Bangs and Whimpers

In his famous poem, "The Hollow Men," T.S. Eliot sardonically noteshow the world ends: "Not with a bang but a whimper." And so it does, when allthe hubbub over Y2-chaos turned out to be little more than speculation and a few midnightpranks amongst strewn confetti and broken champagne bottles. But then, what would the turnof the century have been without some Nostradamus nightmares and paranoia of apocalypticdimensions? No fun, to be sure.

What all the whimpering ultimately translates into, however, is a sigh of relief andrenewed energy to forge ahead in our businesses, particularly in the area of automation.It's been somewhat of a battle, but self-storage owners are finally adopting and adaptingto the computerization of their operations, from management software to automatic securitygates to e-business. And slowly, the software for this industry is changing to accommodatemore needs and create greater convenience for managers and consumers alike.

Are you converting from a DOS to a Windows system this year? Does your facility haveits own website, or is it at least listed on one of the several sites that will include itin their directories for free? Are you using automatic payment systems or communicatingwith customers via e-mail? These and other options are discussed in detail in "SelfStorage Software 2000," which begins on page 16. For further advice on takingadvantage of automated benefits and marketing to the "new" self-storagecustomer, refer to Shaun Ferguson's article on "The Disposable Generation".Finally, Michael Zervas provides some tips on how to best use banner ads on the web todraw attention to your business without breaking the bank.

Of course, all the newfangled automated features and web marketing in the world won'tbe worth a cheap, foam mousepad if your managers aren't trained for sales. Leading thehorse to water is one thing--making him drink is another. Rick Kaczmarek outlines somesimple steps for developing a sound management-training program at your facilities andturning your employees into "ultra-salespeople".

I'll be looking for you all at the Inside Self Storage Trade Fair in Buffalo, N.Y.during May 11th and 12th. This is a unique opportunity because, in addition to all thegreat educational seminars and networking opportunities, you'll learn about acquisitionand development of self-storage in Canada, which could provide some new businessconnections and insights. Now that we know the world isn't ending, why not invest in amore profitable future?

See you in Buffalo,

Teri L. Lanza
Editor
[email protected]

For a complete list of references click here