Entrepreneur Guidance

Opening a Mini & Self Storage Business

You've decided to open a mini and self storage business. Congratulations! At first, it sounds complicated but the key is to get started and never give up.

Thinking about opening a mini and self storage business? We tell you what you need to know to get started.

Creating Business Plans for a Mini & Self Storage Business

A carefully crafted business is your mini and self storage business's most important asset. With the right ingredients, your mini and self storage company's business plan will serve as a blueprint for success.

Although many entrepreneurs write their own business plans, others outsource business plan creation to a professional business plan writer.

Time and time again, the best entrepreneurs we see rely on professionally crafted plans to guide their decision making. Even so, we caution new business owners against removing themselves entirely from the business plan creation process.

As the primary stakeholder in your mini and self storage business, you will intentionally need to insert yourself in various stages of the plan's development.

Review Competitors

Well in advance of opening a mini and self storage business in your town, it's a smart move to find out how strong the competition is. We've provided the link below to help you get a list of local competitors near you. After clicking on the link, type in your city, state and zip code to get a list of mini and self storage businesses near you.

If there's too much competition, it may be wise to consider starting the business in a less competitive marketplace.

Finding a Non-Competitive Business Mentor

If you are seriously contemplating launching a mini and self storage business, be sure to talk to somebody who is already in the business. It's very unlikely that the local competition will talk to you. It'd be crazy for them to teach you the business.

But, a person who owns a mini and self storage business on the other side of the country will be much more likely to talk with you, provided that you won't be directly competing with them. In that case, the business owner may be more than happy to discuss the industry with you. Our estimate is that you may have to contact many business owners to find one who is willing to share his wisdom with you.

Where do you find a mini and self storage business entrepreneur that lives outside of your area?

It's not that hard. Just use the handy link below and enter in a random city/state or zipcode.

Should You Buy or Start a Mini & Self Storage Business?

As an aspiring business owner, the decisions you make now will have huge implications later, including the decision to either start a business from scratch or buy an existing mini and self storage business.

Time and time again, we see entrepreneurs struggle to launch a new mini and self storage business when they could have bought a first-rate mini and self storage business. When you buy an established mini and self storage business, you gain access to a functional business operation with a customer base and a steady revenue stream.

Depending on your business goals, you may have no choice but to start a mini and self storage business from scratch. But for the sake of minimizing risk and maintaining your sanity, a business purchase is often the right move for emerging mini and self storage business entrepreneurs.

Consider Franchising

Your chances of achieving the entrepreneurial goal of making a success of your new business are much better when you join the ranks of franchisees and leverage their successful brand and track record.

Before opening a mini and self storage business, you would be wise to determine whether franchise opportunities in your space might help you on your entrepreneurial journey.

The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.

Self Storage Industry Associations

If want to open a mini-storage company or self-storage company, be aware that there are storage industry trade associations that can be very useful to you in your efforts to start a storage company.

We recommend:

  • Self Storage Association (SSA) - Billing itself as the world's premier not-for-profit trade organization representing the best interests of the self storage industry, this self storage trade association has a plethora of excellent information on what it takes to start a storage business that is successful.

Related Articles on Starting a Company

These additional resources regarding starting a business may be of interest to you.

How to Find Angel Investors

Questions to Ask Before Starting a Business

Consideration Before Buying a Franchise

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