Facility Management

The song “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie is a fitting theme song for the situation many self-storage owners are in right now. Several factors are contributing to the negative national economy: rising unemployment, the mortgage crisis and abundance of foreclosures, home-value meltdowns, and inflated oil/gasoline prices. Hopefully, your micro-market is still chugging along and operating results have remained solid. Unfortunately, ...

Self-storage management companies are frequently asked to review new projects when the facilities are almost ready to open. While there are a lot of things a management company can assist with at that time, it really would have been better for a review or consult much earlier in the process. Too often, simple things are missed, and it's easier to do it ...

If I could offer you a product to substantially increase your ability to easily collect rents every month, with the potential for less “missing” money and mistakes, would you buy it? Ironically, it’s not for sale, and it may be something already in your office, but you’re afraid to use it. What is it? It's a request for tenants to ...

Many self-storage managers have the distinct advantage (or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it) of living on the property where they are employed. If this applies to you, I hope to give you some hints on how to make your home and business just a little bit nicer. For the most part, management companies concentrate on the business ...

When was the last time you took an in-depth look at your local market and your facility’s competitive position? Would you be prepared to compete against a new facility? In these uncertain economic times, a facility checkup is a crucial exercise to ensure a healthy future for your business.SymptomsBe on the lookout for certain symptoms indicating an ailing market. Begin ...