in the neighborhood: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
• Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress.

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